By Staff Reports, The Progress-Index
PETERSBURG — The Cameron Foundation has released $1.9 million in new grant funding this year to nonprofit organizations serving the Tri-Cities. The funding decisions were made at the foundation’s June meeting, and were the result of a review process that took place earlier this year.
J. Todd Graham, foundation president, said that the funding goes to organizations that support Cameron’s mission.
“As we give more attention to measuring the outcomes of our work, we are considering quality of life indicators across several categories: healthy residents, a vital economy, educational excellence, vibrant communities, cultural richness, and dynamic nonprofits,” Graham said. “We believe that targeting our resources to achieve these six outcomes will improve the quality of life in this region.”
One of the largest awards is a $275,000 grant for Virginia’s Gateway Region, which is part of an effort to expand economic development in the Tri-Cities. Currently, the foundation’s support for Virginia’s Gateway Region exceeds $2.3 million.
Cameron Foundation Board Chair Larry C. Tucker said that Virginia’s Gateway Region has played an important role in regional economic development. He said that the organization reports that last year alone, 1,505 new jobs were established and that the region saw $190 million in capital investment.
“It’s core programs – which range from attracting and keeping business in the area, to development of small business, to global outreach – all contribute to a healthier economy in our part of Virginia,“ he said.
Petersburg City Public Schools also benefitted from the award.
Communities In Schools of Virginia received a $100,000 award, which provides support for the renewal of a site coordinator at Peabody Middle School, that was first funded by The Cameron Foundation last year through a $50,000 grant.
With additional funding this time, Communities In Schools will add a second coordinator, to be placed in another Petersburg school.
Communities In Schools is known across the country for its efforts to decrease dropout rates, increase graduation rates and to improve proficiency in math and reading.
A $347,000 grant to Central Virginia Health Services allowed patients at the Appomattox Area Health and Wellness Center to have access to primary care that includes both dental and behavioral health services. The health center serves Petersburg and the surrounding localities and cares for patients that are typically below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. To date, The Cameron Foundation’s grant support to Central Virginia Health Services totals nearly $4.8 million.
The full list of June awards includes:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond – $60,000
- Central Virginia Health Services – $347,000
- Chesterfield CASA, Inc. – $20,000
- ChildSavers of Richmond/Memorial Child Guidance Clinic – $40,000
- Communities In Schools of Virginia – $100,000
- Dinwiddie County Division of Planning & Community Development – $30,000
- Downtown Churches United, Inc. – $56,000
- Ellen Shaw de Paredes Breast Cancer Foundation – $21,839
- Equal Justice America – $8,000
- Family Lifeline – $50,000
- Great Aspirations Scholarship Programs, Inc. (GRASP) – $10,000
- Hopewell Food Pantry – $35,000
- Hopewell-Prince George Healthy Families – $39,485
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Virginia – $100,000
- Meadowview Biological Research Station – $35,000
- National Alliance on Mental Illness of Central Virginia (NAMI-CVA) – $19,395
- Petersburg Area Regional Tourism Corporation (PART) – $25,000
- Petersburg Health Department – $192,000
- Petersburg Public Library – $70,000
- Project: HOMES – $25,000
- Smart Beginnings Hopewell-Prince George-Crater – $50,000
- Southside Health Education Foundation – $51,000
- St. Joseph’s Villa – $67,000
- Sussex County Department of Social Services – $40,000
- Sussex County Public Schools – $50,000
- Tabb Street Presbyterian Church – $19,290
- Virginia’s Gateway Region – $275,000
- YMCA of Greater Richmond – $65,000