WV First Foundation gives $10.4M to 38 grant recipients; here are the details

The Foundation Board approved funding nearly $10.4 million for 38 organizations statewide. The grants will fund a wide range of projects, including prevention programs, treatment services and recovery supports that address the ongoing challenges posed by the opioid epidemic.

The awardees include community organizations, health care providers and grassroots initiatives from across the state.

“The opioid crisis continues to be a profound challenge for our state, and these funds represent a crucial step in addressing the epidemic with both urgency and care,� Jonathan Board, WVFF executive director, said in a news release.

Funding breakdowns

The top-funded projects were awarded to the following groups in five of six regions statewide: 

• $720,000: Expansion of the North Star Child Advocacy Center, Region 3
• $658,800: Expansion of the Southern WV Fellowship Home, Inc., Region 6
• $625,664: Berkeley County Diversion and Interdiction Project, Region 2
• $475,174: Prestera crisis intervention team at Prestera Center for Mental Health Services Inc., Region 5
• $463,633: Crisis intervention team project with the Wheeling Police Department, Region 1

Region 1 only had one recipient, the Wheeling Police CIT. The other regions had roughly equal numbers awards disbursed, with 6-9 awards each.

Here are the funding amounts broken down per region:

• Region 1, $463,633: Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties
• Region 2, $1,769,00: Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, Berkeley, Jefferson, Pendleton and Morgan counties
• Region 3, $1,580,187: Wood, Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt, Calhoun, Roane and Jackson counties
• Region 4, $2,345,657: Monongalia, Braxton, Lewis, Harrison, Marion, Preston, Taylor, Tucker, Barbour, Randolph, Gilmer, Doddridge and Upshur counties
• Region 5, $2,038,750: Cabell, Clay, Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, Mason, Mingo and Wayne counties
• Region 6, $2,182,036: Fayette, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Nicholas, Webster, Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Mercer, Wyoming and McDowell counties

There are four target areas that the WVFF focuses on when choosing grant recipients. They are:

• Diversion and interdiction programs
• Youth prevention and workforce development
• Child advocacy centers and PPW neonatal abstinence syndrome programs
• Transitional and recovery housing expansion

Three of the four target areas earned 10 or 11 awards each, with the transitional and recovery housing expansion trailing with seven awards.

WVFF noted that while the Foundation distributes 72.5% of the state's opioid settlement funds, 3% also goes to state government and 24.5% goes to local governments.

More awards to come

According to WVFF's Chief Marketing Officer Danin Cather, funding was provided after the Foundation Board and Statewide Expert Panel evaluated multiple criteria to determine funding allocations. According to the WVFF website, part of this process meant a proposed project was passed through a scoring methodology divided into five key criteria:

• Evidence-based strategies
• Relationship to foundation’s strategic vision
• Implementation and sustainability
• Transparency and fairness
• Impact and measurability

Earlier this month, the organization announced a supplemental round for applicants who did not get funded in its first disbursement of the IOG. In this round, they will be able to amend application deficiencies and reapply for the remaining $8.8 million of the initially proposed $19.2 million.

According to press releases from WVFF, applicants have already been contacted and will receive direct guidance from WVFF staff on submitting a complete and eligible application. Those eligible for the Supplemental Round must have submitted their initial application by the Oct. 5 deadline.

Cather said the Supplemental Round will mirror the review process outlined in the initial grant process and that notification of awards will take place on or before March 31.