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U.S. Virgin Islands, November 1, 2022 — The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) announced that $50,000 in grants from the recently established Popular VI Community Fund has been awarded. Grants of $10,000 each went to five USVI nonprofit organizations that provide direct services in one or more of the grant’s focus areas, such as youth programs, entrepreneurship, and/or environmental protection.
Gifft Hill School in St. John received a grant to support an after-school program that will provide tutoring services and enrichment club activities for 150-200 students throughout the course of the school year.
Lion Haven St. Croix Community Center is using its grant to focus on improving the academic performance, health and fitness, and social skills of 35-50 young people while also building and nurturing their creative talents.
United Jazz Foundation received grant funding to support a program that uses music to enhance student's life skills and build their social intellect, music writing and notation skills, self-determination, experience in a professional recording environment, and the ability to express and convey their personal story through their craft in a public space.
Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts) is using the funding to continue its artist-in-residence program by bringing new artists, different perspectives, and fresh ideas to St. Croix. The program allows St. Croix students to connect with contemporary artists from the United States and other Caribbean islands to help inspire and engage youths and teens.
Virgin Islands Justice Initiative is using the grant to support its Youth Restorative Justice Program, which focuses on youth ages 18 to 26 who are currently attending or have recently completed a job training program and have a criminal arrest record that needs to be expunged. Organizations will help identify eligible candidates from their St. Thomas and St. Croix cohorts of trainees. The VI Justice Initiative is also partnering with the Department of Labor to locate additional youth in need of the services.
As part of its corporate social responsibility and commitment to the Virgin Islands, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (Popular) established the Popular VI Community Fund at CFVI with an initial donation of $100,000.
The purpose of the fund is to support the philanthropic interests of Popular and its employees in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, specifically to enhance services from nonprofit organizations that are focused on youth programs, entrepreneurship, and environmental protection. This initiative focuses on the well-being of the communities Popular serves in St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Water Island, and Tortola.
Popular and its employees in the Virgin Islands contribute to the fund annually through voluntary payroll deductions. In turn, CFVI supports Popular’s grant-making through various methods, including hosting employee informational sessions, providing information to assist in exploring grant opportunities in the community, as well as financial reports and information about the grant-making from the fund, sharing grantee successes and challenges, and exploring volunteer opportunities for interested employees.
Organizations interested in learning more about establishing a fund at CFVI can email general.info@cfvi.net.
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