The Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation awarded over $42,000 in internal grants in 2021 to 18 organizations and educational programs in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties. This figure includes only grant programs administered internally by GVCF, most of which are application based, and is not inclusive of all fund distributions and scholarships from the Community Foundation as a whole, which is nearing approximately $830,000 for the year to date.
The following GVCF grants have been awarded.
The GVCF Endowment Challenge, a renewed opportunity, aims to help Greenbrier County nonprofits create an endowment to provide long-term financial sustainability to the organization. Thanks to a generous grant from the James F. B. Peyton Fund to the GVCF Community Fund, GVCF has selected three organizations to receive $7,500 each in matching funds to create an endowment. Those organizations include the Greenbrier County Committee on Aging, the Child and Youth Advocacy Center, and Communities in Schools of Greenbrier County.
Alvin and Betty Gordon Fund for Education and the Arts provides grant funding for arts education programming in our three-county region. The 2021 recipient of the $2,000 grant award is the Pocahontas County Arts Council. They are using the award to provide art enrichment programs in all Pocahontas County schools. Also awarded was Appalachian Headwaters for their environmental education programming from a pass-through contribution from an anonymous GVCF Board Member.
The Mary B. Nickell Grant for Arts and Education was established to provide funding for art enrichment programs in Greenbrier County. The 2021 awardees include Davis Stuart to support their Arts Education programming, which includes classes, theatrical performances, concerts, and field trips to local arts institutions. Also funded by the 2021 grant was Weaving Baskets with History class, administered to fifth grade students at Crichton Elementary by Kathy Talley in partnership with Carnegie Hall.
The newly established Pete and Marilyn Carpenter Fund provided their first grant award to the City of White Sulphur Springs to support youth recreation programming. Future grants from the Carpenter Fund will focus on supporting area feeding programs to combat food insecurity in the region.
The Moore Family Community Fund Grant was established by members of the Moore Family to provide funding for projects that improve the quality of life in our community, particularly through youth recreation programming. This year’s grant recipients included High Rocks Educational Corporation to support their annual Celtic Knot Run/Walk, which raises funds for their summer camp. Also awarded in 2021 was the Friends of Monroe for their A Toolbox for Me program, aiming to improve mental and physical health among middle school students in Monroe County. Finally, the Moore Family Community Fund Grant provided funding to the Greenbrier Valley Aquatic Center, a project nearing completion.
The Greenbrier Valley Women’s Fund was established as a donor-advised fund to provide funding to local nonprofit organizations that work to empower women in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties. The Committee elected to support High Rocks Educational Corporation’s transformational summer camps, which offer academic and leadership training to young women in the region. Also selected was the Yew Mountain Center for their Wild and Wonderful Women in the Woods retreat, which offers healthful meals, time for reflection, guided group activities and walks, and arts experiences. The Committee was especially excited about this program, as they used the funding to provide scholarships to women serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greenbrier Valley Women’s Fund also provided sponsorship to the inaugural Greenbrier Valley Pride event in June.
The Williamsburg Community Fund Grant was established by members of the Board of Directors of the Northern Greenbrier Health Clinic to continue its legacy of caring for the community. It provides funding for projects that improve the quality of life in the Greater Williamsburg area. The Williamsburg Community Action Group received $4,800 in funding in 2021 for building upgrades and renovations.
Finally, the GVCF Mini-Grant Program funded by the GVCF Community Fund, provides small grants twice annually to support the broad operations and programming of nonprofit organizations and educational programs in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties.
Pocahontas County High School, Green Bank Elementary/Middle, Family Refuge Center, Greenbrier County 4-H, Yew Mountain Center, North Central WV Community Action, and the White Sulphur Springs Farmers Market all received grants from this program, for a total of $3,500.
Please direct any questions to Anne at 304-645-5620 or info@gvfoundation.org. To contribute to any of these funds, send checks payable to GVCF to PO Box 1682, Lewisburg WV 24901. Be sure to include the fund name in the memo line. Donations can also be made online at gvfoundation.org.