About Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation
The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s recent grantmaking is marked by large general-support awards to West Virginia institutions across education, health, arts, and community services. A 2025 grant of $828,533 to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia Inc. in Lewisburg was the largest listed award, and other major gifts went to the University of Charleston, CAMC Foundation Inc., and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Those grants sit alongside support for schools, libraries, colleges, and local nonprofits, showing a broad community role rather than a single-program strategy. The foundation also appears repeatedly as a recipient in its own recent grants list, suggesting internal support is part of its funding activity.
Programmatically, the foundation backs scholarships, discretionary grants, and competitive grantmaking, with priority tracks for education, health, civic engagement, community building, basic needs, arts and culture, and community economic development. It also names built capital as a funding priority, including infrastructure and physical improvements. Recent grantees in the local network include West Virginia Health Right Inc., The Library Foundation of Kanawha County Inc., and State Fair of West Virginia Inc., all funded with general support.
What Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Funds
Education is a clear priority in the foundation’s grantmaking. In 2025, it gave $670,293 to the University of Charleston for general support, and its active programs include a scholarship program plus discretionary tracks that fund education and postsecondary support.
Health is another recurring area. The foundation awarded $616,794 to CAMC Foundation Inc. in 2025 for general support, and its program descriptions also include preventative, behavioral, oral health, and healthy-food access among its stated focus areas.
Arts and culture appear in both the active programs and the grants list. A 2025 general-support grant of $233,980 went to The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia, aligning with the foundation’s responsive grants track for arts and culture.
Community economic development and built capital also show up in the program structure, with a dedicated priority area for community and economic development and a funding priority for infrastructure and physical improvements.
