Big Picture

Who We Are

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation is a leading community organization supporting non-profits to develop a thriving Eastern Shore of Virginia. A thriving community …

• Promotes a culture of philanthropy

• Fosters economic opportunity for all

• Meets the needs of families and children – education, health, housing, social

• Sustains non-profit community organizations

• Preserves and values local culture and truthful heritage

• Stewards our natural assets

Our Purpose

A community foundation connects people with causes they care about-- education, the arts, human services or any other area of concern.

Our purpose is to enrich the lives of the people of Virginia's Eastern Shore. These grants meet a broad range of needs by:

• Enabling donors to meet their charitable goals through prudently administered permanently endowed funds.

• Offering a comprehensive array of services to encourage, advance and educate donors concerning effective philanthropy.

• Making critical grants to meet current and emerging community needs and opportunities.

What We Do

We enrich lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by helping individuals, families and organizations fulfill their charitable goals and supporting non-profit organizations so that our beloved community thrives.

• Endowed Funds

The Foundation helps donors create legacies for themselves or their loved ones by establishing endowed funds that will support the causes they care about… in perpetuity.

These endowed funds can be activated immediately or through future bequests.

• Grantmaking Programs

The Foundation provides discretionary grant funding to nonprofits that serve in one or more of the following areas:

• Arts and Culture – Promoting participation in arts and cultural activities and preserving cultural heritage for current and future generations.

• Child, Family and Social Welfare – Improving quality of life for vulnerable ESVA residents, particularly by addressing basic human needs.

• Economic Stability - Helping individuals overcome barriers to self-sufficiency and prosperity, including projects addressing housing and employment readiness.

• Education – Preparing children for academic, work and lifelong success.

• Environment – Protecting natural resources and promoting environmental education and stewardship.

• Health – Supporting access to health services and programs that encourage healthy behaviors.

Values

In addition to our mission and vision, the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation is guided by certain values and principles. We believe:

• Collaboration – bringing people together

• Integrity – fostering transparency, honesty, and respect

• Justice – advancing equity, access, and inclusion

• Knowledge – listening, learning, innovating, appreciating lived experience

• Stewardship – providing excellent (accountable) administration and guardianship