November 12, 2021
Cameron Foundation awards $863,021 in October grant cycle
The Cameron Foundation has approved new funding totaling $863,021 for nonprofits serving the Tri-Cities area. The awards, which are directed to 25 organizations, support activities across all six of the Foundation’s funding interest areas, including health, human services, education, community and economic development, arts and culture, as well as historic preservation and conservation.
“The contributions that philanthropy and the nonprofit sector make across so many areas underscores the integral role that these partners play in our quality of life here in the Tri-Cities,” commented Cameron Board Chair J. Tolleison Morriss, VI. The Foundation’s catchment area spans across seven localities, including Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg, southern Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Sussex.
Cameron’s Grants Committee Chair Jeff Geisz noted that several of the grants are directed to new initiatives this time. “In addition to the Foundation’s continued funding for many organizations, this cycle also reflects Cameron’s willingness to support new and innovative endeavors,” he said.
The new grant recipients also represent a cross-section of fields. Chesterfield County Public Library’s $47,088 grant will support the purchase and installation of a book locker, makerspace and multimedia studio at Ettrick-Matoaca branch library. The enhancements will make the Ettrick-Matoaca library the first in the region to have a book locker, and the first in the county’s library system to have a multimedia studio.
Another new endeavor, Disney Musicals in Schools, is a prestigious international afterschool enrichment program that will engage students in two Title I elementary schools in southern Chesterfield to produce their own 30-minute Disney musicals. The Cameron award of $40,000 to Virginia Repertory Theatre satisfies the required match for the programs.
In Hopewell, a $50,000 grant will assist the city’s efforts to bring in expertise to research and develop a feasibility study and plan for the adaptive reuse of City Point House-Shiloh Lodge. The building was known as Shiloh Lodge No. 33, an African-American Masonic Lodge, for 130 years before the City of Hopewell acquired it in an effort to rehabilitate the imperiled, highly visible, and historically important structure. Shiloh Lodge counted many distinguished African-American leaders among its members, including former City Mayor and Civil Rights leader Reverend Curtis W. Harris, who also was a leader of it.
“All three of these grants illustrate the wide range of projects supported by Cameron to foster vibrant local communities,” explained Cameron President J. Todd Graham. “The Cameron Foundation has an important role in furthering these types of efforts.”
The full list of October’s responsive grant awards includes:
American Red Cross – $25,000
Big Brothers & Big Sisters Services Inc. – $10,000
Boy Scouts of America – $45,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond – $46,980
Chesterfield County Public Library – $47,088
Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Alliance for Social Ministry – $18,225
City of Hopewell – Department of Development – $50,000
City of Refuge Hopewell Inc. – $25,000
Colonial Heights Food Pantry Inc. – $42,120
Crater Community Hospice Inc. – $40,500
Downtown Churches United Inc. – $29,991
Family Lifeline – $28,350
Friends of the Army Women’s Museum Association – $14,420
Gateway Homes Inc. – $50,000
GReat Aspirations Scholarship Program Inc. – $20,000
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Virginia – $110,000
MBL (Metropolitan Business League) Foundation Inc. – $15,000
Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers Inc. – $15,000
Petersburg Library Foundation Inc. – $37,615
Pretty Purposed – $18,600
Reach Out for Life – $25,000
Serenity – $45,000
Southside Virginia Emergency Crew, Inc. – $53,782
Virginia Dental Association Foundation – $10,350
Virginia Repertory Theatre – $40,000