Coronavirus and CLI
On March 11 and March 22, Co-founder Nate Houghton sent internal messages to our team and Board alerting them to the affect of COVID-19’s global spread on CLI. To update our supporters, we are including sections of these messages below
March 11
Friends, Board, and Staff of CLI,
Most of you, I'm sure, have spent the last week watching more and more of your life become mired in our growing global pandemic: COVID-19. I'm writing with an update on what this means for CLI immediately and in the coming weeks. Thank you as always for your support.
1) Co-founders Robert and Emmanuel had been scheduled to arrive in Washington, DC for their annual trip to the US on May 10. After conferring with Board leadership as well as my co-founders, we have decided to cancel this trip in light of the spread of Coronavirus. The primary concern that emerged was the possibility of spreading the virus from the United States, where it is quite prevalent, to the DRC, where the first case surfaced yesterday.
2) Our Gala was scheduled for May 14 in Washington, DC. Given that Robert and Emmanuel will not be able to attend and the fact that gathering more than 40-50 people is becoming more and more dangerous, we have canceled the Gala.
3) Our hope is to reschedule Robert and Emmanuel's trip, as well as our event, for sometime later this year. Presently, we are targeting October dates.
4) The decisions to cancel both upcoming travel and the Gala were made without regard for financial considerations and instead prioritized the health of our team, their loved ones, and others around the world. Nevertheless, we expect to recover nearly all of our costs related to these trips and the event.
5) Our program in the DRC, at present, will continue to run as planned. We are monitoring the situation closely and, should there be increased danger in gathering individuals in the DRC, we will take appropriate action.
Best,
Nate
March 22
Hello all,
I am writing with an update to CLI's evolving strategy given the spread of COVID-19. In light of the increase in Coronavirus cases in the DRC, our leadership team yesterday decided to recommend suspension of activities indefinitely. This means that, until further notice, there will be no sanctioned CLI meetings in the DRC. We have also suspended travel for CLI business globally and closed the Kinshasa Leadership Center.
Please note that we are going forward with allocation of funds related to the CLI microfinance program. We believe that providing financial liquidity in this difficult time will help us to play a small part in promoting peace and prosperity, but we are asking that selected CLI entrepreneurs comply with the DRC government's recommendations related to Coronavirus.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions. As always, thank you for your support.
Nate