Community Support Agency Grant Program

Community Support Agency Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Newport News
Last Updated: October 27, 2025

Summary

The Community Support Agency Grant Program provides monetary grants to not-for-profit organizations that enhance the quality of life for Newport News residents. These grants aim to fund accessible services, develop new programs, and support capital improvements. Eligible agencies must be 501(c)(3) organizations that offer direct services without duplicating existing programs. The initiative encourages community support and aims to secure alternative funding sources, allowing city funds to be redirected to future programs.

Overview

We recognize that not-for-profit organizations fill an important role in improving the quality of life for our community. To encourage not-for-profit organizations to provide services to residents of Newport News, we have established a system to award monetary grants to qualified not-for-profit organizations. These grants are intended to: Provide funding to not-for-profit agencies serving the city of Newport News whose services are easily accessible to Newport News residents and whose service costs can be documented.Provide incentive funding to develop new services or capital improvements to meet specific needs of Newport News residents and to complement services provided by city departments. These grants are incentives designed to foster new services or expand existing services in the city. A goal of the process is to encourage community/local/citizen support for programs so that city funds can be replaced with funds from other sources. This will allow the city funds to be directed toward new programs in the future. Capital Projects Agencies may request funding from the city of Newport News for capital improvements, equipment purchases and extraordinary or special events. The following definitions apply to requests for funding in this category: Capital Improvement: any new or replacement project designed to add to or replace buildings, major building components (ex. HVAC systems) or other infrastructure. Repair or renovation projects qualifying for capitalization rather than expensing also qualify as capital improvements. Extraordinary Events: an expense so unusual in type or amount as to be accorded special treatment. Generally, these expenses are unplanned and result from destruction of property due to catastrophic events such as extreme weather or fire. Special Events: an expense associated with an event that occurs without regularity. Examples are festivals, fairs, shows, participation in regional, state or national competitions, etc., which do not occur annually.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. A Community Support Agency is an agency that provides services for the health, safety and education of the citizens of Newport News that are directed toward the prevention or treatment of disease, protection from the elements or physical or mental abuse, nutrition, leisure activity or literacy programs.These programs shall not duplicate programs offered by the city, state or federal governments, the United Way, Salvation Army and/or other national or regional organizations such as the Red Cross, Cancer Society, Heart Association, etc. Community Support Agency programs may supplement programs already in existence when the agency can prove that existing programs cannot serve all citizens of the city of Newport News that have applied for assistance from them.An agency is eligible to apply for a Community Support Grant from the city of Newport News if it meets the following criteria:The agency must be a not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization meeting the legal requirements of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the city of Newport News.The agency must provide significant, measurable direct services to residents of Newport News.The agency cannot receive grants from other city resources for the same program for which Community Support funding is requested.Contractual services which a grant agency provides the city must be disclosed in grant applications. Payments for such services do not automatically exclude an agency from grant eligibility. However, grant funds will not be provided to support the same services or costs which are provided under contract to the city.The agency must have fulfilled all reporting, auditing, and payment obligations for any previous loans or grants from the city.Programs, activities, employment opportunities, etc., of the agency which may be funded totally or partially by the city of Newport News must comply with local, state and national legal requirements related to nondiscrimination.Funds which may be provided by the city of Newport News cannot be used to support programming or activities which advocate a particular political or religious viewpoint.The agency shall not be controlled in whole or in part by any church or sectarian society.