Best Virginia Grants for Nonprofits

If you are located in the Virginia area, there is a wide variety of funding sources for nonprofits currently being offered. Right now there are more than 200+ individual open grants available, totaling $18,494,105 in funding. For organizations interested in pursuing grant funding in Virginia, the median grant size is $12,500. However, those who may need more funding do have vast opportunities, as there are currently 53 grant opportunities that are over $25,000. In addition, we have 29 grants that support general operating expenses, while more than 200+ grants fund programs and projects. More specifically, over 3,000+ grants focus on education and more than 600+ grant opportunities are focused on food access & hunger.

Nearly half of the more than 200+ grants available in Virginia come from private foundations and have a wide variety of fields in which they support. There are also plenty of opportunities on the federal, state, and local government levels, as well as a few grants being offered by corporate sponsors. Here’s a breakdown of where you'll find the most grants available:

• Private Foundations: An impressive 81 grants come from private foundations that focus on the environment, education, and basic human needs, including grants from the William and Helen Thomas Charitable Trust, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, and The Abelard Foundation Inc.
• Federal, State & Local Government: With 61 grant opportunities available at the state and local level, nonprofits that focus on environmental issues like land/habitat conservation, farms and farming, agriculture, and water resource management have opportunities from state and local government agencies like the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. There are also a few grants available on the federal level from the USDA, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the United States Department of Agriculture, and these also focus on rural development, agriculture, and water management and sanitation issues.
• Corporate Funders: There are 24 grants available from corporations, and many corporations like Food Lion, Wawa, Publix Super Markets, and the American Water Works offer some funding opportunities to support fields like education, food access and hunger, and a variety of environmental issues in Virginia.

You should do your research on not only the amount of funding being offered by these grantors but also their focus. Keep in mind that government grants often have larger awards than those on the corporate level, but they also have equally large compliance requirements.

Based on the data we have now, the best time to apply for grants in Virginia is in Q1, which is when about 32.8% of deadlines for grants land. This period offers nonprofits the most opportunities to secure funding. Q3 has come in second with a smaller amount of grant deadlines, with 25.5%. Comparatively, Q4 is the grant period with the least activity, coming in at only 20.4%. To maximize your odds of winning grant funding, be aware of the peak fundraising periods.

The nonprofit funding landscape throughout Virginia has shown significant activity across the past several years. Based on the funding reports sent to the IRS, overall grant funding reached more than $6.05 billion in 2021 and then rose to more than $6.39 billion in 2022. The largest area for funding was single-organization support. Likewise, the top areas that received the most funding were Fairfax County, Arlington County, and Alexandria City.