9 Preservation Projects Set to Receive Funding from Virginia BIPOC Fund Grant Program

Published April 2, 2024

Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
April 2, 2024

Contact:
Ivy Tan
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.tan@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445

—Reaching a combined total of $2,514,254, the projects will involve rehabilitation and stabilization, data recovery, and cemetery preservation—

RICHMOND – The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) have announced that funding from the first round of the 2023 Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Historic Preservation Grant Program will be used to support nine projects in the Commonwealth.

The General Assembly established the Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Historic Preservation Fund in April 2022 under Virginia Code Section 10.1-2202.5. The purpose of this legislation is to create a grant program to protect and support the Commonwealth’s historically underserved and underrepresented communities as well as the cultural and historical sites associated with them. The fund will provide grants for the acquisition, protection, and rehabilitation of historic and archaeological sites of significance associated with Black and Indigenous communities and People of Color in Virginia.

On March 21, 2024, following a multi-step review process, DHR recommended nine projects for a total of $2,514,254 to the VBHR for approval. The list includes six rehabilitation and stabilization projects, two data recovery projects, and one cemetery project that calls for data recovery and rehabilitation. The VBHR concurred with DHR, and a complete list of projects approved for first-round funding are listed below along with their respective applicants and localities:

Project Name	Applicant	Locality	Award Amount
Cantauncack Archaeological Survey	Flagler College & College of William and Mary	Hayes (Eastern Region)	$136,497
Chatsworth School Stabilization Project	Chatsworth School Museum	Henrico (Eastern Region)	$86,700
Drexel-Morrell ADA Access and Accessibility	Belmead on the James, Inc.	Powhatan (Eastern Region)	$450,000
Germanna BIPOC Archaeology, Engagement, and Research Project (GBAER Project)	Historic Germanna	Locust Grove (Northern Region)	$292,510
John Wesley Community Church Restoration Project, Waterford	Waterford Foundation, Inc.	Waterford (Northern Region)	$225,000
Rappahannock Chief Otho S. & Susie P. Nelson House Rehabilitation	Rappahannock Tribe of Virginia	St. Stephens Church (Eastern Region)	$771,309
Restoration of St. John Rosenwald School Phase IV	St. John Family Life and Fitness Center (SJFLFC)	Gordonsville (Eastern Region)	$138,480
Salem School Stabilization Project	Salem School Preservation Committee, Inc.	Red Oak (Eastern Region)	$335,000
Woodland Cemetery/Grounds & Chapel Restoration Project	Woodland Restoration Foundation	Richmond (Eastern Region)	$78,758

Due to a discrepancy between the legislation language and the 2022-2024 biennium budget language, DHR will not be able to begin funding dispersal for the awarded projects until the budget is signed by the governor, most likely before June 30, 2024. In the meantime, DHR staff will be conducting initial site visits and meetings with grantees. Applicants who were not selected in the first round of funding are encouraged to reapply for the next round in early 2025. As with the first round, DHR will begin assisting interested applicants, including hosting an information session and application workshop later this year.

For more information about Virginia’s BIPOC Fund grant program, visit dhr.virginia.gov or email DHR Grants Coordinator Caitlin Sylvester at bipocgrantfund@dhr.virginia.gov.

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