The Brave of Heart Fund now accepting applications: Family members of healthcare workers and volunteers who have lost their lives in the COVID-19 fight encouraged to apply for grants.

New York Life | May 28, 2020

Fund created by the foundations of New York Life and Cigna to provide financial assistance and behavioral health services to families.

NEW YORK, BLOOMFIELD, Conn. and CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Brave of Heart Fund, founded to provide financial and emotional support to the families of frontline healthcare workers and volunteers who lose their lives in the COVID-19 fight, is now accepting applications for grants. The Fund, created by the Foundations of New York Life and Cigna, industry-leading financial and health service organizations respectively, honors the families of these fallen heroes by providing eligible family members with cash grants and behavioral health services to help alleviate the financial and emotional hardships they are enduring at this time.

The Foundations of New York Life and Cigna have each seeded the Fund with initial investments of $25 million. The Fund will provide impacted families with initial grants of $15,000 per family to meet immediate expenses and will provide up to an additional $60,000 per family for longer-term needs, such as medical care and counseling, housing, food, transportation and education. Grant recipients can also receive behavioral and emotional health support to help them navigate common issues associated with grief, including anxiety, loneliness and depression. The New York Life Foundation will continue to match gifts from individuals, dollar-for-dollar, up to $25 million.

Families of doctors, nurses, technicians, orderlies, cafeteria workers, custodians, volunteers and other healthcare workers on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to apply to the Fund. Eligible family members include a spouse or domestic partner, a dependent child or dependent parent.

Individuals can apply for grants at www.braveofheartfund.com and/or call (855) 334-7932 for more information. Language assistance for applicants is also available.

The Brave of Heart Fund has already received generous donations from Bank of America, IBM, Morgan Stanley and Accenture. The Foundations of New York Life and Cigna are grateful for the other companies, foundations and individuals that are joining them to contribute to this important cause to support our frontline heroes. For more information, or to make a donation to the Fund, please visit www.braveofheartfund.com.

The Fund is administered by E4E Relief, which manages employee relief funds for companies representing over 4 million people worldwide. Grant eligibility and amounts will be determined by E4E Relief and will depend on a variety of factors, including financial need and overall available funding. E4E Relief is a wholly owned subsidiary of Foundation For The Carolinas, a Charlotte-based community foundation and public charity.

About New York Life

New York Life Insurance Company (www.newyorklife.com), a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any U.S. life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies**.

*Based on revenue as reported by “Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual),” Fortune magazine, 5/18/2020. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/.

**Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 9/12/19: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).

About Cigna Foundation

Cigna Foundation, established in 1962, is a private foundation funded by contributions from Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) and its subsidiaries. Cigna Foundation supports organizations sharing its commitment to enhancing the health of individuals and families, and the well-being of their communities, with a special focus on those communities where Cigna employees live and work.

About Cigna

Cigna Corporation is a global health service company dedicated to improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of those we serve. Cigna delivers choice, predictability, affordability and access to quality care through integrated capabilities and connected, personalized solutions that advance whole person health. All products and services are provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Express Scripts companies or their affiliates, and Life Insurance Company of North America.

Such products and services include an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other related products including group life, accident and disability insurance. Cigna maintains sales capability in over 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has more than 180 million customer relationships throughout the world. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.

About E4E Relief

For 20 years, E4E Relief has been the leading provider of charitable employee relief funds, rapidly responding to employee disaster and hardships on behalf of corporations. As an independent third-party public charity, we empower global companies and employees to provide, and receive, meaningful financial relief when it’s needed most, creating a strong sense of engagement and community. Our roots as a subsidiary of Foundation For The Carolinas, one of the largest community foundations in the U.S., led us to best practice grantmaking and industry expertise. In the past five years, E4E Relief has awarded more than $105 million in charitable grants, supporting relief efforts for 4 million people worldwide. 

Go back to our newsroom to read more stories.