Best Frederick County Grants for Nonprofits in Virginia

Reforestation of Timberlands Program

Trees are good for you and good for Virginia. In addition to their monetary value, trees provide useful wood, jobs and homes for wildlife. Trees hold the soil, yield fresh air, and are simply beautiful. If you have land (cutover land or worn out fields) that just aren’t producing for you, an investment in pine trees can yield many benefits.

The Reforestation of Timberlands (RT) Program, managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry, provides cost-share assistance to landowners for pine reforestation, and is funded by the forest industry in Virginia (Virginia Forest Products Tax) with matching funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s General Fund.

The program has been helping Virginia landowners grow pines for more than 50 years. It can cost between $100 to $250 per acre to put in a crop of pines. The RT program reimburses landowners for a portion of the costs associated with getting pines started right. Your DOF forester can help you identify and apply for the forest management practices that are best suited for your property.

VA 250 Grants

The VA250 Commission offers grant programs to support local commemorative events, programs, and activities. Local VA250 committees whose local governing body has passed a resolution of support are encouraged to apply. Funding for VA250 Grants is provided by the VA250 Commission. Projects should be focused on content on the American Revolution.

Applicants may apply for up to $10,000, and a 1:1 match is required. Grants will be managed as subawards through the University of Virginia.

The Commission prefers that the local committees choose one project per grant cycle to support.

Virginia Department of Fire Programs

Since 1969, Virginia has been at the forefront of firefighter training, starting with the Fire Services Training section within the State Department of Education.

Later becoming part of the Division of Fire Services Training under the State Fire Commission and eventually the Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP).

VDFP’s commitment to public safety and excellence drives everything we do. We strive to enhance the safety and well-being of Virginia's residents through comprehensive education, training and support for the fire and emergency services community. Guided by our core values of excellence, integrity, service, innovation, collaboration, and respect, we strive to create a safer Virginia for all.

Mini-Grant

The Mini-Grant provides financial assistance to support fire departments by alleviating financial strain, ensuring they can continue their vital work without economic hindrance.

The Virginia Fire Services Board awards individual mini-grants based on need.

These grants are restricted to activities, projects and programs that positively impact and/or further the fire service within the Commonwealth.

Established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1997 and administered by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund (PTF) provides grants for acquisitions, easements, rights of way, and other methods of protecting open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, water quality, and more.A portion of the Preservation Trust Fund is dedicated to providing income-based cost-share assistance for landowners conveying an easement to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. These grants are intended to offset landowner expenses associated with conveying an easement.  

Student Support and Access Grant

The Student Support and Access Grant is designed to provide equitable access across all forms of work‑based learning — internships, micro‑internships, project‑based experiences, practicums, and other applied opportunities; with a particular emphasis on experiences connected to all agency and organization types (i.e. public, private, nonprofit, government, etc.). This grant is committed to reducing financial and structural barriers while advancing institutional and statewide goals to ensure every undergraduate student completes an internship or work‑based learning experience before graduation.This grant is designed to prioritize and support undergraduate students who demonstrate strong potential as part of Virginia’s emerging talent pipeline but may face documented barriers to participation or completion of work‑based learning experiences.Barriers to accessing these opportunities may include: academic factors (i.e. grade point average, course-scheduling conflicts, program-specific or pre-requisite requirements, credit load limitations), employment or caregiving responsibilities, limited access to transportation, geographic isolation, limited access to internet for remote opportunities, or other circumstances that may impact persistence or employment readiness.Eligibility Period: The grant period is for two years. 

Virginia Department of Fire Programs

Since 1969, Virginia has been at the forefront of firefighter training, starting with the Fire Services Training section within the State Department of Education. Later becoming part of the Division of Fire Services Training under the State Fire Commission and eventually the Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP).

