VAACC Receives $8,000 Grant from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation

​Grant helps nonprofits offset negative financial impact from COVID-19 pandemic

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Congratulations to the Virginia African American Cultural Center, Inc. on receiving an $8,000 grant from the COVID-19 Recovery for the Arts fund from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

“The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is pleased to offer a grant opportunity to provide operating support for our nonprofit partners whose finances have been impacted negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic,” a grant-award letter signed by Leigh Davis, HRCF vice president for donor engagement, to the VAACC said.

The VAACC recently held a successful membership drive and agreed to host a free COVID-19 testing event for the Virginia Department of Health at the future site of the Cultural Center. At least 150 people were tested.

The HRCF’s operating funds will supplement VAACC COVID-19 displaced operating costs and will help supplement the cost of VAACC virtual programs, mentorship opportunities, community performances, operating and staff costs.

“We are indeed very grateful to be a recipient of this much-needed arts award from the Hamptons Roads Community Foundation,” said Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, VAACC founder and chairman.

This “general operating support” grant was awarded based on the VAACC’s mission to “provide arts experiences and arts education within and across a broad range of cultural traditions.” And the organization’s goals to make its “work accessible to, and amplify voices of, diverse audiences and historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.”

The mission of the Virginia African American Cultural Center is: “To collect, preserve, interpret, inform and celebrate Virginia’s African American history, culture and community and to educate the public about African Americans’ contributions in all area of endeavor.”

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted the VACCC’s 2020 plans for encore events, including its annual Fall Fest, which draws more than 500 people. In the coming years, as VAACC continues to grow and is able to move into its permanent location, events will be able to focus on establishing exhibitions and a fuller schedule of educational programming and performances. For more information about the center, visit www.vaaccvb.org or follow the center on Facebook and Twitter.

The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is southeastern Virginia’s largest grant and scholarship provider. Since its founding in 1950, the regional community foundation has provided more than $301 million in grants and scholarships to improve life in southeastern Virginia. For more information, visit www.hamptonroadscf.org.