2024 CFNRV AR_FINAL_FB

EVOLVING TO MEET NONPROFIT NEEDS Our Grants Program

A day of fun at Beans & Rice in 2010.

S teve Gerus and Rosemary Blieszner established the first endowed fund at the CFNRV, the Gerus Blieszner Fund, to engage their entire family in giving back to their community by awarding grants to educational programs in public schools and at area nonprofits. In 1997, they awarded their first $500 grant to the Read With Me program at what was then Shawsville Elementary School. That same year, the the Floyd Free Clinic and the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley also received $500 grants from other endowed funds. Nearly 30 years later, the Gerus Blieszner Fund has supported more than 40 projects, and the Foundation has distributed more than $7 million in grants to nonprofits. The CFNRV awards about $400,000 in grants annually through both competitive and noncompetitive processes. Some donors choose to establish donor advised funds so they may recommend specific organizations to receive awards without requiring an application, while other donors establish designated endowments to provide an annual grant to one or more of their favorite nonprofits. The majority of CFNRV grants, however, are awarded through the Responsive Grant Program, which requires nonprofits and units of local government, such as a library or school, to complete a simple application. Donors take part in the program to learn about organizations or projects with which they may not be familiar, and they take comfort in knowing that each application has been thoroughly vetted by the CFNRV’s staff and volunteers.

While the underlying goal of the Responsive Grant Program has remained the same since 1997 – to support organizations serving the New River Valley in a wide variety of issue areas – the program has evolved to meet the needs of applicants. For example, the application process moved online in 2015 and gave organizations the opportunity to seek support for a specific program or to request general operating funds. In 2017, the process moved from two application cycles a year to one, allowing nonprofits to submit information once and access larger-scale grants. The most substantial shift came in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the CFNRV streamlined the application, eliminated programmatic funding, and made all its grant awards unrestricted, giving grantees the flexibility to put the money where it is needed most. While originally seen as a short-term change to support agencies through the pandemic, applicants, donors, and volunteers all expressed enthusiasm for the simplified process, and the Responsive Grant Program continues to award unrestricted funds only. The program captures the CFNRV’s core belief that nonprofits serving the NRV are led by professional staff and dedicated volunteers who know the needs of their community and the strategies to meet those needs. We are grateful for the work they do to enhance our region.

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THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NEW RIVER VALLEY

Photo courtesy of Beans & Rice.