Photo: Upwork Santa Clara
Freelancing platform provider Upwork has launched the Work Together Talent Grants Program, an initiative that will support projects aiming to solve problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has committed $1 million to the cause.
Upwork will be providing projects that qualify with up to $25,000 each in redeemable credits, giving them access to the company’s global network of independent professionals who have the specialized skills needed to get the job done. Consequently, these freelancers will get much-needed work in this economically uncertain time.
This pandemic and its economic fallout has shown that “secure,” salary office jobs aren’t all that secure, which could mean more people will shift toward remote, independent work in the long run. In fact, Upwork president and CEO Hayden Brown recently told Fortune that freelance work was already becoming more popular even before the pandemic, and she anticipates more businesses will be more open to working with remote freelancers to get work done. This grant program could help get that relationship started.
“For over 20 years, Upwork has connected businesses with remote professionals to help tackle their most pressing challenges. Right now, we all face a common challenge — mobilizing our resources to mitigate the devastating impact of this virus on our communities and economy. This challenge requires us to work quickly and at scale across a broad range of skills and with fresh thinking,” Brown said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Work Together Grants Program was created to meet this challenge head on, and ensure the work we do today helps get the world back together tomorrow.”
The key qualification for this grant is that the project aims to directly mitigate the pandemic’s “devastating impact on individuals, communities and economies everywhere.” Both non-profit and for-profit organizations are eligible, and the company says no project is too big or too small. Applications opened April 28 and grants will be distributed on an ongoing basis until all the funds are awarded.
