The TD Ready Challenge is an annual North American initiative, which supports organizations developing innovative solutions for a changing world. Recipients must be organizations that have impactful and measurable solutions focused on helping to open doors for a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow.
This signature initiative, created and funded by TD, is a key component to delivering on the bank’s corporate citizenship platform, TD Ready Commitment. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on society and that's why this year, we have made the decision to focus the 2020 TD Ready Challenge on supporting innovative solutions that address the impacts of the pandemic. This year's TD Ready Challenge is part of the $25 million (CAD) that TD has allocated to help strengthen community resilience and COVID-19 recovery through the TD Community Resilience Initiative.
When we launched our global corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, in March 2018, we did not anticipate that a global pandemic would hit two years later and have profound impacts around the world. But at the time we knew a few things: that change is a fact of life, that we live in a period of unprecedented change, and "that change can be disruptive and has the potential to increase social and economic exclusion," as our President and CEO Bharat Masrani said.
Today, COVID-19 and its devastating consequences have created a remarkable climate of uncertainty that has rippled through all aspects of our society. In the past few months alone, several studies have shown the significant impacts already being felt across North America, though not all people are experiencing these effects equally.1 There is growing evidence that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting certain populations across North America including:
- Individuals from racialized and/or newcomer communities;1
- Those who are a part of Indigenous communities; 2
- Those that have unstable employment or inflexible working conditions; 2
- Those experiencing insecure, inadequate, or nonexistent housing conditions; 2
- Individuals living in remote communities and are socially or geographically isolated. 2
As people continue to navigate a new disrupted reality that includes physical distancing, experts and industries are currently working on what the new normal could look like post pandemic. History has shown how innovation plays a critical role in helping people develop the ability to overcome obstacles and have confidence in the future. Generating new ideas and solutions that address the needs raised by the current crisis will be key to help communities emerge resilient, inclusive, vibrant and ready for the continually changing future.