News

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates (PACF) announced support for nonprofit organizations and charitable projects throughout the region through its spring Community Action Grant program. The PACF awards grants from a variety of funds created by individuals, organizations, and area businesses to support critical community needs. PACF’s grant awards this spring total $275,879. The Foundation’s three affiliates awarded an additional $10,500 in grants, including $5,800 from the Doddridge County Community Foundation (DCCF) and $4,700 from the Ritchie County Community Foundation (RCCF).

“Our grantmaking capacity this cycle was greatly enhanced by support from a variety of donor advised funds who have generously recommended grants to address the critical needs presented through grant requests,” said Marian Clowes, Associate Director for Community Leadership. “We continue to focus on addressing the most pressing community needs, including food insecurity, homelessness, and mental health and substance use disorders.”

To be considered for a Community Action Grant, an applicant must be a private, nonprofit organization or a public institution.  Either the applicant or program to be funded must be located in the Foundation’s eleven-county geographic service area (Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio). 

The spring 2021 Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates grant recipients are:

• Belpre Performing Arts Boosters - $5,650 for band instrument replacement

• Boys and Girls Club of Washington County - $16,000 for gymnasium renovations

• Cairo Volunteer Fire Department - $7,500 for personal protective equipment for firefighters

• Calhoun County Livestock Program - $1,000 for facility upgrades

• Camden Clark Foundation - $23,000 to replace chemotherapy treatment chairs with new medical-grade chairs

• Children of Promise in Action - $5,000 for facility updates and to provide recreational services for Ritchie County youth

• Children’s Home Society - $15,500 for the Transitional Living Program to provide support services to youth who are experiencing homelessness

• Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley - $8,000 for operating support

• Colonial House - $800 to purchase an outdoor storage shed

• Consumer Credit Counseling Services - $5,000 to support a financial literacy program for individuals in active recovery from substance use disorders

• East Wood Volunteer Fire Department - $6,460 to replace outdated equipment

• Ely Chapman Education Foundation - $6,000 for STEAM activities during the Sensational Summer Camp

• Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department - $7,075 to purchase a mobile radio repeater and emergency pagers

• Little Kanawha Area Development Corporation - $2,000 to purchase equipment for a mobile business support project

• Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home - $10,000 for office and facility renovations

• Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center - $7,858 to replace and update seating and blood draw chairs in the laboratory department

• Nazareth Farm - $5,700 to support the costs of a new truck and supply barn

• Oil, Gas and Industrial Historical Association - $9,000 to refurbish windows for the Oil and Gas Museum

• Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired - $3,150 to provide hearing aids to low income individuals with hearing impairments

• Parkersburg Art Center - $9,000 to install fire suppression system

• Recovery Point - $15,000 to support upgrades and increase capacity at the Parkersburg facility

• Ritchie County Family Resource Network - $6,400 to establish a food pantry

•   Roane County Committee on Aging - $6,800 to assist with roof replacement for Amma Senior Center

• TEAM for West Virginia Children - $5,000 for the “Our Babies: Safe and Sound” to provide education about infant safe sleep and abusive head trauma prevention

• The Doddridge County Starting Points Center - $5,700 to expand the emergency food pantry

• The Education Alliance - $10,336 to provide training and resources for AmeriCorps mentors to integrate mental health best practices into mentoring program

• University of Charleston - $5,000 to produce a documentary on Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett

• Upper West Fork CAP - $2,325 for parking lot upgrade

• Voices for Children Foundation/CASA - $11,000 for operating support

• Washington County Career Center - $15,000 to purchase an Anatomage machine for instruction in medical courses

• Washington United Methodist Church - $1,400 to support the food pantry

• West Virginia Central Bee Keepers - $2,000 to support efforts to increase the bee population

• West Virginia Health Right - $6,500 to support the mobile dental unit’s services in Roane County

• West Virginia Symphony Orchestra – Parkersburg - $1,000 to support the upcoming “diverse and successful symphonies” series

