The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) and Regional Affiliates of Doddridge County, Ritchie County, and the Little Kanawha Area (PACF) are accepting applications for its 2025 Community Action Grant Program.
Donor Name: Parkersburg Area Community Foundation
State: Ohio, West Virginia
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/15/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The PACF supports a wide variety of charitable projects, including capital and equipment needs, program development, technical assistance, training, capacity building, and, in special cases, operating support. Applications submitted in the fall are considered for funding from a broad portfolio of grant funds held by the PACF and its affiliates.
Priorities
Community Action Grants are made in the fields of: Arts and Culture, Education, Health and Human Services, Recreation, Youth and Family Services, and Community and Economic Development. The Foundation focuses on: Capital and Equipment Projects, Program Development, Capacity Building, and Operating Support. Within these focus areas, the Foundation also gives special consideration to projects that build a strong, resilient, and inclusive community, including projects that address ongoing substance use disorders and related community impact, and the advancement of an inclusive community and/or the elimination of racism and bias.
Capital and Equipment
- Support the renovation or construction of facilities, purchase of major equipment, major repairs to facilities.
Program Development
- Support the development of new services or programs designed to respond to unmet community needs and the expansion of existing programs to serve new audiences.
Capacity Building
- Support projects that provide an organization with technical assistance and/or training to be able to more effectively meet their mission and/or provide services.
Operating Support
- Support projects designed to: Increase financial stability (Type 1); Help a strong organization increase its capacity (Type 2).
- For all operating support requests, the applicant must:
- Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (operating support is not available to governmental entities, schools (public or private), or entities that do not have 501(c)(3) status);
- Provide essential community services or offer programs that meet basic human needs;
- Have been in continuous operation for at least five years and have a proven track record;
- Have an overall sound financial history (at least prior to the present need);
- Be able to demonstrate strong management;
- Have previously received support from the Foundation.
Applicants seeking Type 1 operating support (to increase financial stability), must:
- Document increased demand for services, unexpected reduction in sources of ongoing operating support, or a specific current financial challenge for which a plan is in place to mitigate;
- Show evidence of completion of an internal process of cost-reduction and/or realistic revenue enhancement analysis focused on core service preservation prior to the request.
- Develop a realistic plan for financial stabilization.
- Show how the operating support grant will increase financial stability and/or help the organization make significant progress toward addressing its financial challenge.
Priority is given to projects that:
- have significant impact on the people and communities served by the applicant organization;
- reach new audiences, expand existing programs or services, or respond to emerging needs;
- strengthen the organization’s capacity to deliver its services and meet community needs;
- are well-planned and can reasonably be achieved;
- have a matching grant opportunity or seek a matching grant to leverage more funding;
- have limited access to other sources of support.
Funding Information
Generally, $20,000. Requests for more than $20,000 may be considered for projects that are highly collaborative or have regional broad-scale impact; you must contact the Foundation prior to submitting a request in excess of $20,000.
Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for a Community Action Grant, applicants must be a private, nonprofit organization classified as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a public institution. Either the applicant or the program to be funded must be located within the PACF’s eleven-county service area: Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio. Priority counties for grant support include Wood, Wirt, Ritchie, Roane, Gilmer, Doddridge, and Calhoun.
For more information, visit PACF.
