Suffolk Foundation: Community Impact Grants

The Suffolk Foundation's Community Impact Grants Program supports nonprofit organizations in Suffolk and Western Tidewater, Virginia, focusing on local projects in health, education, arts, and more. Grants prioritize organizations with strong local presence and leadership, funding direct project costs to enhance community impact. Eligible applicants include tax-exempt public charities serving residents in these areas. Exclusions apply for non-tax-exempt entities, individuals, and projects outside the service area, ensuring funds directly benefit the community.

The Suffolk Foundation’s Community Impact Grants Program supports qualifying nonprofit, charitable organizations that work to benefit the communities of Suffolk and Western Tidewater in Virginia. This includes the City of Suffolk, the City of Franklin, Southampton County, Isle of Wight County, and all municipalities therein. We fund a broad range of local projects, including (but not limited to) health, education, arts and culture, historical programs, human needs and services, environmental and animal welfare, and youth and senior programs. As a community-based foundation, we focus on local organizations making a tangible difference for people in our community.
Grant Categories
Grants may be awarded in a wide range of categories, including:

• Human NeedsArtistic, Historical, and Cultural ProgramsEducationEnvironmental and/or Animal WelfareHealth

We aim to build capacity in Suffolk and Western Tidewater; thus, we give priority to organizations with a strong, local presence in our service area, and leadership from Suffolk and Western Tidewater. We may sometimes also partner with larger organizations, in which case we prefer to fund direct project costs (as opposed to administrative or operating costs) for programs located in and serving our community.

Eligibility

Nonprofit, public charities that are tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) are eligible to apply for a grant. The proposed project or program must be located in, and serve residents of, Suffolk and/or Western Tidewater (Suffolk, Franklin, Southampton County, Isle of Wight County, and all municipalities therein).

Ineligibility

Community Impact Grants are not generally available for:Non-tax-exempt organizationsIndividualsDebt reductionResearchEvent sponsorshipsReligious purposes (we do, however, support faith-based organizations for projects that contain no religious programming and serve the broader community–i.e., open to anyone, regardless of religion)Annual fund drivesNational or international purposesGovernment agenciesProjects, programs, and facilities located outside of our service areaOrganizations that would re-grant Suffolk Foundation funding to other organizationsGrants that would result in a direct, private benefit for a for-profit business, board member of the grantee, or another non-charitable entity, other than the intended charitable beneficiary