2016 Community Foundation Grants Top $14.7 Million

One hallmark of a community foundation is donors who hail from all walks of life. In 2016 these donors -- ranging from a retired telephone operator to company CEOs -- made it possible for the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to put more than $14.7 million in grants and scholarships into action. Beneficiaries included about 150 nonprofits, primarily in southeastern Virginia, and the thousands of people they serve. Also, 400 students are in college right now with help from scholarships created by people who care about the future. Since 1950 our total grant and scholarship distributions top $250 million.
Going beyond the numbers, here are three examples of how Hampton Roads Community Foundation grants help area people lead better lives:

• Walk In It added five more Virginia schools in Chesapeake and Suffolk to its program. There are

  	Walk In It participants in Suffolk

  now 500 girls in 18 area elementary, middle and high schools involved in the after-school Ladies of Distinction program. Mentors and activities help students develop healthy lifestyles, positive self esteem and effective study habits. 
• Building Trades Academy of the Tidewater Builders Association is able to prepare 15 more low-income students this year for careers. They will learn to be facility maintenance workers for area apartments and commercial buildings. The academy teaches the basics of carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and heating and cooling. Hands-on internships with area companies are part of the program.
• Mercy Medical Angels now has the funds on hand to buy gas cards or bus or train tickets to help sick children from lower-income families travel for specialized medical care not available in the  Hampton Roads region. Among the beneficiaries is a recent Virginia Beach student whose rare gastrointestinal illness requires treatment by a Winston-Salem, N.C. specialist. Our grant helps cover transportation costs, which lessens the financial burden for this patient and her family.

Special Interest Grants Reflect Donors' Passions

We have the most fascinating donors at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. And, each has an idea of what makes a great community.

At no time is that more evident than in December when we award our annual Special Interest Grants. These come from donors' field-of-interest funds and reflect their concerns and passions. 

Since many of these funds were established through bequests after the donors passed away, we have not always had the opportunity to ask what motivated their generosity. But, we are grateful that these donors entrusted their community foundation to do good in their names forever.

Click here to see all the Special Interest grants awarded in December 2016.

They focus on areas such as:

• Mental health research -- chosen by brothers Benjamin and Charles Brown for their funds started in 1985 and 1983. This year grants from their funds will be funding research at Eastern Virginia Medical School related to pediatric neuropsychology.
• Helping abused people -- a focus area of the Sue Cook Winfrey Memorial Fund started by an estate gift from her husband Guy in 1997.  Grants from this fund are helping five area Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs create a handbook to help parents and guardians involved in child abuse and neglect cases. 
• Supporting shelter animals -- an interest of the Alfred L. Nicholson Fund started in 1988 after the death of Nicholson. Grants will be improving the Chesapeake Humane Society and Virginia Beach SPCA.  

Doing Good: An Important Number to Know

Here is a number we hope you never have to call: (757) 251-0144

But, if you or a friend or family member are survivors of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking or domestic violence in southeastern Virginia, you will find immediate help by calling. Until October 7, 2016 there were multiple hotlines with different numbers. Each was staffed by shelters in area cities. Each was attached to a specific shelter but had no easy way to know what other organizations might have openings for someone needing to move to safety right then.

A $45,000 grant from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation's Sue Cook Winfrey Memorial Fund provided the money for four domestic violence shelters to plan and implement a single, networked crisis line. Working on the project were representatives from The Genieve Shelter, Help and Emergency Response (H.E.R. Shelter), Samaritan House and YWCA of South Hampton Roads. The shelters work in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.

The launch the region’s first Coordinated Crisis Response was timed for October -- Domestic Violence Awareness month. The October 7 ribbon cutting at the YWCA's downtown Norfolk headquarters drew advocates and government leaders from throughout Virginia and Hampton Roads, including Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.

Trained staff and volunteers are available 24/7 to get information, help and safe shelter for the callers.The YWCA is housing the hotline and is training. Estimated call volume per year is 20,000 -- based on calls the shelters fielded last year.

 This Virginian-Pilot article highlights the importance of this new coordinated effort in its October 8 article. . 

Guy Winfrey

The late Guy Winfrey's 1997 bequest started the Sue Cook Winfrey Fund at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. His field-of-interest fund is for spouses and children experiencing domestic violence and has provided more than $2 million in grants to area nonprofits over the past 19 years. Guy, a car salesman with a good heart, led a hard-knock childhood and dropped out of school at age 14 to go to work to help support his younger siblings. We think he would be pleased to see how his generosity is helping others get the help they need to lead better lives.


 

Helping Others: $264,650 in Grants to 6 Nonprofits

The late William Goldback and Perry and Bunny Morgan have a lot in common.

Perry and Bunny Morgan

These forward-thinking Hampton Roads citizens cared deeply about people in the region of Virginia where they lived and worked for so many years. Thanks to their charitable bequests they left behind permanent field-of-interest funds that underpin important grants through the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. 
 

