The Stellar Development Foundation has committed up to 2.5 million Lumens to six non-profit organizations to help out during the coronavirus crisis — and they’re calling on the community to help.

The SDF will kick the initiative off by donating 100,000 XLM each to six charities, with the remaining funds used to match community contributions on a one-to-one basis throughout April.

Strong balance sheet

SDF CEO Denelle Dixon told Cointelegraph the Foundation was lucky enough to be in a strong financial position to be able to help:

“We're in the fortunate position of having stability during this time, we have a strong balance sheet, we also have XLM reserves, we want to be able to support as many initiatives as possible during this time that is very challenging for a lot of folks.”

The Lumens will be made available to six of the non-profit organizations listed on Lumenthropy, which is a Stellar-based organization whose stated mission is to “make Stellar the philanthropic gamechanger”.

The chosen non-profits include UNICEF, Tor Project, Heifer International, Watsi, Freedom of the Press and Women Who Code.

Healthcare, education, poverty and free speech

Asked why only six of the ten organizations listed on Lumenthropy are eligible for the initiative, Dixon said they are focused on organizations whose missions most closely align with problems presented by the current crisis such as providing healthcare, fighting poverty, protecting free speech from censorship and enabling education.

Dixon said the SDF may choose to extend the program after April, and that other worthy non-profits are welcome to apply.