Stakeholders and members of the West Virginia First Foundation met for the first time in the Truist building in Charleston, W.Va., on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. (Caity Coyne | West Virginia Watch)
With the Oct. 5 deadline come and gone, the West Virginia First Foundation received a total of 174 grant applications for programming to combat the state’s ongoing drug and overdose epidemic, leaders announced at the organization’s monthly meeting Thursday.
For this grant cycle, the private nonprofit — which is in charge of distributing an expected $1 billion over the next 10 years from funds received by the state from opioid litigation — saw the most interest in programs targeted toward youth prevention and workforce development.
Further details on what kind of programs organizations pitched for the grants were not available Thursday, but should be made public as staff at the Foundation works through them, said Executive Director Jonathan Board.
According to an analysis shared by Board, about 53% of those applications were for youth prevention and workforce development. About 25% of applications were for criminal diversion programs, another 20% were for programming supporting children and families affected by the epidemic and nearly 16% were for programs to expand transitional and recovery housing in the state.
“We have been so impressed by the volume and quality of applications submitted,” Board said in an email after Thursday’s meeting. “I am encouraged that, generally speaking, there is great parity between regions and areas of need. Taken together, this demonstrates that the need is so desperate regardless of municipality, county or region. Our challenge is statewide, and with this application process now underway, we can boldly proclaim, help is on the way.”
Now that the applications have been received, staff are getting to work to vet and grade them based on a rubric created earlier this year. Through that process, members of the First Foundation board as well as the voluntary expert panel will assess the pitches sent to them and potentially interview organization leaders and tour facilities seeking the funds.
The applications will be reviewed by both an interim grant committee within the nonprofit as well as the expert panel. Once they’re sorted by region and target area, members on the board of directors and those on the expert panel will score them for awards.
Board said the final announcement for successful grantees will come by Dec. 31.
“The next hard deadline is really the announcement deadline, which we’re going to hold ourselves accountable to,” Board said. “[The goal] is to make announcements by the end of the year.”
As they undergo work to score and review the received applications, more staff are joining the First Foundation, as well.
In the last few weeks, two new staff members have been hired full time by the organization, Board announced Thursday. Jessicah Cross joined the nonprofit as a chief of staff several weeks ago. She comes to the organization from the office of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., where she worked as a field representative for several years.
The second hire announced Thursday was Rachel Thaxton, who has served as the assistant director of the state Office of Drug Control Policy since 2019. Thaxton worked for more than a year as the interim head of the ODCP. Her departure from the state comes about two months after Dr. Stephen Loyd was hired to lead the office.
Thaxton, who is in long-term recovery herself and who previously served as the director of development for Recovery Point West Virginia, will serve as the First Foundation’s director of operations, Board said.
More hirings are expected to be announced in coming months for at least three other positions, including a chief operating officer, a chief financial officer and a chief marketing officer.
As of Thursday, there were still no details available for what these salaried positions will cost the organization in total.
“Full budgeting is under review,” Board said in an email after the meeting, saying that he will follow up once figures are finalized.
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