The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce its Spring 2021 grant funding decisions, totaling more than $743,000 and supporting 125 nonprofits throughout the region. With this round of grants, the Bama Works Fund extends its twenty-plus years of commitment to Charlottesville and the surrounding counties.
The Fund supported a wide range of organizations this cycle, including youth mentoring programs, environmental initiatives, and food security causes. As always, funding priority was given to organizations impacting lives in the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange. Click here for a full list of Spring 2021 grant recipients.
Established in 1999, the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band has now awarded more than 2,500 grants totaling nearly $27 million. Since its inception, Bama Works has operated under the philosophy that meaningful and long-lasting change begins in the community. Both prior to and during the pandemic The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band has shown unwavering support for those most vulnerable in our region, supporting nonprofits and initiatives that are working to ensure that everyone in our region can thrive.
Since the pandemic began in March of 2020, the band has further deepened their commitment to the region, including providing leadership and a catalyzing gift of $250,000 to help create the Community Emergency Response Fund (CERF); partnering with the Community Foundation’s Community Recovery & Catalyst Grant program through an additional $1 million gift to support grants that addressed the impacts of COVID-19 and longstanding racial inequities; and awarding $300,000 to the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless to ensure safe shelter for local residents experiencing chronic homelessness. Additionally, the band’s $5 million grant in 2019 to the Charlottesville Redevelopment & Housing Authority, to catalyze the redevelopment of area public housing, saw the groundbreaking this spring for the first phase of both the Crescent Halls and South First Street redevelopment projects.
“Time and again, in conversations with local organizations, we hear about the impact of and appreciation for the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band,” says Katie Kling, Director of Advancement. “For over two decades, the band has created a legacy of generosity through grantmaking that has been integral to the sustained success of so many nonprofits throughout our region, and we are extremely grateful to the band for this partnership.”
Twice each year, the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band at the Community Foundation awards gifts through a competitive grant cycle. The next application period opened on July 1st and has an application deadline of September 1st. Click here for more info.