The West Virginia Grant Resource Centers’ Co-Founders, Sara Payne Scarbro and Dr. Liz Vitullo, marked a historic milestone for the Grant Centers, recently announcing more than $51.5 million in local, state, private, and federal funding won through 124 awards across the state.
“This is what a national model for targeted, regional economic development looks like: building tangible, results-driven projects town by town, community by community, and business by business,” Payne Scarbro said. “With the support of the WV Legislature and the Appalachian Regional Commission, we are successfully revitalizing communities, growing businesses, and building much needed skills and capacity in project budgeting, technical writing, successful pitching, and partnership building.”
Since launching Jan. 1, 2023, the Grant Centers have assisted West Virginia communities, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and other eligible entities with securing $51,539,807.03 to support their economic, community, workforce, and infrastructure development projects statewide. These awards – 124 in total – have directly created or sustained 270 jobs in West Virginia.
To date, the Grant Centers have led 105 training events, resulting in the upskilling of more than 3,444 individuals through its biweekly Live Grant Assistance Session webinars, in-person comprehensive Grants 101 Workshops, and three cohorts of our two virtual micro-credential courses: Essentials of Grant Writing and Advanced Grant Writing.
“I am so proud of the collective impact of WVU and Marshall through the West Virginia Grant Resource Centers,” Vitullo said. “The team continues to advance economic innovation and support our communities in so many ways, as evidenced by the dollars secured and the efforts they support. The milestone of West Virginians trained will pay dividends for years to come as we increase the expertise and technical skill sets in our nonprofits, small businesses, and other organizations.”
“Marshall University is proud to celebrate the remarkable success of the Grant Resource Center and the transformative impact it is having across our state,” said Brad D. Smith, President of Marshall University. “This joint initiative exemplifies what is possible when institutions work together with a shared commitment to expanding opportunity and driving economic growth. Securing millions of dollars in competitive grants is an extraordinary achievement, and it reflects the dedication, expertise, and vision of the entire team.”
“This kind of community level work is foundational to the land-grant mission of West Virginia University,” WVU President Michael T. Benson said. “The milestone for the West Virginia Grant Resource Centers partnership shows how cooperation and collaboration can benefit the entire Mountain State.”
As a joint Universities United project between Marshall University and West Virginia University, the Grant Centers were developed to build grant writing and project development capacity across the state. Through one-on-one technical assistance, the Grant Centers offer cost-free pre-award project development support to clients, lending its own specialized expertise – and leveraging university resources – to assist in each step of the pre-award process, from identifying funding opportunities to crafting and assembling competitive project proposals.
