From the looks of this month’s Phil-In, we have officially entered busy season for Virginia’s nonprofit community. We were inundated with news releases, heads up emails and event listings to our calendar, but here are just a few news blurbs to whet your appetite.
Corps Values
A total of 22 Virginia organizations have received grants from AmeriCorps totaling $6.7 million to support a range of pressing community needs across the commonwealth. In addition to United Way chapters in the metro areas of Richmond, Lynchburg and Northern Virginia, recipients include Aspire! After School Learning (Arlington), Blue Ridge Medical Center (Nelson County/Appomattox), Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (Danville/Pittsylvania/Martinsville) and Teach for America D.C. and Virginia (Arlington/Alexandria). Here is a complete list of all 2024-2025 grant recipients. Congrats do-gooders!
Grants Supporting Rest and Joy
Collective 365 and The Mental Health Emergency Fund have launched the Rest & Joy Fund, a new source of grants to make mental health, rest and joy more accessible for Black and Brown adults in the D.C. metro area. Grant recipients can seek funding for mental health services, sources of rest, including paid leave from employment, and elements that foster joy, such as trips or downpayments for homes or car purchases. Applications, which require a $10 fee, can be found here.
What Do You Think of Us Now? Gallery5 Emerges from Renovations
One of the crown jewels of the Downtown Arts District and Jackson Ward, Gallery5 has just completed renovations to its stage and other facilities and is gearing up for its 20th anniversary of programs, including its free Arts for All events and the addition of recurring series such as Silent Night Revival and the Listening Room, Open Mic Nights, Community Care Nights in conversation with First Friday exhibitions and much more. The renovations were made possible by a grant from CultureWorks and contributions by Scott Smith and other community members. Here’s Gallery5’s calendar of events, including September’s show, “Take Me To Your Garden: An Exhibition of Art by the Middle East Diasporas.”
Fantastic Forensics
Trinity Episcopal School has received a $5,000 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation to support the school’s Arson and Genetics Project, which exposes students to innovative techniques and tools relevant to scientific applications and discovery. The grant-writing process was spearheaded by a third-year chemistry teacher and former forensic scientist who wanted to see students get more hands-on opportunities in the field. The grant will go toward the purchase of a Polymerase Chain Reaction Thermal Cycler, micropipettes and a Gas Chromatography.
Rescue Mission
Central Union Mission, a D.C. nonprofit that has been serving the city’s homeless population for 140 years, has crossed the river to serve Arlington County where homelessness rose 14% from 2023 to 2024. Mission: NOVA provides food, clothing and wraparound services, including job training and placement, health clinics and ESL classes – “all the things that help individuals and families live healthy lives,” says Joseph Mettiamano, president and CEO of Central Union Mission.
In Full Swing
The Uncommon Grit Foundation, created by former Navy SEAL Darren McBurnett to honor fallen SEAL members and support military veterans, first responders and their families, is hosting its fifth annual Bone Frog Open golf tournament on Oct. 13-14 at Hermitage Country Club. Registration info is here.
Photo credit: Lab No. 5, Virginia AmeriCorps program staff at recent Serve Virginia Convening.
