Over the years, the Batten family has been a generous friend to the University of Virginia. You may remember, for instance, Frank Batten’s $100 million gift to the university, which created the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
Now, nonprofit organizations in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation‘s service area—the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson and Orange counties—stand to benefit, too. According to a press release, a recent gift from the Batten Family Fund will allow CACF to "increase grantmaking dollars to place a greater emphasis on larger, strategic grants."
CACF has two grant cycles each year, during which funds are awarded to local nonprofits. The Batten Family Fund gift increases available annual funds from $280,000 to $573,000. On March 1, the CACF Governing Board approved the new expanded program and awarded $250,100 in grants.
Recipients include:
- Habitat for Humanity, awarded $68,000 to complete funding for Habitat’s Nunley/Paton Street neighborhood
- Blue Ridge Health Center, awarded $7,500 for Health Depots
- Charlottesville City Schools, awarded $2,000 for the Reach Them to Teach Them Program
- Piedmont Housing Alliance, awarded $10,000 for the Regional Home Ownership Initiative
- Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless, awarded $15,000 in support for The Haven homeless shelter
