Grant Thornton LLP has named Invisible Hands Deliver as the fourth nonprofit in its Purple Paladin initiative — a program that helps emerging nonprofit organizations move from start-up to sustainable by providing funding, business advice and volunteer support, while also helping them share their stories more broadly.
“sterling examples of forward-thinking young professionals who are using innovation and technology to solve massive, even existential, problems.”
Invisible Hands Deliver is a community-based organization of more than 12,000 volunteers who deliver groceries, prescriptions and other necessities to people vulnerable to COVID-19 — including the elderly, disabled and immunocompromised. The nonprofit serves a range of communities, while simultaneously keeping its aid recipients and volunteers safe by following federal, state and local guidelines.
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Based in New York City, Invisible Hands Deliver has delivered nearly $1 million in food, medicine and other supplies in New York state and New Jersey — as well as Philadelphia, where it has recently established operations.
Three young New Yorkers — Simone Policano, Liam Elkind and Healy Chait — created Invisible Hands Deliver in March 2020 as they witnessed the COVID-19 crisis unfolding. The organization embodies digital innovation and connectivity, operating entirely over cloud platforms to execute deliveries in under 48 hours. This is accomplished by engaging volunteers remotely, who receive delivery dispatches to their phones. The founders built and grew Invisible Hands Deliver virtually using web-hosting servers and management systems. They also used social media and press coverage to grow awareness and attract new volunteers to meet growing demand.
According to Invisible Hands Deliver co-founder Simone Policano: “We recognized that acts of community, not isolation, could be the answer to COVID-19; we saw that we could safely pair those who are at lower risk for illness with more vulnerable people facing exigent needs. Becoming a Grant Thornton Purple Paladin will give us the resources and professional guidance we need to grow our efforts and further blunt the devastating impact of COVID-19.”
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