The West Virginia First Foundation approved $10.2 million to fund grants aimed at alleviating the effects of drug addiction across the state.
Foundation representatives, in a followup email, said the applicants are still being notified and that details on individual organizations receiving funding will be made public in the coming weeks after after all required paperwork has been signed and awardees have formally accepted.
This was a first round of funding for the newly-created foundation, which has emphasized that it wants progress as soon as possible toward relief from the effects of drug addiction across West Virginia while also being careful with how the money is used.
Initial priorities for the foundation are youth prevention and workforce development, child advocacy centers and neonatal abstinence programs, diversion programs and interdiction plus expansion of certified transitional and recovery housing.
Dozens of applications for funding were received and reviewed.
“We had a wonderful turnout for each target area,” said the foundation’s executive director, Jonathan Board, at the organization’s annual meeting.
The foundation also announced a supplemental round of grant applications to reach its original goal of $19.2 million in funding. The foundation is offering applicants who did not get funded in this first disbursement another the opportunity to address application deficiencies and reapply for the remaining $8.8 million.
These applicants will receive notice before the end of the year and work with foundation staff directly on how to meet necessary criteria. All grant-seekers from the initial round whose submissions were not funded are eligible to participate. Applicants must have submitted their initial applications by the original deadline of Oct. 5, 2024.
Board members said the supplemental round demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of grant applications while ensuring the integrity of the funds through rigorous safeguards.
“Both for those that were successful and for those that maybe just missed the mark, we want to interact with them and inform them of those challenges and maybe even support them as they come back into the process,” Board said during the meeting.
The West Virginia First Foundation is a nonprofit board with millions of dollars in opioid settlement money available to put toward relief for state residents.
West Virginia has hundreds of millions of dollars available for abatement efforts following a number of lawsuits against distributors, wholesalers and pharmacies. The money is still coming in.
With the initial $10.4 million in grant funding approved at the meeting, the announcement of the $8.8 million supplemental round and the direct funding of $20 million allocated for a multi-county project through ACCORN (Accelerated Collaborative Community Outreach and Recovery Network), the West Virginia First Foundation is responsible for $40 million in total funding commitments made over the past week.
“This wraps up an incredibly exciting week following the ACCORN announcement, reflecting the hard work and dedication of the WVFF Board and staff to make meaningful change and support our communities in addressing the opioid crisis,” said Matt Harvey, chairman of the board.