Williamsburg Health Foundation Awards Nearly $6.9 Million in 2025
WILLIAMSBURG, VA – December 9, 2025: The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) Board of Trustees has awarded a total of nearly $6.9 million in grants in 2025 to contribute to enhancing health throughout Greater Williamsburg. This week, awards from the final of three WHF grant cycles in 2025 resulted in over $2.3 million being granted at year-end among 21 organizations serving area individuals and families. These organizations support a healthier community by providing services that increase access to behavioral and medical health services, and/or promote healthy aging, healthy eating, active living, or two-generation family services, primarily for those living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Recipients include the HEADS UP initiative at Community of Faith Mission. HEADS UP offers case management services to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with community resources, including behavioral health, medical, prescription, nutritional support, and other essential social services. The Community of Faith Mission reports that the faith-based emergency shelter provided refuge from the winter cold and elements for 149 individuals experiencing homelessness during the 2024-2025 winter season.
Another newly funded initiative, Williamsburg House of Mercy’s (WHOM’s) wrap-around food and supportive health services program, provides food-related assistance and health services to Greater Williamsburg residents in need. “We are hearing from our local partners about the substantial increase in the number of people seeking help to secure food,” said Bill Pribble, Vice President of Programs. “This grant alleviates some of the costs associated with distributing and storing nutritious foods and improves access to medical and behavioral health services for WHOM’s guests.”
As described on the Foundation’s website, while WHF prioritizes requests for strategically aligned programmatic efforts, there are occasional opportunities to consider capital project requests which may be submitted only during the last funding cycle of the year. This opportunity is limited by the number and dollar amount of the prioritized programmatic applications received during the final grant cycle and the grant dollars available at year-end. This year, remaining resources enabled WHF to consider capital projects received, which were efforts designed to strengthen the organizations’ long-term capacity to serve Greater Williamsburg. “This cycle, remaining funds contributed toward six capital requests from local organizations whose work touches the lives of so many of our neighbors,” said Deanna Van Hersh, WHF’s President and CEO. These projects range from safety/accessibility upgrades and renovation of existing facilities to site procurement for a new housing community for income-restricted older adults.
Since January 2025, the Foundation has provided over $6.6 million in grants to numerous organizations. To learn more, please visit www.williamsburghealthfoundation.org.
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| Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) Grant Recipients – 2025 Grant Cycle 3 | ||
| and Small Grants Approved Between September 16, 2025 – December 8, 2025 | ||
| Organization Name | Project Title | Approved Amount |
| Grants for Community Capacity Building | ||
| Greater Williamsburg Community Health Alliance | Greater Williamsburg Community Health Alliance (GWCHA) | $50,000.00 |
| United Way of the Virginia Peninsula | Meeting the Moment: Community Assistance Network (CAN) | $20,000.00 |
| Grants for Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) | ||
| Alternatives, Inc. | We Make Healthy Choices! | $5,000.00 |
| The Arc of Greater Williamsburg | Fitness & Wellness Program | $37,500.00 |
| FISH | Meeting the Moment: Food Distribution | $20,000.00 |
| Grove Christian Outreach Center | Meeting the Moment: Food Distribution | $20,000.00 |
| The Salvation Army of Greater Williamsburg | Meeting the Moment: Food Distribution | $20,000.00 |
| THRIVE Peninsula | Meeting the Moment: Food Distribution | $5,000.00 |
| Virginia Legacy Soccer Club | Virginia Legacy WJCC Recreational Soccer Program | $40,000.00 |
| Virginia Peninsula Foodbank | Meeting the Moment: Food Distribution | $20,000.00 |
| Virginia Peninsula Foodbank | Mobile Food Pantry | $60,000.00 |
| Williamsburg Community Growers | Increase Our Impact | $46,000.00 |
| Williamsburg House of Mercy, Inc. | Meeting the Moment: Food Distribution | $20,000.00 |
| Williamsburg House of Mercy, Inc. | Wrap-Around Food and Supportive Health Services | $50,000.00 |
| Williamsburg-James City County Community Action Agency | Feed The Need Food Pantry | $11,250.00 |
| Grants to Support Two-Generation Family Services | ||
| Virginia Down Syndrome Association | Williamsburg Community Coordinator | $23,400.00 |
| Grants for Healthy Aging | ||
| Peninsula Agency on Aging | Nutritious Noontime Meals | $75,000.00 |
| Peninsula Agency on Aging | PAA RIDES | $130,000.00 |
| YMCA of the Virginia Peninsulas | Active Older Adults @ the R.F. Wilkinson Family YMCA | $7,500.00 |
| Grants for Behavioral Health Services | ||
| Center for Child & Family Services, Inc. | The Reboot Program | $133,000.00 |
| Colonial Behavioral Health | Greater Williamsburg Child Assessment Center (GWCAC) | $210,000.00 |
| Community of Faith Mission | HEADS UP – Case Management | $20,000.00 |
| The Doorways | Support the Behavioral Health Components of the Patient and Family Access Program | $25,000.00 |
| Postpartum Support Virginia, Inc. | Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies | $20,000.00 |
| Grants for Integrated Care | ||
| Colonial Behavioral Health | Integrated Care Facilitation – Component 4 | $20,000.00 |
| Grants for Capital Campaigns | ||
| The Arc of Greater Williamsburg | From Vision to Reality: Empowering Hope and Opportunities | $120,000.00 |
| Bay Aging | Forest Heights | $450,000.00 |
| Child Development Resources | Child Development Resources (CDR) Family Resource Center | $50,000.00 |
| Colonial Behavioral Health | CBH New Campus – Phase II | $600,000.00 |
| FISH | A New Home for FISH | $50,000.00 |
| Triangle Stepping Stones, Inc. | Improve and Enhance Accessibility for Substance Use Disorder Support | $77,960.00 |
The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is a private health foundation with the mission to collaborate, innovate, and invest to impact systems that improve the health and well-being of individuals living in Greater Williamsburg. The Foundation was established in September 1996 when the Williamsburg Community Hospital and Sentara developed an affiliation agreement and later merged. This agreement included a provision for a new, locally organized, and managed Foundation to benefit community health. Since inception, WHF has awarded over $119 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.
