October 3, 2024, Williamsburg, VA: The Williamsburg Community Foundation is pleased to announce the award of $112,171 in grants to 29 local nonprofits, the largest amount awarded in a single grant round to date. This milestone reflects the Foundation’s growing impact and commitment to meeting the greater Williamsburg community’s most pressing needs and promising opportunities.
The funds support various projects and programs across the Foundation’s priority areas: Arts & Culture, Children & Young Adults, Economic Mobility, Environment & Conservation, Health & Community Wellness, and Senior Services.
This round of grants included grant awards from the Benjamin R. Altshuler Memorial Fund, as well as Capacity Building grants to strengthen local nonprofits.
Of the $112,171 in grants, $27,610 was made possible through the support of individual donors who partnered with the Foundation to directly fund these competitive grants. “This is a powerful testament to the impact of collective philanthropy,” said Alison V. Lennarz, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
The grants awarded this fall were made possible by the generosity of individual donors who have contributed over many years to the Foundation’s Community Endowment and Field-of-Interest Funds. Recognizing the need to expand its grantmaking capacity, the Foundation launched a campaign in celebration of its 25th Anniversary this year, aimed at growing the Community Endowment to increase its support of local nonprofits.
Since 1999, the Community Foundation has awarded over $13.5 million in grants and scholarships. The Foundation accepts grant applications twice a year from nonprofit organizations that serve the greater Williamsburg area, and a committee of board members and volunteers evaluates the applications. The deadline for the next grant round is January 3, 2025.
“These grants come from donations, both large and small, given by our community for our community. said Nancy Sullivan, President & CEO of the Community Foundation. “Local folks who recognize that the Community Foundation can serve as a conduit to meet needs they might not be aware of right here in the Williamsburg area.”
For more information about the Community Foundation and to contribute to its 25th Anniversary Campaign, visit williamsburgcommunityfoundation.org or contact (757) 259-1660.
The following is a list of competitive grant recipients and their projects, listed by priority area:
Arts & Culture
- Open Door Concerts ($2,000) provides free concerts throughout the year at the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church covering a variety of musical genres.
- Tidewater Arts Outreach ($2,500) will provide group art programs, including interactive music, performing arts, literary arts, and visual arts, providing physical and social benefits while enhancing self-esteem, cognitive function, and communication.
Children & Young Adults
- College of William & Mary Foundation in partnership with Head Start ($5,000) will provide social-emotional skill development, literacy tutoring, and facilitate family engagement activities for 144 Williamsburg-James City County and York County Head Start program preschoolers.
- Comfort Zone Camp ($2,500) will address childhood grief through a weekend long camp with traditional camp activities and age-appropriate grief therapy.
- Historic Area Religions Together (HART) ($4,361) will offer the “Stand Up for Yourself and Others!” project to reduce anti-group bias and bullying by adding books to the Williamsburg Regional Library’s youth collection, hosting at least four puppet shows that emphasize valuing individual differences, and support positive beliefs and attitudes towards others through music.
- I Am Me Initiative Foundation ($1,500) received a Capacity Building grant to support their mission empowering youth aged 5-17 through creative and performing arts.
- Village Initiative, Inc. ($3,500) will expand its literacy program in Williamsburg James City County by installing free book boxes in parks and neighborhoods, stocked with bilingual books to serve diverse populations in our community.
Economic Mobility
- 3e Restoration, Inc. ($2,500) will increase access to programs and services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in greater Williamsburg by offering dedicated rooms at The Pineapple Inn & Housing Center, on-site assistance and connections to essential services.
- Community of Faith Mission, Inc. ($5,000) will offer its Emergency Shelter Program, an essential program for individuals seeking shelter during the coldest months of the year in the greater Williamsburg area.
- Grove Christian Outreach Center ($4,650) will provide temporary transportation assistance to residents to attend job interviews, healthcare appointments, and other important appointments.
- Latisha’s House Foundation, Inc. ($5,000) will hire additional staff in order to support more women in their restorative care home for survivors of sex trafficking.
- NATASHA House, Inc. ($2,500) will offer Seed2Table, an on-site career-readiness horticulture educational therapy community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, including weekly training in project management for both moms and children in their transitional housing program.
- Operation Love, Inc. ($1,500) received a Capacity Building grant to support their mission to combat food insecurity in greater Williamsburg.
Environment & Conservation
- Historic Rivers Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, ($1,500) a community-based volunteer group, received a Capacity Building grant to support their mission of conserving and managing natural resources and public land.
- Historic Virginia Land Conservancy ($5,000) will educate the public and potential conservation easement donors in the Historic Triangle, emphasizing the importance of preserving the region’s remaining rural lands and farms.
- Jamestown Rediscovery ($5,000) will develop and present‘Jamestown and the American Revolution’ focusing on the connections between the colony’s 17th-century history, the unfolding of the American Revolution in Virginia, and current debates about democracy and justice.
- Williamsburg Area Botanical Garden ($5,000) located at Freedom Park, will remediate two Green Roof Pavilions. The Pavilions are the only structures for visitors in the Botanical Garden, which is free and open to the public year-round.
Health & Community Wellness
- Avalon Center ($5,000) will repair children’s playground equipment and replace fencing around the playground at the shelter which serves people who have experienced domestic violence.
- Bacon Street Youth and Family Services ($5,000) will expand mental health services to better support low-income households by offering sliding scale fees and pro bono mental health case management and counseling services to eligible clients and their families.
- Colonial Behavioral Health ($5,000) will purchase a 14-passenger vehicle with a lift for its “Opportunities Unlimited–Developmental Disabilities Day Services” program.
- Faith Recovery ($4,660) will provide supportive transportation to medical and legal appointments, recovery meetings, church services, and volunteering opportunities for men on the road to recovery from substance use disorders.
- Faithwalkers, Inc. ($1,500) received a Capacity Building grant to support their mission to reduce recidivism by providing programs and support links to assist returning citizens’ re-entry into society.
- Foundation for Rehabilitation Equipment and Endowment (F.R.E.E.) ($4,000) will support low-income adults with mobility impairments by providing refurbished medical equipment, including wheelchairs, walkers, and more.
- Lackey Clinic ($3,000) will provide free transportation to and from healthcare appointments and pharmacy visits at Lackey Clinic, helping to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits due to missed medical and behavioral health appointments and ensuring that patients can pick up their lifesaving medications.
- Rx Drug Access Partnership ($5,000) will provide fast, easy access to prescriptions, including critical insulin supplies, to Olde Towne Medical and Dental Center, helping uninsured individuals in the Williamsburg area.
- The Arc of Greater Williamsburg ($5,000) will provide transportation for adults with disabilities to their places of employment, as well as to The Arc’s day and evening programs.
Senior Services
- Faith in Action Williamsburg ($5,000) will offer free rides for seniors, ensuring they can attend medical appointments, visit food pantries, and run errands with personalized care from trained volunteers.
- Housing Partnerships, Inc. ($5,000) will expand the emergency home repair services that it provides to seniors.
- Peninsula Agency on Aging ($5,000) will provide older adults with safe, reliable non-emergency transportation to medical appointments, dialysis, physical therapy, radiation and primary care.