NEWS - Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation

December 1, 2025 By Elaine Bobo

United by Purpose. Empowered by Community.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation is celebrating an incredible milestone-30 years of shared success. For three decades, people across our region have come together to strengthen our communities, creating opportunities that will last for generations. Thank you for being part of this journey. Your generosity, trust and belief in our mission make all of it possible. Please enjoy the stories and pictures of our 30th annual report. These are the stories that remind us why we do this work and what 30 years of shared success truly means.

Please contact our office at 304-264-0353 for a copy of our 30th Annual Report to the Community or enjoy it below.

November 26, 2025 By Elaine Bobo

Do These Things for Your Scholarship Application

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation provides dozens of scholarships in Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties.

Our 2025-26 scholarship application is available here and will and close on February 27, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Please follow us on Facebook for scholarship updates.

Start preparing now:

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Start researching and applying to schools that will be a good fit for your academic/career interests, learning environment needs, and financial circumstances. Parents, guidance counselors, teachers or other adults you respect can be excellent sources of advice.
Ask someone (not a friend or relative) who can attest to your academic ability, school/community involvement, and character to serve as your reference. If they agree, ask them for their email address as you will need it in or to complete your application.
Prepare a list of your academic accomplishments and extracurricular involvement.
Start a list of ten things that make you uniquely you.
Familiarize yourself with our scholarship funds to find out which ones may apply to you :

EWVCF Scholarship Funds – residents of Berkeley, Jefferson, or Morgan Counties
Hampshire Funds – residents of Hampshire County
Hardy Funds – residents of Hardy County

You can also download a spreadsheet list of all our scholarships and their unique criteria here: EWVCF 2026 Scholarships by County

2025-2026 Timeline:

February 27– Applications are Due. No Exceptions. The system will not accept new applications after 5:00 P.M.
March/April – Our committees will review applications and conduct interviews for certain scholarships.
May – We will notify applicants only if they’ve been selected to receive a scholarship.
June 15 – Recipients must submit a completed scholarship acceptance form before we can process their scholarship for payment.
July – Scholarship awards are mailed to schools (made payable to the school to benefit the recipient).

For answers to common questions about our scholarship program, download Scholarship_FAQs

Questions may also be directed to Karin Hammann Dunn: [email protected] or 304-671-8167.

For information about non-traditional scholarships, click here: Scholarships with Separate Applications

November 10, 2025 By Elaine Bobo

Community Foundations Make More Possible

When you give through EWVCF, you join a powerful collective of donors who are making positive impacts right here at home. You can make more good possible, and we welcome the opportunity to work with you in meeting your philanthropic goal.

Since our founding in 1995, donors have established over 320 endowed funds at the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF). Created to serve Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, and Hardy counties, these funds address a myriad of needs in the community. With over $60 million in total assets under management, EWVCF is one of the largest grantmakers in the Eastern Panhandle. Donors wishing to establish a fund have several options and each fund agreement is created to address the specific desires of the donor. Funds support a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and charitable causes, as well as scholarship opportunities for students.

Unrestricted Funds

When you establish an Unrestricted Fund, your gift can address a broad range of local needs — including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. We evaluate all aspects of community well-being: arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, neighborhood revitalization, and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift enables your community foundation’s program experts to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow. Unrestricted funds can be established with a gift of as little as $5,000 and can be named in honor or in memory of a loved one.

Agency Endowed Funds

Nonprofit organizations can establish an Agency Endowment at the community foundation. It’s a simple and efficient way to build an endowment — and help create sustainability — for your nonprofit organization. The community foundation’s experienced staff can also help your organization develop a campaign to build your endowment. The minimum to endow an agency fund is $10,000, but nonprofit organizations can seed an agency fund with a $1,000 initial gift and have five years to grow the fund to the $10,000 endowed level.

Designated Funds

Establishing a Designated Fund allows you to support the good work of a specific nonprofit organization — a senior center, museum, or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization. Because it’s given through your Community Foundation, your gift provides the organization you select with funding and investment management services through the power of endowment. Designated funds, like agency endowed funds, have a $10,000 minimum with the same seed fund option.

