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In early December 2024, the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation concluded its fall grant cycle, donating about $2.4 million to 171 Virginia nonprofits. Four of those nonprofits are located in Suffolk, and they were awarded $23,500 in total.

Coalition Against Poverty in Suffolk (CAPS) received $2,500 for the Emergency Assistance Program, Hope for Suffolk received $7,000 for improving safety measures, the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance (NRPA) received $9,000 for the Watershed Explorers Program, and the Virginia Housing and Community Development Corporation (VHCDC) received $5,000 for the Home Ownership Assistance Program.

The foundation’s next grant cycle opened Jan. 13 and will close on Feb. 24. 

Cherise Newsome, senior communications specialist at Dominion Energy, said the grants are awarded in four focus areas — human needs, environmental stewardship, education, and community vitality.

She said nonprofits are typically awarded between $1,000 and $15,000 and the amount they end up getting is based on how much they ask for, what the money will be used for, and the foundation’s available budget. 

CAPS Executive Director Sharon Holland said they will be using the grant money for housing relief emergency services such as help with rent and electric services, especially during the colder month.

President of NRPA Beth Cross said their grant money will go toward engaging Suffolk’s youth in the local environment through their Watershed Explorers Program.

According to a press release about the program, it “encourages homeowners, schools, churches and businesses to create eco-friendly landscapes using native plants and natural filtration systems.”

The main goal of NRPA, Cross said, is to improve the health of the Nansemond River and its watershed. She said their biggest concern is that the river has been over 50% condemned for the last 10 years by the Department of Health Shellfish Division. 

“Our goal has been to really bring focus to how that’s happening and how it impacts a healthy community when your environment isn’t healthy around you,” Cross said. 

Cross said the Dominion Energy grant is one of around 13 that they received in 2024. She said they have applied for the Dominion grant previously and plan to continue applying for it on and off in the future.

VHCDC President James Taylor III said their grant money will go toward supporting their Housing Services Office, which administers housing counseling and education and home ownership assistance initiatives.

This grant was appealing to VHCDC because they work with Dominion on other projects, Taylor said. 

“Another side of our organization is that we do rehab projects, so we oftentimes will be working with Dominion supervisors or project managers in the field,” he said. “I think it was one of them that recommended that we apply because of the kind of work we do with individuals.”

The nonprofit primarily works in two areas, Taylor said — home ownership assistance, where they provide counseling, education, and technical assistance with home ownership, and housing development, where they convert distressed housing into quality homes for first time homebuyers.

Taylor said this was their second time applying for the Dominion Energy grant, and it was one of four grants they received in 2024 in addition to countless individual contributions.

Hope for Suffolk is another recipient of the Dominion Energy grant, and they will be using the money to increase safety measures on their farm.

Executive Director Hayden Blythe described it as a youth development organization. They offer an eight month paid internship to 50 teenagers where they work on an organic vegetable farm. When they started in 2010, Blythe said they were the only organic vegetable farm in the city.

Part of the internship is also attending life skills training workshops that teaches things like conflict resolution, teamwork, and interviewing. Sometimes they do community service as well, Blythe said.

Blythe specified that the program is targeted toward people in low access and low resource communities. 

The Dominion grant will be used for “holistic safety,” Blythe said. This means not only a physically safe environment, but emotional and mental safety as well. 

Specifically, Blythe said they will be purchasing newer, safer tools and installing better security systems.

“We’re working with these teenagers who might have processing disorders that result in them maybe not operating things very safely, so the grant allows us to ensure that these teenagers can thrive in a really safe setting,” she said.  

Dominion’s grant was one of about six that Hope for Suffolk received last year, Blythe said.