2026 GRANTMAKING GUIDELINES

Grant Priorities

As the Foundation’s funds are finite and the good work of nonprofit organizations and others is limitless, we have established the funding priorities outlined above. Priority consideration is given to proposals which:

• Align with the Foundation’s vision, mission, overarching goal, and strategies.
• Impact the health of economically disadvantaged individuals, including those who are uninsured and underinsured.
• Demonstrate collaboration, defined as aligning work among partners.

Service Area

The Foundation invests in organizations and programs serving residents of Greater Williamsburg, defined as the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County.

Organization Eligibility

The following types of organizations may apply:

• Nonprofit corporations with 501(c)(3) tax status as demonstrated by an IRS determination and filing of IRS form 990 or 990-EZ. (Nonprofits submitting a Form 990-N (e-postcard) to the IRS are ineligible.)
• State or local government agencies.

Note: Applicants may use a fiscal sponsor to meet agency eligibility. New or emerging organizations without 501(c)(3) status are permitted to apply through a tax-exempt organization acting as fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor must maintain full discretion and control over any awarded grant funds and should have the organizational capacity to manage and accept the risks involved with fiscal sponsorship.

Funding Exclusions

The Foundation does not consider funding requests to support:

• Individuals
• Multi-year funding
• Fundraising events (e.g., galas, dinners, tournaments)
• Endowments
• Direct lobbying or political campaign efforts
• Retrospective funding
• Sponsorships

Grant Types

There are two opportunities to apply for funding: Invited or Unsolicited Proposals.

Invited Proposals – The majority of the Foundation’s grantmaking in any year is awarded through proposals invited via email. The Foundation may invite organizations that align with the Foundation’s strategic plan to apply for funding. The types of invited proposals the Foundation considers are:

• General Operating Support – A contribution given to cover an organization’s day-to-day ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies, rent, etc., to support its overall mission. An agency may only receive one award per year.
• Program Support – A contribution given to cover specific sets of activities conducted by an organization on an ongoing basis.

Unsolicited Proposals – The Foundation accepts unsolicited proposals through three grant cycles annually. The types of unsolicited proposals the Foundation considers are:

• Project/Program Proposals – Support for specific sets of activities conducted by an organization, within a specified timeframe or on an ongoing basis.
• Capital Proposals – Support of projects related to the construction, expansion, renovation of buildings and the acquisition of land. (Please note, capital grants are considered during the third grant cycle of the year, and the ability to support such projects varies by year. Even when capital project requests are strategically aligned, the ability to fund capital requests of this type may be limited by the grants budget and programmatic requests that year.) 

Evaluating Grant Applications

The following criteria will be used by the Foundation in assessing all applications and making grant awards:

• Anticipated impact of the project toward improving health and well-being in the Foundation’s service area of Greater Williamsburg.
• Alignment with the Foundation’s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
• Evidence supporting need for the proposed effort in Greater Williamsburg.
• Extent to which the proposed effort is designed to make progress toward one or more of the Foundation’s focus areas.
• Project’s ability to provide services to the population at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
• Extent to which funds requested are for the purpose of replacing federal, state, or local government funds, which are generally not favored except for temporary or emergency funding.
• Organization’s prior/existing WHF application(s), grant(s), award amount(s), fiscal management of these grant(s), and current reporting status.

Please note:

Submission of a grant application does not guarantee funding. The application pool is very competitive, and the Foundation routinely receives more strong proposals than can be funded in a grant cycle. Even if each proposal meets the criteria outlined above, the Foundation typically is unable to fund every submission.

Any organization meeting the basic requirements outlined above may apply for a grant.