Perry Morgan of Virginia Beach, who had been publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, died in 1999 --- seven years after his wife Bunny. The charitable focus he requested includes essential human services as well as arts and education.

William Goldback

Bill Goldback of Norfolk, a former Navy supply officer and owner of Atlantic Electric, left a legacy that funds medical services, education or research as well as the performing arts. 

Thanks to generous community foundation donors who have entrusted us with unrestricted funds, six area nonprofits received$264,650 in community grants. Grants focused on health and human service and included:

·         Building Trades Academy - $10,950 to train and place 15 low-income area students in facility management jobs.

·         Chesapeake Care - $81,500 over three years for a program to help more than 200 low-income Chesapeake patients manage their diabetes.

·         Community Housing Partners - $67,200 to provide financial education and other services to 828 low-income area households whose residents face eviction.

·         Healing Place of Hampton Roads - $50,000 in seed funding for a new regional program to help area homeless adults overcome drug or alcohol addiction.

·         Hope U Inc. - $40,000 over three years for a program to help area youth who have aged out of the foster-care system obtain job skills and become self-sufficient.

·         Mercy Medical Angels - $15,000 to buy bus or train tickets or gas cards to help low-income sick children and their families travel for specialized medical care not available in Hampton Roads.

Learn more about other grantopportunities as well as how you can turn your passion into reality.

Scholarships Help 400 Students Go to College This Year

Giving Back: Forever Serving Others Through Generosity

Lynn and Ethel Mason

Restaurant owners Lin and Ethel Mason loved serving their signature Crab Norfolk dish to guests at Mason’s Seafood Restaurant in Norfolk, Virginia. Although Lin and Ethel passed away years ago, thanks to a charitable bequest today they are helping expand the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and create a river academy for area students through Elizabeth River Project.

Since 1950, donors from all walks of life have been the Hampton Roads Community Foundation's partners in philanthropy – entrusting their community foundation to do good works in their name.

The Masons will forever be helping people in their home region because of their charitable bequest they left through their community foundation.

You, too, can leave behind a legacy of helping others by adding a charitable gift to your will or other estate plans. 

Learn how by visiting leaveabequest.org or calling (757) 622-7951 to spend a few minutes on the phone with us. Order a free bequest guide by emailing kstine@hamptonroadscf.org.

Breakfast Welcomes 32 Hampton Roads Nonprofit Leaders



Executives lead a variety of Hampton Roads organizations.

The Hampton Roads Community Foundation was happy to be part of the August 16, 2016 New Nonprofit CEO Welcome Breakfast held by 757 Nonprofit Collaborative in Norfolk. The Collaborative is a partnership of Tidewater Community College's Academy for Nonprofit Excellence and VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads. The Obici Healthcare Foundation helped sponsor the breakfast held at Dominion Enterprises headquarters.

Among the guests were 32 nonprofit executives, all of whom recently assumed significant roles in the Hampton Roads nonprofit sector. They are pictured above listed from left to right:

• Jenny Fertig, Healthy Chesapeake
• Hal Smith, Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula
• Edith White, HRCAP Inc.
• Sheri Klym, March of Dimes Hampton Roads
• Ed Collum, Opportunities for Change
• Betsy Roberts, Tidewater Youth Services
• Dr. Renee Felts, Paul D. Camp Community College Foundation
• Jim Spore, Reinvent Hampton Roads
• Kristen Carter, Children’s Harbor
• Lavora Moore, So-Etiquette Society
• Mary Kate Andris, YWCA of South Hampton Roads
• John Raniowski, Hero Kids Foundation
• Robin Gauthier, Samaritan House
• Tami Park Farinholt, Newport News Green Foundation
• Lisa Baehre, Sandler Center Foundation
• Chet Hart, Western Tidewater Free Clinic
• Major James Alison, The Salvation Army
• Melynda Ciccotti, Champions for Children: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
• Richard Gillcrese, Barrett Transitional Home
• Mary Campana, Equi-Kids Therapeutic Riding Program
• Kodi Fleming, Communities in Schools
• Jennifer Priest, Norfolk Sister City Association
• Jane Glasgow, Early Care and Education Initiative of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation

Not pictured above: Ruth Jones Nichols, FoodBank of Southeaster Virginia and the Eastern Shore; Angela Kellam, The Planning Council, and Linda McAbee, Hampton Roads Hounds for Heroes

The 757 Nonprofit Partnership unites the unique purposes and missions of two leading organizations serving the nonprofit community:

• The Academy for Nonprofit Excellence which offers professional development programs focused on the latest trends and best practices for nonprofits
• VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads which connects businesses with opportunities to create a positive impact on our community, equips nonprofits with the resources they need to achieve their mission, and mobilizes volunteers to create change.