March 23, 2009
Cameron Foundation awards nearly $1.2 million in new grants to local nonprofits
The Cameron Foundation’s most recent grant awards commit $1,190,379 in new support to 18 nonprofits serving the Tri-Cities area. The funding was approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors in its February meeting.
“We are sensitive to the impact of the economy on our local nonprofits,” noted Board Chair Ann C. Taylor. She underscored the Foundation’s continued focus on improving both the health and quality of life for those living in the communities served by the Foundation. “We are committed to working with our nonprofit partners to the degree that our own grant making capacity allows,” she stated. As a health legacy foundation, The Cameron Foundation’s giving is restricted to the area that historically had been served by Southside Regional Medical Center, including the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell, as well as the counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George, Sussex, and the portion of Chesterfield County lying south of U.S. Route 10.
Also in its February meeting, the board welcomed new member Pamela Martin Comstock, a life-long citizen of the Tri-Cities area, as well as a new at-large community representative on the grants committee, Linda Leighman Coleman. Other board members include Larry C. Tucker, vice chair; Betty W. Thweatt, secretary; James L. Thacker, Jr., treasurer; Cleveland A. Wright, immediate past chair; Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller; John H. Clements; and Kevin A. Hill.
More of the Foundation’s grant making this cycle responds to the help that local groups are seeking to sustain their existing services to clients. “Many nonprofits are looking for ways to maintain, rather than expand, their operations,” Cleveland Wright, grants committee chair, explained. “Overall, the grants for this cycle reflect that priority,” he added.
The February grantees include:
Better Business Bureau Foundation – $10,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond – $80,000
Friends of the Army Women’s Museum Association – $39,000
Gamaliel Foundation – $97,705
Hopewell Emergency Crew, Inc. – $60,000
Legal Information Network for Cancer – $42,862
Pathways – $50,000
Petersburg Health Department – $462,138
The Petersburg Foundation – $110,100
Petersburg Garden Club – $13,275
Petersburg Public Schools – Up to $80,000
Prevent Blindness Mid-Atlantic – $29,132
Rawls Museum Arts – $21,546
Rebuilding Together Petersburg – $35,000
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, Southside, Inc. – $15,000
Riverside Criminal Justice Agency – $18,500
The Shepherd’s Center of Chesterfield – $7,633
Sussex County Department of Social Services – $34,532
Swift Creek Mill Theatre – $63,956
“In addition to grant making, the Foundation continues to invest in capacity-building for the local nonprofit sector,” Handy L. Lindsey, Jr., president, pointed out. “Now, more than ever, nonprofits are called upon to utilize a diverse assortment of resources to serve the community and fulfill their missions. We remain attuned to these issues, and to facilitating such work.”
The Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations three times each year, in February, June, and October. More information about the Foundation, its grant opportunities, and its grant recipients can be found on its website, camfound.org, or via telephone at 804-732-8900.