Register Now for VACAP May Regional Meetings

Join VACAP and your Community Action peers in May 2025 for regional meetings as we gather leaders in your respective subject matter area and strategic sponsors for a day of networking and training. May 8 and 13 will meet from 9:30 AM – 2:45 PM with new facilitators in many peer groups this year.

May 8: join us in Williamsburg at the College of William and Mary’s School of Education. Register here: https://cvent.me/4NmEKK

May 12-13: join us in Wytheville at the Wytheville Meeting Center with a NEW Weatherization Leadership Pre-Conference on May 12.

Register here: https://cvent.me/nAqOOR

You are welcome to attend either or both meetings. Please add the date and location to your calendar and we’ll see you in May!

VACAP Advocacy in Washington

VACAP had a strong delegation of 14 Virginians attending the NCAF Legislative Conference and Fly-in on March 12-14 in DC. We met with the offices of our Senators and nearly every member of the House. We also celebrated the induction of retired People Inc. CEO Rob Goldsmith into the NCAF Hall of Fame.

A key highlight was seeing our elected leaders and their dedicated staff all respond with enthusiasm as they saw the impact data and heard the stories of their constituents whose lives have been changed by community action! NCAF has a strong message and strategy with bipartisan support, but there is so much work to do in the months ahead to protect our core programs.

New Toolkits to Support Your Agency's Work from NCAF and NCAP

NCAF's 2025 Community Action Messaging Toolkit provides a collection of network talking points for communicating the critical importance of Community Action Agencies to local communities across the country. The toolkit includes sample graphics and social media posts, along with guidance on how to add your agency’s logo quickly and easily to the templates provided. 

NCAP’s new Scenario Planning Toolkit is designed to help CAAs and State Associations navigate uncertainty by exploring potential future conditions and their impacts. It offers curated resources to assess and plan for key impact areas, including financial, operations, programmatic, and community. 

NCAF toolkit is available here: https://communityactionpartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-Community-Action-Messaging-Toolkit.pdf

NCAP toolkit is available here: https://communityactionpartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Community-Action-Network-Scenario-Planning-Toolkit-Dissemination-F.pdf

VA DHCD Public Hearing on 2025-2026 Annual Action Plan

Virginia DHCD is developing its Annual Action Plan (AAP) for the next fiscal year, and will solicit public comment via virtual public hearing on Wednesday, April 2 from 1-2pm.

A draft of the 2025-2026 AAP will be made available for public comment starting March 27, 2025 at https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/consolidated-plan.

Written comments can be submitted to the following email address: feedback.pps@dhcd.virginia.gov; DHCD will accept, consider, and respond to all comments received through April 25, 2025.

More information and public hearing registration is available here: https://dmz1.dhcd.virginia.gov/dhcdevents/

Virginia SUN Bucks 2025

Virginia Department of Social Services has announced the return of its SUN Bucks program for 2025. Virginia SUN Bucks provides supplemental benefits to children through EBT cards, and assisted more than 715,000 children in Virginia last year.

Many children are automatically eligible for Virginia SUN Bucks through family participation in SNAP, TANF, or the National School Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program. (NSLP/SBP)

More information about Virginia SUN Bucks is available here: https://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/sunbucks/

Available Grant Opportunities and Upcoming Webinars

• VA Office of Broadband Digital Skills, Literacy, and Device (DSLD) Grant Program: The Virginia DHCD Office of Broadband is accepting applications for the Digital Skills, Literacy, and Device (DSLD) Program until April 21st, 2025. This program aims to implement new, expand, and/or upscale existing programs related to the advancement of digital skills and literacy, digital navigation, digital device refurbishment and/or device distribution. More information is available here: https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/digital-opportunity
• VA DHCD Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) How-to-Apply Webinar: IRF funding will open for FY26 on April 1st. This program encourages economic development through the renovation of vacant and derelict structures in Virginia. A How-to-Apply webinar will be held on Thursday, March 20, from 1-2pm.
• Learn more here: https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/irf
• Register for the webinar here: https://dmz1.dhcd.virginia.gov/dhcdevents/registration.aspx?EID=599
• Atlantic Union Bank Grant Opportunities: Atlantic Union Bank has multiple opportunities for engagement in its Corporate Social Responsibility program for Virginia agencies. More information is available here: https://www.atlanticunionbank.com/about/corporate-responsibility

SERCAP Childcare Study in Rockbridge

SERCAP was recently featured in an article in Lexington, VA media outlet The News-Gazette. In partnership with the Rockbridge County Economic Development Department, the agency conducted a child care study in its community, and published a needs assessment indicating that their area is a "day care desert" with significant child care challenges facing families.

Read the full article here: https://www.thenews-gazette.com/article/9876,study-area-a-day-care-desert

Cardinal News: The Virginia localities most dependent on federal funding are generally in Southwest Virginia

Tens of millions of dollars flow from the federal government into the Southwest and Southside regions of Virginia every year. 

That includes $13 million to Lee County, $3.4 million to the city of Norton, $10.9 million to Buchanan County, and $10.8 million to Scott County in fiscal year 2020, to name a few. Money from federal COVID relief initiatives ballooned the amount of federal dollars received by localities in the years following 2020. 

Federal money can go toward programs like Medicaid, support for public education, food assistance, access to child care, highway improvements, emergency preparedness, clean drinking water and other social services. 

Read the full article here: https://cardinalnews.org/2025/03/10/the-virginia-localities-most-dependent-on-federal-funding-are-generally-in-southwest-virginia/