• Williamstown Middle/High School - $7,000 to replace band equipment

• Wirt County Committee on Aging - $10,000 for kitchen remodeling and upgrades

• WV Extension Family Nutrition Program - $6,250 to provide produce markets at Wood County schools

• WVU Foundation- Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program - $5,250 to provide assessments and equipment to children in the Parkersburg area with vision impairments

Doddridge County Community Foundation Grants

•  Doddridge County Starting Points Center - $1,800 to expand items available in the emergency food pantry to include fresh produce, dairy, meat, and frozen foods and to purchase an upright freezer and a refrigerator.
• Nazareth Farm - $4,000 to support the construction of a new truck and supply barn as part of its overall facility improvement campaign.

Ritchie County Community Foundation Grants:

• Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department - $1,900 to purchase a mobile radio repeater and emergency pagers for firefighters.
• Ritchie County Family Resource Network - $1,600 to start a food pantry to meet food access needs in the county.
• Ritchie County High School - $1,200 from the O. Eugene and Mary Scott Smith Memorial Fund to support professional development for RCHS teacher and band instructor Justin Hodges.

Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation

• Pleasant Hill Elementary School - $900 to provide literacy materials for the school’s two preschool classrooms. The materials will help preschoolers develop early reading skills.

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates of Doddridge County, Ritchie County, and the Little Kanawha Area (PACF) is currently accepting applications for grants for the spring cycle of its Community Action Grants Program.  The Foundation’s application process is online; the application deadline is midnight on February 15. Organizations apply to the Foundation and/or any of the affiliates on the same online application form, the Foundation’s Community Action Grants Application.  To access the online application form, visit the Foundation’s website, www.pacfwv.com/Grants.

The PACF also announces that it has launched a new platform for online applications. To learn about the new application process and to hear updates on the Foundation’s grantmaking priorities, organizations are invited to attend one of two free webinars offered by the PACF in January:

• Wednesday, January 13, 2:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, January 19, 10:00 a.m.

To register, send an e-mail to marian.clowes@pacfwv.com. Registrants will be provided with a Zoom link for the webinar.

To be considered for a Community Action Grant, an applicant must be a private, nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a public institution.  Either the applicant or program to be funded must be located in the Foundation’s eleven-county geographic service area (Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio). Priority counties for grant support are: Wood, Wirt, Doddridge, Ritchie, Roane, Calhoun, and Gilmer.

The Foundation provides support for capital and equipment projects, program development, technical assistance, training, capacity building projects, and, under special circumstances, operating support.  Submitted applications are considered for support from a wide variety of grant funds available to support charitable projects throughout the region.

The Foundation’s grantmaking guidelines provide additional information on eligibility and priorities for all types of grants; visit the Foundation’s website at to access the grant guidelines and application forms. For more information, contact Marian Clowes at 304-428-4438.

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates (PACF) announced support for nonprofit organizations and charitable projects throughout the region through its fall Community Action Grant program. The PACF awards grants from a variety of funds created by individuals, organizations, and area businesses to support critical community needs. The PACF’s grant awards this fall total $183,272. The Foundation’s three affiliates awarded an additional $7,250 in grants, including $1,000 from the Doddridge County Community Foundation (DCCF), $3,000 from the Ritchie County Community Foundation (RCCF), and $3,250 from the Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation (LKACF). Grant awards will support facility renovations, equipment purchases, new program development, and the provision of services to individuals.

“Several grant awards in this cycle address food access, which continues to be a critical need in our region due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said PACF Associate Director for Community Leadership Marian Clowes. “These include grants for food pantries, backpack feeding programs, community and school gardening projects, and a new community kitchen in Calhoun County. Other grants provide funds for organizations to undertake needed facility renovations, develop new services, purchase equipment, and address important community educational and human service needs.”

To be considered for a Community Action Grant, an applicant must be a private, nonprofit organization or a public institution.  Either the applicant or program to be funded must be located in the Foundation’s eleven-county geographic service area (Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio). 

