A group of donors recently awarded more than $170,000 to benefit local initiatives on Charleston's West Side.
The Kanawha Valley Council on Philanthropy, an informal group of funders from myriad organizations, decided to shift its focus to the West Side for the first time this year.
Kim Tieman, a program director at Benedum Foundation who sits on the council, said it has historically awarded grant funding to a range of different projects in the areas of health and economic development, but the effects of those weren't living up to expectations.
"We focused on a geographic area and targeted issues that would have an impact," Tieman said.
The largest grant of $82,000 was awarded to the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority for its revitalization of the 2nd Avenue Community Center, the only nearby facility with youth programming for kids who live near Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School. The funds will go toward replacing the building's windows that have long been boarded up and painted to blend in with its brick exterior, as well as upgrading its heating and cooling equipment inside.
Once the windows are replaced, the urban renewal authority can nominate it to the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for future grants.
Another $63,750 was awarded to the city for Project West Invest, which helps city police officers buy houses on the West Side, as long as they give a 10-year commitment to the neighborhood. The program makes officers active participants in the neighborhoods, adding a sense of safety and bringing down the number of vacant homes.
The last grant for $25,000 will go toward the Handle With Care program, through which police officers who respond to incidents at students' homes will notify the school that the student witnessed a traumatic event.
Schools can then make necessary referrals for treatment services and accommodate those children as needed. The program started at Mary C. Snow Elementary, but has since expanded to other schools in Kanawha County.
"All three of these projects are really collaborative [and] trying to improve daily living on the West Side," Tieman said.
Tom Heywood, who chairs the Council on Philanthropy, said it was important to the group to support community efforts that already have a strong leadership presence.
"We intend to continue our focus on the West Side for at least the next couple of years," he said.
The Council on Philanthropy was created for funders to share information about the community, build resources and develop new strategies to make grants more effective. The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation facilitates its process.
The council's "buckets committee" is in charge of researching initiatives that have made a high impact, then recommending their invitation to apply for grants to the council.
Membership on the council is purely voluntary, with people representing groups such as Charleston Area Alliance, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and others.
Some on the council are funders who represent their respective organizations, while others provide necessary information and data for its grant selection process, Tieman said.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.