Field of Interest Funds

By establishing a Field of Interest Fund, you can target your gift to address needs in an important and specific area of community life: Arts. AIDS. Aging. At-risk youth. Education. Historic Preservation. Conservation. You identify your personal interest area when making your gift; our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area you select. Your gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area — even as they change over time. A field of interest fund can be endowed with a $5,000 gift to the community foundation and like all of the funds we offer may be named to remember a loved one who has passed or to recognize someone for an outstanding accomplishment.

Donor-Advised Funds

A Donor-Advised Fund allows you to make a gift to the Community Foundation and remain actively involved in suggesting uses for your gift. You can work with the Community Foundation staff to suggest ongoing uses for the fund — targeting the issues you care about most. Grant awards are issued to charities in the name of the fund (or anonymously if you prefer). It’s a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving. The minimum endowed level for donor-advised funds is $10,000.

Scholarship Funds

In creating a scholarship, you invest in your community’s future and show students you care. Your community foundation provides the expertise to help you meet your personal goals and awards scholarships to deserving students. Your gift can help students — from preschool to postgraduate — achieve their lifetime dreams. Because of the complexity in administering a scholarship fund, the minimum for one to endow a fund of this type is $20,000.

If you would like to speak with someone about establishing a fund at the Community Foundation, please call 304.264.0353 or 304-822-7200, or email [email protected] and we will be happy to help. The process is simple, it doesn’t take very long, and there is no cost to create a fund.

September 26, 2025 By Elaine Bobo

Frank C. Fischer Veterans Fund Grant Application Now Closed

THIS GRANT APPLICATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Now through October 31st, EWVCF is accepting applications for grants from the Frank C. Fischer Veterans Fund. Organizations with programs serving Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, and/or Morgan Counties are eligible to apply. These grants will go up to $2,000 each.

The grant application, along with all of our Grant Cycle applications, can be found here: https://goapply2.akoyago.com/ewvcf/

Once you create your profile and log in, you will see a list of our current grant opportunities. Then, hit “View” next to the application name and you will be taken to a page where you can read the grant guidelines. From there, click “Apply” and begin filling out your application!

Eligible Organizations: The Community Foundation administers grants to organizations and programs providing services to Veterans in Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties in West Virginia.

All applicants must meet one of the following eligibility requirements:

An already existing nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization in good standing with the IRS,
An existing government/quasi-governmental agency, or public school applying for a project that is not funded by tax revenue,
A religious organization requesting funding for non-sectarian activities, or
A civic group that is not a 501(c)(3) organization requesting funding for a charitable community.

Application Period: September 29 – October 31. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Grant Notification: Grants will be awarded, and checks will be presented, by mid-November.

Trust-Based Philanthropy Reporting Requirements: In an effort to streamline the grants process for nonprofit organizations, the Community Foundation has adopted trust-based philanthropy and will award and pay these grants upfront. A final report, including a summary of grant expenses, must be provided to the Community Foundation by the date included on your award letter.

September 24, 2025 By Elaine Bobo

2025 Youth and Education Application NOW CLOSED

APPLICATION WINDOW IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR CHECKING IN!

Now through October 24^th, EWVCF is accepting Youth and Education grant applications for programs serving Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties!

The grant application, along with all of our Grant Cycle applications, can be found here: https://goapply2.akoyago.com/ewvcf/

If you are a new public school teacher applying, please register as an individual. All others, please register as an organization.

Once you create your profile and log in, you will see a list of our current grant opportunities. Once you hit “View” next to the application name, you will be taken to a page where you can read the grant guidelines. From there, you can click “Apply” and begin filling out your application!

Youth Grants — to support programs that assist sick, needy, dependent, neglected, and disadvantaged children, improve the quality of life for children in the community, and/or provide educational, athletic, academic, social, civic, or community-based activities that involve or support children.

Education Grants — to support educational opportunities including but not limited to: preparatory skills, tutoring programs, innovative programs that strengthen educational development, nutrition programs, small capital needs within the classroom, department, or school, after-school, and summer programs.

Eligible Organizations: The Community Foundation administers grants to organizations providing direct benefits to Morgan, Berkeley, and/or Jefferson counties in West Virginia.