VDFP is headquartered in Glen Allen, VA and has seven geographical boundaries with a training division chief and State Fire Marshal’s Office staff. It is part of ten agencies under the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security. VDFP administers an annual budget of $61 million and has over 90+ full–time staff, 17 part time staff and over 400 adjunct instructors who provide support and deliver our training programs through site-specific mobile training, at any of the regional training facilities or at locality training centers.

Virginia Dry Hydrant Grant

The Virginia Dry Fire Hydrant Grant program funds the installation and repair of dry hydrants to support firefighting operations in the commonwealth.  

Jointly managed by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF), it provides 100% funding for new installations and repairs.

Virginia Department of Education

The Virginia Department of Education is the administrative agency for the commonwealth’s public schools. VDOE works in partnership with Virginia’s 132 school divisions to support and improve teaching and learning, set high expectations for all students, and promote student safety, wellbeing, and health.

Mission: The mission of the Virginia Department of Education is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed in life.

School Security Equipment Grants Program

The Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) will issue equipment notes (repaid from the Literary Fund) for the purpose of providing grant payments to eligible school divisions. These grants are to be used exclusively for purchasing school security equipment, which includes building modifications and fixtures such as security vestibules, for the school site and school buses as per the 2019 amendment to the Public School Security Equipment Grant Act of 2013, including any related equipment installation costs.

Local Match Requirement

For a school division to receive a grant, a local match of 25 percent of the grant amount is required. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is authorized to reduce the local match for school divisions with a composite index of local ability-to-pay less than 0.2000, including any such school division participating in a regional vocational center, special education center, alternative education center, or academic year Governor's School. The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind is exempt from the match requirement.

Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) partners with state, federal, local and nonprofit housing and community and economic development initiatives. DHCD programs strive to maintain the vibrancy of communities throughout the Commonwealth and include providing universal broadband access, investing in economic development initiatives, promulgating the statewide building and fire regulations, preserving the affordability and efficiency of Virginia’s homes and buildings, addressing homelessness, reducing eviction rates across the state and fostering innovative solutions to create affordable housing. DHCD invests over $350 million annually in addition to $2 billion in federal recovery programs as a partner to Virginia communities to create safe, affordable and prosperous communities to live, work and do business in Virginia.

Virginia Enterprise Zone – Real Property Investment Grant

The Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) program is a partnership between state and local government that encourages job creation and private investment. VEZ accomplishes this by designating Enterprise Zones throughout the state and providing two grant-based incentives, the Job Creation Grant (JCG) and the Real Property Investment Grant (RPIG), to qualified investors and job creators within those zones, while the locality provides local incentives.

Highlights

The RPIG is available to investors that are undertaking rehabilitation, expansion, or new construction projects within the boundaries of an Enterprise Zone. The building or facility must be:

• Commercial: Including office and retail
• Industrial
• Mixed-use: At least 30% of usable floor space is devoted to commercial, office, or industrial use

Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) partners with state, federal, local and nonprofit housing and community and economic development initiatives. DHCD programs strive to maintain the vibrancy of communities throughout the Commonwealth and include providing universal broadband access, investing in economic development initiatives, promulgating the statewide building and fire regulations, preserving the affordability and efficiency of Virginia’s homes and buildings, addressing homelessness, reducing eviction rates across the state and fostering innovative solutions to create affordable housing. DHCD invests over $350 million annually in addition to $2 billion in federal recovery programs as a partner to Virginia communities to create safe, affordable and prosperous communities to live, work and do business in Virginia.

Industrial Revitalization Fund 

The Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) leverages local and private resources to achieve market-driven redevelopment of vacant and deteriorated industrial and commercial properties. The program is targeted toward vacant structures whose poor condition creates physical and economic blight to the surrounding area in which the structure is located. Eligible properties include those formerly used for manufacturing, warehousing, mining, transportation and power production, as well as large-scale white elephant structures, such as department stores, theaters, hotels and shopping centers. Structures whose proposed end use will be solely residential are not eligible. 

The intent of the IRF program is to provide gap financing for projects once all other sources of funding have been exhausted. IRF awards require at least a 1 to 1 match of IRF dollars.