BECKLEY AREA FOUNDATION - LOCAL GIVING. LASTING LEGACIES.
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  • DONATING
    • HOW TO DONATE
    • Start a Fund
    • Leave a Legacy
    • Memorial Gifts
    • New Building
    • Bill Withers Project
  • Grants
    • Community Grant Program
    • Students First Grants
    • Field of Interest Grant Opportunities
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Beckley Area Foundation Has Moved!

3/31/2022

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BAF has officially relocated to 1210 S. Kanawha St. in Beckley! This move reinforces BAF’s long-term commitment to the area.

The Carter Family Foundation’s generosity made this vision become a reality when their board made the unanimous decision to award a grant to BAF for the purchase of the building. BAF's move to a new permanent, central location will heighten the foundation’s visibility and encourage more community participation.
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The new building will serve as a hub for charitable collaboration:
  • The space will be designed to provide a unique opportunity to bring  individuals, families and businesses to philanthropy, and help fulfill their philanthropic goals.
  •  It will serve as a place to support nonprofit partners; a place to meet, think and plan.
  • A place where we work toward one common goal – to improve the lives of friends and neighbors in Raleigh County & the surrounding area.

​As BAF continues to unpack and settle in, we still have a way to go before we reach our campaign's goal to support the renovation costs. Numerous giving levels exist to show your support including several naming opportunities.
Support BAF's Building for the Future Campaign
Thank you to the Beckley Water Company who helped us move all of our filing cabinets and many many boxes!
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BAF Announces New Fund - ALS Fund Est. by Ray and Bobbie Richmond

3/29/2022

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The ALS Fund was established by Ray and Bobbie Richmond in 2022, in memory of their son Michael D. Richmond. This donor designated fund is to be used by Hospice of Southern West Virginia to provide patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with equipment, transportation, and caregiver services.

Pictured: Michael Douglas Richmond (1966-2019)
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“This funding will allow Hospice of Southern West Virginia to further our mission of delivering quality end-of-life care to those with ALS. With this generous gift, we will be able to provide communication assistance devices and other specialized equipment to meet the needs of these individuals. On behalf of the board of directors, employees, volunteers, and the patients we serve, we offer deep appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Richmond for this funding in memory of their son, Michael.” 
— Janett Green, CEO | Hospice of Southern West Virginia
Michael was a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, Class of 1984, where he was an active member of both the football and tennis teams. He went on to attend WVU and graduated in 1989, with a B.S. in Business Administration. He returned to Beckley in 1991, to work alongside his father Ray and become the owner of Richmond Insurance Center in 2001. 

Mike was a fixture in the community as an Allstate Insurance Agent and he was incredibly passionate about helping the people of West Virginia. He was actively involved in Boy Scouts of America with his son Creek and enjoyed volunteering with the Special Olympics. He was always willing to lend a helping hand to those who needed support.  

Mike loved hiking with his dogs and could easily spend a day sitting outside and taking in the West Virginia scenery. In his leisure time, Mike enjoyed riding motorcycles with several of his closest friends. During the past 2 years while having ALS, Mike continued to be an inspiration to those around him with his courageous approach to life, sense of humor and his unforgettable smile.
“Michael was a blessing as a son. He was a respectful, compassionate, caring person and a true gentleman. He was a joy to know. In his honor, we hope this fund will be of assistance to others who suffer from ALS as Hospice was a great comfort to him.” 
— Ray & Bobbie Richmond
Anyone interested in donating to this fund may mail contributions with “ALS Fund” in the memo to BAF, 1210 South Kanawha St., Beckley, WV 25801 or click the button below to donate online. If you are interested in starting a donor designated fund or leaving a legacy gift, call BAF at 304-253-3806 or email   info@bafwv.org. 
Support the ALS Fund
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Beckley Area Foundation Awards Over $375,000 in Designated Distributions

3/17/2022

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BAF Executive Director, Dena Cushman, United Way of Southern WV Executive Director, Trena Dacal, and BAF Board Member, Dr. Kevin Bailey
A designated fund is established by a donor to benefit a specific charity, or program for a charity. Since the first designated fund was established in 1986, BAF has been telling stories of donors and helping local organizations create new stories each year. To date, over $6 million dollars has been distributed from designated funds. 

