Henrico supervisors adjust proposed funding to nonprofits

Henrico’s Board of Supervisors Thursday added new funding for nine local nonprofit organizations and adjusted funding for one other as part of its Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget proposal.

Supervisors made the changes during the final day of their four-day budget review, during which they heard from each agency head and discussed other topics. They had first discussed the planned allocation for nonprofits as part of Monday’s discussion.

In total, the revised proposal would allocate about $1.54 million to 39 nonprofits. A total of $10,400 in available funds remain in the non-departmental budget proposal, should supervisors decide to allocate that money.

Nineteen organizations that requested money would not receive any as part of the new plan, though in one of those cases the organization willingly deferred its requested amount to another group. (The YWCA suggested that its funding request be redirected to Safe Harbor Shelter, which was included in the allocation plan.)

The changes made by supervisors yesterday included the addition of several organizations for whom no funding originally was included:

• Maymont, which will receive $50,000 (it had requested $60,000);
• the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation, which will receive $25,000 (it had requested $50,000);
• Sportable, which will receive $20,000 (the full amount it had requested);
• Association for the Preservation of Henrico Antiquities, which will receive $10,000 (it had requested $20,000);
• Sports Backers, which will receive $20,000 (it had requested $30,000);
• CultureWorks, which will receive $20,000 (it had requested $50,000);
• Metropolitan Youth Baseball League, which will receive $15,000 (it had requested $20,000);
• Liberation Veteran Services, which will receive $10,000 (it had requested $25,000);
• Asian American Society of Virginia, which will receive $5,000 (it had requested $9,500).

The board also adjusted the planned contributions to H.O.P.E. in the Community, which will receive $20,000 instead of the $15,000 County Manager John Vithoulkas had proposed; it had requested $20,400.

The changes increased by nearly $130,000 the allocations proposed by Vithoulkas. His initial plan had held back more than $100,000 for supervisors to allocate as they chose, and that amount later was enhanced by more than $30,000 in unused funds from another portion of the proposed budget.

Vithoulkas had proposed a higher level of funding for nonprofits in the new budget, compared with the current budget, which was slashed by nearly $100 million last year because of the pandemic. But that level still is about $300,000 lower than it was in the Fiscal year 2019 budget.

All nonprofits that receive funding from the county are subject to county audits.

Among the other organizations slated to receive money in the new budget, which begins July 1:

• The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, which will receive $600,000 (the full amount it requested);
• the McShin Foundation, which will receive $60,000 (the full amount it requested);
• the Hilliard House, which will receive $70,000 (the full amount it requested).

View a list of all proposed allocations here.