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The Williamsburg Health Foundation supports the work of health and human services.
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Nonprofits provide community services and enhance the lives of the citizens they serve.
While the pandemic took a toll on businesses, two organizations, River Counties Community Foundation (Northern Neck) and Williamsburg Health Foundation ensured the needs of their communities—and beyond—were met.
Lincoln Boykin, regional affiliates officer for the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, which oversees operations for River Counties Community Foundation, said once the organization learned of the upcoming statewide shutdowns last March, they acted.
“River Counties Community Foundation mobilized a regional disaster response fund, the River Counties COVID-19 Response Fund. We reallocated a percentage of our unrestricted funds to support community needs and, in partnership with a private foundation, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and with the support of our local donors in the community, we were able to raise approximately $1 million to address the emergency needs of our local nonprofit partners and service providers,” he said.
RCCF’s partnership with the duPont Fund allowed them to support nonprofits outside of Lancaster, Northumberland and Middlesex counties, which included five-figure grants to several free clinics. Additional funds supported 35 other organizations like domestic abuse shelters, elder-care organizations and local school systems.
Williamsburg Health Foundation’s initial COVID-19 response was to let grantees to use grant money already in their bank accounts for their most urgent needs. “We call it ‘unrestricting’ money,” said Carol L. Sale, RN, MSN, President and CEO of Williamsburg Health Foundation. “It meant there was no added paperwork for them. The Foundation unrestricted $2.6 million in 2020.
Our message was, ‘Do what you need to do.’
“We didn’t add any new grants right away. To be good stewards of Williamsburg-area funds, we needed to see where the federal, state and locality money would fall so we could attempt to address gaps.”
The Foundation then helped the Williamsburg community coordinate work among agencies. “We helped facilitate the weekly and then monthly calls, and we created a map which changed frequently with up-to-date information on resources where people could get their basic needs met, since some agencies had to close.”
At the end of 2020, the Foundation added $1 million in grant funding to prevent rental evictions of pandemic-affected residents in the Historic Triangle.
“There is a profound connection between one’s housing and one’s health,” noted Sale. “Keeping individuals and families who usually can pay their rent from falling into a cycle of homelessness and poverty is critical for both the immediate and long-term health of our community and the people who live here.”
For additional information about the River Counties Community Foundation, go to RiverCountiesCF.org. | Learn more about the Williamsburg Health Foundation at WilliamsburgHealthFoundation.org.