This year, BAF distributed $381,929 to 62 organizations in our area. These grants were made possible by the 118 different designated funds that contributed to the distribution for 2021-2022.

To celebrate this annual distribution, BAF met with some of our local nonprofits who have
benefitted from these funds over the years:
 

  • “AWAY (f/k/a Women's Resource Center) is so thankful for the BAF funds that we receive each year from the gracious donors in and around our area. These funds help our clients to get a fresh start. AWAY is able to purchase furniture, pay deposits for rent, assist with utilities, and other essential needs to help our clients get back on their feet. I know that I am not only speaking for AWAY, but also each client that these funds help -- we are extremely fortunate to have BAF in our community and be a part of all the good work they do.”   — Regina Thomas | Executive Director, AWAY
 
  • "The annual BAF distributions are always a reminder of our community's generosity."   — Robert Moore | Executive Director, Beckley Art Group 
 
  • “BAF safeguards the generosity of those who have made endowments in the name of the church and leverages the money with others in the community to return a higher yield than we would get on our own. The endowments continue to grow, and a percentage of the gain is returned to the church so we can share generosity with others.”     — Rev. Monte Mitchell | Pastor, Beckley Presbyterian Church 
 
  • “The Fayette County Public Library is truly fortunate to receive memorial and endowment funds from BAF. These funds help support and provide library services, such as homebound delivery and e-books to the people of Fayette County. We are grateful for the generosity of the families that have set up these accounts to be distributed yearly to our library.”   -- Becky Kellum | Director, Fayette County Public Library  
 
  • "We at United Way of Southern West Virginia are proud to be supported by BAF through the Tracy & Martha Jane Riffe Fund, United Way of Southern West Virginia Fund, and the Endowment Fund honoring Dr. Francis L. Edwards & Dr. Theresa Amato Edwards. These designated funds and our longstanding partnerships with BAF help us support our partner agencies and our direct services like the Equal Footing Shoe Fund and 211 Information & Referral Hotline. Community support from BAF is vital to our success and appreciated beyond measure."  — Trena Dacal | Executive Director, United Way of Southern West Virginia 
 
  • “The money received from our donor designated funds at BAF have always been critical support for the YMCA’s operations. This year’s distribution was no exception, as it helped us with everything from memberships for youth to the continued revitalization of our downtown facility.” — Jay Rist | CEO, YMCA of Southern West Virginia 
 
