2023 Overview (unaudited): $18.6 million in invested assets; $1.35 million received in fund contributions; $1 million funded in grant awards, scholarships, and fund distributions; $115,000 in scholarships held by GVCF; and seven new funds: Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion Fund, Charles and Carolyn Sheets Scholarship Fund, Grace United Methodist Church Scholarship Fund, Our Future Fund, PEO Sisterhood Chapter V- WV Scholarship Fund, The Alderson Presbyterian Church Charitable Fund, The Noel P. and the Nathan B. Dehaven Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Greenbrier Valley Women’s Fund:
On Nov. 29, GVCF hosted the annual Women’s Fund Lunch at the Sportsman Tavern in Ronceverte. It was a privilege to host Amy Jo Hutchison, fierce economic justice advocate for working women and mothers in West Virginia. The 2023 grant recipient was WV Healing Home, a nonprofit, family-centered community recovery program dedicated to providing respectful services to individuals and families affected by substance use, especially during childbearing years. Incorporated in 2021, but delayed by the Covid pandemic, WVHH began providing services to families in January 2023.
We are thankful for those who attended and contributed to this special fund. All funds raised through this campaign are used to provide grants annually to organizations serving women and girls in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties. In the past 11 years, the Greenbrier Valley Women’s Fund has provided $25,000 in grants to 29 organizations in our three-county region.
Children’s Savings Account Program:
Established in 2023, Our Future Fund was created with a mission to provide every public-school student in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties with a college/trade school savings account. With help from the James F. B. Peyton Fund and the H. B. Werhle Foundation, the program was piloted at Frankford Elementary and is expanding to Peterstown Elementary and Hillsboro Elementary in 2024.
Our Future Fund’s goal is to provide every child entering kindergarten with a savings account in their name; and with the support of civic, businesses, and faith groups, grow those savings for their use for further education after high school graduation. The research has demonstrated that children with a savings account are six times more likely to go to college or trade school than children who don’t have a savings account. Investment in this program is an investment into our future workforce.
Food Program Support:
In 2023, GVCF focused attention on food service support in Monroe County. To support various community partners, GVCF purchased two pigs from the Greenbrier Monroe Youth Livestock Association Youth Auction at the State Fair of West Virginia. We had the meat processed locally and donated to Monroe County Coalition to distribute among Monroe County food pantries and assistance programs.
Additionally, GVCF provided grants to Monroe County Outreach and Lindside United Methodist Church Food Pantry to increase their capacity for service to those in Monroe County. Monroe County Outreach has been active since 1980 to provide basic needs assistance to residents in Monroe County in need of help with food, utilities, shelter, clothing, etc. They work in partnership with other local organizations to identify additional resources in emergency situations.
Scholarships:
In 2023, over $250,000 in scholarship funds were distributed from the application system we administer in partnership with our regional high schools. Of that amount, over $115,000 were funded by scholarships managed by GVCF. As always, it was a joy to attend our area high schools to present certificates to these hardworking students. Scholarships are a wonderful way to remember loved ones into perpetuity and we welcome the opportunity to discuss starting scholarship funds with individuals or organizations.
The 2024 application is open to all students in our region and available at gvfoundation.org/scholarships and due on Mar. 15.
We look forward to continuing this positive momentum into 2024, marking our 25th anniversary! What a privilege it is to have served the Greenbrier Valley all this time.
For questions, visit gvfoundation.org, or call or email Anne at 304-645-5620 or info@gvfoundation.org.