The fall 2020 Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates grant recipients are:

• American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley - $8,000 to purchase a new community emergency vehicle.
• Arnoldsburg Elementary Community Sports Complex - $9,000 to support the development of recreation fields for Calhoun County youth.
• Arnoldsburg Volunteer Fire Department - $8,700 for HVAC updates and firehouse renovations.
• Auburn Community Association - $2,000 from the PACF and $1,000 from RCCF to install vinyl siding on the Auburn Community Building.
• Blennerhassett Middle School - $6,990 to purchase a Glowforge system for STEM and entrepreneurship education.
• Cairo Crafty Quilters - $1,000 from PACF and $1,000 from RCCF for the creation of a Ritchie County quilt trail.
• Calhoun County Park - $7,591 from PACF and $2,700 from LKACF for the installation of a wheelchair lift in the park’s two-story community building.
• Catholic Charities of West Virginia - $6,000 from PACF and $1,000 from DCCF to support the operation of the Mobile Wellness Works Food Pantry at sites in Calhoun, Doddridge, Ritchie, Roane, and Wirt counties.
• Gabriel Project of West Virginia, Northern Programs Chapter - $5,000 to reestablish client services in Pleasants County and to expand services in Calhoun, Doddridge, Ritchie, and Wood counties.
• GFWC Parkersburg Woman’s Club - $6,085 to support the Brown Bag project, which provides nutritious food for the weekends for students at Jefferson and Emerson Elementary Schools.
• Gilmer County Elementary School - $1,775 from PACF and $550 from LKACF to purchase materials and equipment for the school’s Square Foot Gardening project.
• Glenville State College Foundation - $4,000 to support the Smart Classroom Renovation project, designed to add interactive technology in classrooms to improve student achievement.
• Jackson County Developmental Center, Inc. - $3,826 to add a kitchenette to the Wood County program site to facilitate independent living skill development programs.
• Mountaineer Food Bank - $10,000 to purchase and install interactive white board technology to improve virtual communications.
• Normantown Historical Community Center - $10,000 to replace the roof on the building that houses the community clothing closet.
• Parkersburg Area Coalition for the Homeless/House to Home - $5,950 to renovate the client bathroom and repair the facility’s sidewalk.
• Pennsboro Volunteer Fire Department - $5,000 from PACF and $1,000 from RCCF to upgrade and replace outdated fire suppression equipment.
• Roane County Commission/Roane County High School - $3,600 to renovate the high tunnel at Roane County High School for use in its agricultural education programs.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown - $2,500 to support the Jacob Johnson Family Lodging Fund, to defray the costs of stays at RMHC houses for families from the PACF service area.
• The Hope Recovery Manor - $4,665 to support training for clients on life and relationship building skills.
• The Salvation Army - $15,000 for kitchen and dining room renovations.
• Voices of the Streets/Essentially Yours - $1,500 to purchase kitchen supplies to provide to those transitioning to a home after experiencing homelessness.
• West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition - $15,000 to develop a community canning and manufacturing kitchen in Grantsville.
• Westbrook Health Services - $9,000 to renovate the community meeting room and public restrooms.
• Wirt County Missional Group - $6,600 to purchase a new freezer, a double-door cooler, and food for the food pantry program.
• Wood County 4-H Camp - $10,400 to support capital improvements at the Wood County 4-H Camp.
• Wood County Parks and Recreation Commission/Mountwood Park - $13,000 to replace roofs on cabins in the White Oak Village Section of the park, which houses a substance use disorder treatment facility.

In addition, through the support of the Tamara K. Brown Helping to Heal Fund and the Good Samaritan Clinic Endowment Fund, the PACF provided support to school nurses at the following schools to purchase equipment to help meet student health needs:

• Blennerhassett Middle School - $290 to purchase an otoscope.
• Parkesburg South High School - $500 to purchase a mobile trauma/first aid kit.
• Lubeck Elementary School - $300 to purchase supplies and personal protective equipment.