BLACKSBURG – This fall, the Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV) is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
The nonprofit works with individuals, families, and businesses to match their charitable interests to community needs by creating endowed funds that give grants to nonprofits and scholarships to students pursuing a college degree.
In 1994, a small group of committed volunteers started the foundation with a few dollars in the bank and a vision to make a charitable impact on the New River Valley. With the vision and generosity of the founding board, the CFNRV awarded a total of $3,000 in grants in 1997 and later gave out its first scholarship of $500 in 2002. In the years since it began, the CFNRV’s supporters and staff have nurtured and expanded the founders’ vision.
Today, the CFNRV manages $18 million in nearly 230 unique funds and has awarded more than $8.8 million in grants and scholarships. At the same time, the CFNRV has also formed partnerships with hundreds of organizations across the New River Valley to address the region’s most pressing issues, including early childhood education and food access.
“We are so proud of what we have accomplished in 30 years at the Community Foundation,” said Pat Hyer, the CFNRV’s board president. “Each grantee, student, and partner that we support and work with plays a role in making the New River Valley the vibrant place that it is. We strive to continually understand our community’s needs and priorities so that we can continue to reach even more people in our region.”
In addition to grant-making, the foundation supports the NRV’s nonprofits in a variety of ways, including offering capacity building workshops in the areas of grant writing, board management, marketing, fundraising, and much more. The CFNRV also hosts the region’s annual GiveLocalNRV Giving Day, which harnesses the generosity of the New River Valley community by raising funds and awareness for 100+ nonprofits serving the region during the month of June. Since 2014, the event has raised more than $4.3 million for local nonprofits.
“We are incredibly grateful to CFNRV because the consistent financial support over many years has allowed us to stay focused on providing quality services to families and children in the New River Valley,” said Andi Golusky, the executive director of NRV CARES, a longtime CFNRV grantee and Giving Day participant. “The strong leadership of the CFNRV has helped to promote our small agency to many areas of the community we would not otherwise have the ability to reach.”
To grow the CFNRV’s impact over the next 30 years, the CFNRV’s Board of Directors established The Higher Impact Fund, an endowment created to provide annual, flexible dollars to support all CFNRV priorities. The Secular Society, a private NRV philanthropy, will give $100,000 to the Higher Impact Fund once the CFNRV has raised $200,000 from the broader community. To learn more about the match or to donate, please visit cfnrv.org/30th.
Community Foundation of the New River Valley
