CFNSV to award grants to community nonprofits

The Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (CFNSV) will distribute $61,500 in grants to area nonprofits from three Foundation funds. The CFNSV’s 2020 grant awards were announced today in a virtual “Grant Announcement Event.”

The CFNSV will be funding $14,000 in grants from the Cochran Family Youth Fund, which was created by Douglas E. Cochran to honor the memory of his parents, long time Winchester residents John Clayton Cochran, Sr. and Clarice S. Cochran who owned and operated the B & C Bakery on Indian Alley from 1928 until the 1950s. Organizations who will be receiving 2020 grants from the Cochran Family Fund include Arte Libre VA ($2,500); AbbaCare, Inc. ($3,000); Child Safe Center ($2,500); Phoenix Project ($3,000); and Girls on the Run of the Shenandoah Valley ($3,000.)

The CFNSV will also award $22,500 in grants from the Paul and Martha Rees Fund. The Paul and Martha Rees Fund was established in 2014 by BB&T Bank in the memory of Paul and Martha Rees to offer grants to charitable and nonprofit organizations for the benefit of the people of the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Since its inception in 2014, this fund has returned $60,000 in grants to the Valley. This year’s grants from the Paul and Martha Rees Fund were awarded to Dr. Terry Sinclair Health Clinic ($2,800); The House of Hope ($3,000); Faith in Action Agency ($1,500); Timber Ridge School ($3,000); The Dental Clinic of the Northern Shenandoah Valley ($2,000); Family Promise of Shenandoah County ($2,000); St. Luke Dental Clinic ($2,000); Cars Changing Lives ($1,200); Foundation for Rehabilitation Equipment and Endowment ($2,000); and Warren County ($3,000).

The CFNSV also awarded $25,000 in grants from a new Community Relief Fund formed specifically to respond to issues created by the pandemic. In the area of food security, this fund provided grants of $2,300 to both CCAP of Front Royal, Warren County, and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and a $2,000 grant was provided to the St. Lucy Food Pantry. The Community Relief Fund provided 4 grants to agencies dealing with housing, shelter, and rent relief needs. These awards were $1,500 grants to both Warren County Habitat for Humanity and Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity for home renovations, a $2,900 grant to the Winchester Rescue Mission, and a $3,000 grant to the Blue Ridge Housing Coalition. Finally, in the area of health, this Covid Relief Fund provided a $1,500 grant to Our Health, Inc. for Covid prevention on campus and a $3,000 grant to Blue Ridge Hospice.

The CFNSV recognized two foundations for providing funding for 3 additional grants. Thanks to the McNichols Foundation, the CFNSV was able to secure funding to provide a $2,500 grant to Samuels Public Library and a $3,000 grant to the Shenandoah Valley Latino Scholars Initiative. Additionally, the CFNSV was able to fund a $5,000 relief grant to Winchester Day Preschool thanks to the participation of the John and Janice Wyatt Foundation.

The Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (CFNSV) was established in 2001 to facilitate long-term, planned giving in our community. The CFNSV has grown to an endowment of over $7.4 million and has returned approximately $1.6 million to the community in grants and pass-through funds. Headquartered in Winchester, the CFNSV is made up of 119 agency and donor-advised funds that support a wide range of charitable interests in the city of Winchester and Clarke, Frederick, and Warren Counties.

For more information contact Larry Weiss, Executive Director, 540-869-6776 or director@cfnsv.org