About Community Foundation
A $95 million Health Equity Fund sits near the center of The Community Foundation Inc’s current grantmaking, alongside another large initiative focused on homelessness in Washington, DC. That mix shows how the foundation combines place-based philanthropy with issue-specific funds that support community-based nonprofits, advocacy, and systems change. The foundation also manages scholarship programs, including Learn24 OST Scholarship Program for out-of-school time participation and the LEARN Foundation Scholarship, which points to a funding strategy that reaches both service delivery and individual educational access.
Recent grants show a wide span of institutional support. Medical College of Virginia Foundation received $3,613,401 in 2024, while Anna Julia Cooper School received $1,722,963 in 2025. Other large grants went to Better Housing Coalition, Projecthomes, Ask Childhood Cancer Foundation, and YMCA of Greater Richmond, suggesting recurring attention to housing, health, and youth-serving organizations. The Community Foundation Inc also appears in higher education and civic funding through Virginia Athletics Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation. Across these awards, the foundation’s role is less about a single program area than about coordinating capital for a regional network of nonprofits and public-serving institutions.
What Community Foundation Funds
Health equity is one of the clearest strands in the foundation’s giving. It supported Ask Childhood Cancer Foundation with $1,099,250 in 2024 and $835,044 in 2025, and gave $1,081,917 to YMCA of Greater Richmond in 2024 for health and wellness work.
Housing and homelessness is another recurring area. Better Housing Coalition received $1,628,233 in 2024 and $1,470,029 in 2025 for economic prosperity, while Projecthomes received $1,135,000 in 2025 for health and wellness.
Education also appears through direct support to institutions serving students. Anna Julia Cooper School received $1,722,963 in 2025, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond received $944,336 in 2023 and $902,193 in 2024. The foundation’s scholarship offerings, including Learn24 OST Scholarship Program, reinforce that student support is part of its funding mix.
How Community Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster around a median of $25,000, with the middle half running from $10,500 at the 25th percentile to $55,988 at the 75th percentile. The recent-grants list also includes repeated awards to the same recipients across multiple years, including Better Housing Coalition, City of Hope, Charity Water, United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, Ask Childhood Cancer Foundation, and YMCA of Greater Richmond. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time-only support. The foundation is a public charity and a mixed community foundation, and it makes program-related investments. It also uses both open opportunities and scheduled component-fund rounds, with some scholarships accepting unsolicited applications.
