Our purpose at The Motley Fool is to make the world smarter, happier, and richer. Our annual April Fools’ Day joke aims to do all three. From our earliest days, we have taken advantage of this special day to play a good-natured prank designed to teach valuable investing lessons. 

No doubt many of you are excited to see what our joke is this year, but this April 1st, we have a more important message for you, our Foolish community.


Nearly half of all U.S. coronavirus cases are in New York state and, as Gov. Cuomo said, right now, New York is the canary in the coal mine for our entire country. Whom we can help, and what we can learn from New York, will benefit us all.

After consulting with the governor’s office for guidance on how we all can be most useful, The Motley Fool is donating $1 million to New York state’s COVID-19 response fund to reach the front lines of this pandemic.

Donations to New York’s COVID-19 response fund are being managed by the non-profit Health Research Inc. They will be used to purchase medical supplies and to set up field hospitals to treat patients. They will also provide housing, food, and transportation to support medical staff and the 70,000 volunteering healthcare professionals coming to New York from around the country right now.

We invite you to join us this April Fools’ Day by contributing to the COVID-19 response in New York or by supporting an organization -- be it through donations or volunteering -- in your community.

As ever, being “Motley” is core to who we are. We are strong, not in spite of our differences, but because every one of us can make a unique contribution to the world. To that end, we want to know how you’re making your world smarter, happier, and richer during this crisis. 

Connect with us on social media, or email us at [email protected], to share your story. By doing our part as Fools worldwide, we can make a difference today. We want to share your story with the world.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay inside, and stay Foolish.

Tom, David, and all of us at The Motley Fool