The 2021-2022 grant awards are as follows: 
  • Alderson-Broadus College $1,388 
  • American Red Cross – Raleigh County, WV $2,850 
  • Animal Control and Welfare Project $1,942 
  • Appalachian Bible College $6,106 
  • Beckley Art Group, Inc. $2,551 
  • Beckley Babe Ruth League, Inc. $729 
  • Beckley Concert Association $10,059 
  • Beckley Dream Center $78 
  • Beckley Little League, Inc. $694 
  • Beckley Presbyterian Church $57,892 
  • Beckley-Stratton Middle School $582 
  • Black Diamond Girl Scout Council $2,036 
  • Bluestone Baptist Church $1,879 
  • Bradley-Prosperity Volunteer Fire Department $2,071 
  • Buckskin Council of Boy Scouts of America $2,823 
  • Children’s Home Society of West Virginia $1,997 
  • City of Beckley $16,812 
  • Concord University $1,277 
  • Davis Stuart, Inc. $799 
  • Family Crisis Center, Inc. $1,997 
  • Fayette County Public Library $6,760 
  • First Baptist Church $2,671 
  • First Christian Church $2,585 
  • First United Methodist Church $877 
  • Friends of the Beckley Library $1,572 
  • Friends of Shady Spring Library $2,813 
  • Fuller Center for Housing of Beckley, WV $3,478 
  • Harrah Cemetery Improvement Association $424 
  • Helping Hands Resource Center $20,956 
  • Hospice of Southern West Virginia, Inc. $29,878 
  • Humane Society of Raleigh County $33,412 
  • Just for Kids $15,473 
  • Lillian James Learning Center $510 
  • New River Humane Society, Inc. $1,931 
  • Piney Creek Watershed Association $1,195 
  • Princeton Public Library $570 
  • Raleigh County Animal Rescue $1,933 
  • Raleigh County Board of Education $7,493 
  • Raleigh County Commission on Aging $416 
  • Raleigh County Emergency Housing Center $207 
  • Raleigh County Historical Society $1,124 
  • Raleigh County Public Library $4,012 
  • Raleigh County Special Olympics $508 
  • Salvation Army $11,784 
  • Southern WV Fellowship Home $1,984 
  • St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church $507 
  • St. Francis De Sales Catholic School $6,312 
  • St. Matthews AME Church $668 
  • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church $6,175 
  • Temple Beth El $1,940 
  • The First Tee of West Virginia $2,073 
  • Theatre West Virginia, Inc. $3,098 
  • United Methodist Temple $2,288 
  • United Way $3,912 
  • University of Charleston – Beckley $21,342 
  • West Virginia Public Broadcasting $12,359 
  • Woman’s Club of Beckley $1,068 
  • Women’s Resource Center $24,354 
  • Woodrow Wilson High School $300 
  • Wyoming County Paw Patrol, Inc. $4,500 
  • YMCA of Southern West Virginia $17,606 
  • Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia $2,304 
 
Anyone interested in donating to these funds may mail contributions to BAF, 1210 South Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 25801 or  donate online. If you are interested in starting a designated fund or leaving a legacy gift, call BAF at 304-253-3806 or email info@bafwv.org. 
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BAF Community Grant Program Distributes Over $180,000 to Local Nonprofit Organizations

3/14/2022

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BAF's Community Grant Program awards annual discretionary grants to charitable organizations serving Raleigh County in the areas of animal services, the arts, civic beautification, education, health & human services and public recreation.

The Shady Spring Branch Library's project in 2021-2022, was a summer reading program called, "Tails and Tales". Delanie Corrales is pictured, enjoying the library crafts. BAF awarded a grant to fund the video equipment needed to make this project available virtually.
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Volunteers from our community serve on the distributions committee to review all community grant proposals and these recommendations are presented to BAF's Board of Directors for final approval.

The BAF Board of Directors approved $185,977.41 to fund 42 projects between April 2022 and March 2023.

Areas of Interest Breakdown:
  • Health & Human Services - $89,225
  • Education - $32,118.42
  • Public Recreation - $22,604
  • Civic Beautification - $22,208.78
  • Animal Services - $9,002
  • Arts - $6,573.21
  • Economic Development - $4,246
“It was a great honor to serve as a reader for the BAF Distribution Committee. After individually scoring each grant application on a simple but thorough rubric, we met as a group via Zoom to discuss the merits of each worthy grant. Our communities are burdened with so many needs and we are fortunate to have the generosity of BAF to assist more than 40 organizations to serve our citizens. I am honored and grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve on this committee. BAF truly exemplifies the best of Beckley!”
— Drexel Sammons | Distributions Committee Member
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Operation Underdog Volunteer, Yolanda Estep, is pictured above at one of their community events for the project "Feeding our Furry Friends" in 2021-2022. BAF awarded a grant to fund the pet food needed to distribute at this event.

Anyone interested in growing the pool of discretionary funds used to respond to BAF’s Community Grant Program can make donations in any amount to any unrestricted fund. Mail contributions to BAF, 129 Main St. Suite 301, Beckley, WV 25801, or donate below. If you are interested in starting a named unrestricted fund, call the foundation at   304-253-3806    or email   info@bafwv.org.
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1210 South Kanawha Street
Beckley, WV 25801

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