Get Shift Done Initiative Launches for the DMV region

Washington, D.C. (April 23, 2020) — Washington Nationals Philanthropies and the Greater Washington Community Foundation today announced a new partnership with Get Shift Done to launch the Get Shift Done DMV initiative which will coordinate, schedule, and pay adversely affected hourly workers in the hospitality industry to work shifts for local food access providers.

Get Shift Done DMV, with founding investments from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Capital One, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, and the Bainum Family Foundation and managed by Get Shift Done (getshiftdone.org), provides wages of $15 an hour to workers left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic. These workers are filling the critical roles of providing meals for neighbors in need that, prior to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, were performed by volunteers. The first batch of workers will report for their first day of work on Saturday, April 25, and more shifts will be added on a rolling basis.

Get Shift Done was launched by Dallas business and community leaders and also contributors to the initiative Anurag Jain and Patrick Brandt with the support of their respective companies, community leaders, restaurant owners and nonprofit organizations. It was created to fill the gap between the reduction of volunteers and the increased need among food banks and other nonprofits with those from the food and service industry in need of supplemental income.

Through a partnership with the North Texas Food Bank, the platform is able to serve over 1 million meals per week while providing more than $250,000 of wages to over 1,000 workers per week. Replicating the platform in the DMV will fill a critical gap as food access providers face unprecedented demand. Interested restaurants, non-profit partners, and individual workers can visit getshiftdone.org/dmv to access sign-up portals.

Through its work supporting food access in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nationals Philanthropies became aware of the innovative program and convened Get Shift Done along with local service industry leaders, credible nonprofits addressing food insecurity, and influential funders to help the Greater Washington region meet the surging demand for food access. Today Get Shift Done DMV launches with Shiftsmart technology to register workers for shifts with local food access providers. The Shiftsmart platform and operations team manage the onboarding, matching, scheduling, dispatching, and routing of workers to perform shifts.

“Food insecurity is both a systemic problem and an ever-increasing concern for families across the DMV. Through our work to open Nationals Park as a cooking and packaging site for meals and delivering grants to on-the-ground partners getting food to those who need it most, it was evident that even more was needed to meet demand,” said Nationals Philanthropies CEO Tal Alter. “Get Shift Done complements and extends the incredible coordination of food banks and providers across the region while simultaneously filling critical packaging, preparation, and delivery roles with members of our local hospitality community who are out of work.”

“We know that missing even one paycheck can mean members of our community, especially the region’s lower-wage and hourly workers, struggle to pay rent, afford groceries, and otherwise provide for their families,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Our nonprofit partners and other organizations have stepped in to fill huge gaps created by this crisis, but there is more that we can and must do as a community. We are proud to partner to bring Get Shift Done to DMV in order to connect impacted workers directly to emergency food distribution providers throughout the region.”

With jobless claims spiking to record levels, the Get Shift Done concept was hatched at just the right time by helping people work to earn a basic income. Within days of the initial Dallas launch of Get Shift Done, other cities, municipalities and countries contacted the organization about assisting them in meeting the needs of the food insecure in their own areas by utilizing the Get Shift Done template.

“The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation is proud to be a seed funder of this innovative effort which connects our colleagues in the hospitality industry with the critical and growing need for labor in our region’s food system. Food security was a crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic and has since grown to staggering levels. Concurrently, the hospitality workforce has suffered tremendously and we are thrilled to have an opportunity to address two of the Foundation’s top priorities through this investment,” stated Mieka Wick, Executive Director, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.

“As part of Capital One’s broader community response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been working closely with our nonprofit partners to address crucial needs of the most vulnerable populations, including hunger relief and supporting the food and dining community,” said Andy Navarrete, Head of External Affairs, Capital One Financial. “We are proud to support Get Shift Done’s DMV initiative that is providing jobs, filling the much-needed gap in volunteer shifts and getting food to those in need. We will continue to marshal our resources – our funds, digital tools, reach and expertise during these uncertain times to help in the collective recovery.”  

“We are grateful to Tal Alter and Nationals Philanthropies for bringing this group of funders and community partners together to help us serve the food insecure and provide work to individuals who want to get back to work,” said Patrick Brandt, President of Shiftsmart. “They are hitting a home run to help so many in need with their NATS4GOOD outreach campaign.”

“The need for volunteers and the need for food and resources are spiking simultaneously during the crisis. There are also a skyrocketing number of displaced workers in the restaurant and hospitality industry that want to work. When you apply this innovative solution, our goal is met to help both the workers and the non-profits,” said Anurag Jain, Chairman of Access Healthcare, Managing Partner of Perot Jain, and Chairman of the Board of North Texas Food Bank.

For more information or to support this fund, go to getshiftdone.org/dmv.

About Washington Nationals Philanthropies

The Washington Nationals strive to become a civic partner to every Washingtonian interested in making a positive difference in our region and a leading philanthropic organization in professional sports. As the official charitable arm of the Washington Nationals, Nationals Philanthropies is a new entity that replaces the Dream Foundation. Building on the success of the foundation’s first decade in Washington, we aspire to an even bolder, more ambitious philanthropic vision that continues to align with the work of the Youth Baseball Academy while building an enhanced and cohesive platform for civic engagement that extends far beyond the Academy walls. This new platform will catalyze the energy of Nationals fans, and the generosity and philanthropic goals of Nationals players, corporate champions, and community partners to invest philanthropic dollars with, through, and to Nationals Philanthropies – fueling even greater good for a better Washington region. More details coming soon at nats4good.org. Follow us to stay up to date on the latest news and events.

About Greater Washington Community Foundation

The Greater Washington Community Foundation exists to Build Thriving Communities by guiding strategic philanthropy, providing leadership on critical issues, promoting civic engagement, and inspiring local giving. Founded in 1973, we are the region’s largest local funder and have invested nearly $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can thrive. We recently launched the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to rapidly raise and deploy critical resources to nonprofits addressing the urgent health and economic needs of disproportionately impacted communities. To date, we have mobilized more than $6.5 million in community support and made nearly $4 million in grants to relief and recovery efforts that are supporting our most vulnerable neighbors. 

About Shiftsmart

Shiftsmart is a worker-centric online marketplace that connects today’s dynamic workforce with companies facing increasingly complex staffing requirements. By empowering workers with more hours, better pay, and greater opportunity, Shiftsmart creates a mutually beneficial labor ecosystem.  With Shiftsmart, workers build income, skills, and experience to become true micro-entrepreneurs. Companies can manage their own workforces and increase labor fulfillment with fast, convenient access to a large, always-connected global labor pool. Communities reduce poverty, increase productivity, and lower income volatility. Powered by cutting-edge technology, Shiftsmart executes shifts in 20 countries for leading edge employers including Google, Airbnb, HP, Chick-fil-A, and Deloitte. Shift how you work. Shift how you hire. Shift how jobs get done. shiftsmart.com.