What is the Fund for the NRV?
The CFNRV has the privilege of seeing needs across the region and the variety of ways that organizations address those needs. We often see opportunities for collaboration, knowing that applicants could learn from one another and serve more people if they worked together toward a common goal.
The Fund for the NRV at the Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV) supports community collaboration to develop lasting solutions to our region’s most pressing needs.
The Fund allows the CFNRV to incentivize collaboration and invest in regional projects that will be of lasting benefit to NRV residents. It combines the CFNRV’s capacity building and convening functions with our grant-making to maximize the impact of our charitable dollars.
Since launching the Fund in late 2014, the CFNRV has raised nearly $700,000. Projects affiliated with the Fund’s four initiatives have brought an additional $10 million in public and private investment to the region.
Our Approach
The Fund for the NRV provides collaborative planning funds and implementation funds for each initiative.
The collaborative planning process includes CFNRV staff facilitation, support for leadership teams spearheading each initiative, community-wide workshops and the development of an action plan in each initiative area. In the implementation phase, CFNRV dollars are leveraged with other sources to implement items in the action plan and build endowment support.
Our Initiatives
The Fund for the NRV will enable the CFNRV to make larger scale, more impactful investments through the following initiatives:
Thrive: Supporting Nutrition & Health
To thrive is to push beyond mere survival and into a life where a person can be happy, healthy, and productive. This initiative aims to enhance access to food and recreation, expand the availability of local foods, and encourage a culture of health in the NRV.
First Steps: Investing in Early Childhood Education & Development
Our children’s first steps toward a healthy, happy future happen well before they learn to walk. This initiative aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the early childhood education and development landscape in the NRV and to support the physical, emotional, and social well-being of NRV children and families.
Aging in Community: Encouraging Lifespan Friendly Communities
This initiative draws together residents, service providers, government officials and developers to encourage lifespan friendly homes, neighborhoods and services. Part of this initiative’s work includes an emphasis on “Aging in Place”, which allows seniors to maintain a high quality of life. Plus, helping individuals stay in their homes and neighborhoods makes good financial sense for families and communities.
NLI: Nonprofit Leadership Institute
The staff and volunteers at over 200 nonprofit organizations in the NRV commit their time, expertise, and money to making our community a better place, often with limited budgets and increasing demands. This initiative builds on the CFNRV’s strong reputation for nonprofit management training to offer a comprehensive curriculum and forums for information sharing that build the skills and capacity of nonprofit leaders.
Your Support
Support the Fund for the NRV with a gift or contact the CFNRV team to learn more about these initiatives and how you can help.