Danville Regional Foundation Announces Two Grants
June 18, 2010 - The Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) announces two community grants today. The West Piedmont Better Housing Coalition, Inc. (WPBHC) was awarded a $6,000 grant from DRF to help it build capacity by indentifying best practices and assessing the needs of the Dan River Region to improve the quality of life for the area's homeless. The Older Dominion Partnership (ODP) received a $5,000 grant to partner with others to collect data about Virginia and the Dan River Region's aging population (defined as ages 44-64 and 65+) and how it compares to state statistics. The last time a similar study took place was in 1979. The new data is timely and will be instrumental in helping many areas, as well as organizations, plan to address the increasing needs of citizens age 65 and older, which is expected to double over the next 20 years.
"Many of our grants are sizeable," said Wendi Goods Everson, DRF Program Officer. "These are two smaller grants that will introduce momentum to a larger effort. Both efforts are true examples of regional collaboration."
The Harvest Foundation of Martinsville, Va., invested $6,000 along with other WPBHC members who invested $2,000.The funding will allow WPBHC to hire the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, a statewide-nonprofit organization focused on education initiatives, which will identify best practices for capacity building and make recommendations for long-term solutions for the Dan River Region.
"Our goal is to increase the standard of living of the Dan River Region's residents and reduce the number of people who have incomes at a 200 percent poverty rate," said Everson.
The Baby Boomers make up a significant portion of the Region's population. Private and Corporate foundations as well as state funding opportunities exist to help communities assess and prepare for the unique needs that will result from aging adults. The total budget for the project is $333,900.
"We want to be proactive and help the Region prepare for the future the best we can," said Everson. "Our contribution is small, but the research is valuable."
DRF's grant to ODP is contingent on it securing total funding committed by others. Research outcomes from this initiative will be public information and published on the Foundation's website.
About the Danville Regional Foundation
The Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) focuses on transforming the regional economy and creating a prosperous culture to benefit all Dan River citizens. It does this by making long-term investments to improve education, economic vitality, community wellness, financial stability and civic capacity for citizens throughout the City of Danville, Virginia; Pittsylvania County, Virginia; and Caswell County, North Carolina. Since its establishment in 2005, DRF has invested more than $40 million through over 40 grants. DRF is committed to fostering collaboration, establishing partnerships and working across borders and with many types or organizations to rethink tomorrow and create solutions, positioning the Dan River Region as a place of opportunities. DRF encourages and supports new approaches, and believes that initiative and courage to view things from fresh and different perspectives enables everyone working "Together to Build a Brighter Future."
About the Older Dominion Partnership
The Older Dominion Partnership (ODP) is a non-profit initiative by Virginia businesses, government, foundations, and non-profits to help Virginia ride the age wave -- the doubling of the Commonwealth's 65+ year old population from 900,000 today to over 1.8 million by 2030. The ODP was created in 2007 by a cross section of community leaders including business leaders, health system executives, executive directors of non-profit organizations serving Virginia's aging population, leaders from Virginia's philanthropic community, esteemed academicians from Virginia's universities, and state government officials.
About West Piedmont Better Housing Coalition
The West Piedmont Better Housing Coalition, Inc. (WPBHC) was organized to develop the West Piedmont Planning District's Continuum of Care planning and implementation of services to address homelessness in the area. The organization evolved from a sub-committee of the West Piedmont Planning District Commission to the creation of a Steering Committee, made up of representatives from a wide variety of public and private agencies and organizations, to address the needs of homeless individuals. The WPBHC serves the cities of Danville and Martinsville, and the counties of Franklin, Henry, Patrick, and Pittsylvania.
About the Harvest Foundation
The Harvest Foundation researches and responsibly invests in programs and initiatives to address local challenges in health, education, and community vitality. The Harvest Foundation is dedicated to making Martinsville / Henry County the residence of choice by enhancing opportunities and quality of life for all its citizens. The Harvest Foundation was established in 2002 from the sale of the Memorial Hospital of Martinsville & Henry County. For more information, please go to http://www.theharvestfoundation.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Martha Frickert
Executive Director, Older Dominion Partnership
T: 804-744-7004
Ronnie Pannell
Continuum of Care Manager, West Piedmont Better Housing Coalition
T: 434-793-1222, Ext. 22 C: 434-251-3398
Christina Motley
Director Marketing & Public Relations, Danville Regional Foundation
T: 434.799.2176 or C: 434-770-3523