About Our Grants

Questions about the 2019-2020 VLF grants? Contact Vic Sanborn at vjgerkenssanborn (at) gmail (dot) com to send questions or arrange for a phone appointment.

Since 1987, the Virginia Literacy Foundation (VLF) has funded an average of 25-30 community-based and faith-based adult literacy programs each year with matching grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Programs that have been steadily funded by the VLF collectively serve over 10,000 adults annually, using approximately 5,000 volunteers.

Starting in 2019, grant proposals must be collaborative and work towards collective impact.:

Due to the VLF grants program changing to a 2-year grant cycle; 2019-2020/2020-2021, the VLF will offer Requests for Proposals (RFPs) every other year.  Therefore, no new requests for grant proposals will be distributed in 2020.  The next round of proposals will be available in January of 2021.

2020/2021 VLF Grants promote community partnerships to improve capacity building through awareness of adult education services that result in increased  recruitment and retention of adult learners. Grants also urge programs to demonstrate best practices in adult learning with important community collaborators, or those with similar missions.

Programs are encouraged to continue with a partnership goal beyond the original 2-year grant to achieve measurable community impact.

Funds are awarded to proposals that successfully promote a primary goal in workforce instruction, adult education in family literacy instruction, the use of technology in adult education instruction, or ESOL instruction.

The VLF is one of the few funding institutions that support staff salaries as long as the grant’s outcomes and impact are tied directly to adult learning.

Organizations that are eligible for VLF grants are 501 (c) 3 organizations located in Virginia and that work with nonprofit staff, volunteers, and an active Board of Directors, and with community partners.

Our matching grants are offered in two categories:

  • capacity building grants ($5,000 for two years for program/partnerships serving a minimum of 75 students) and
  • demonstration grants ($7,500 or $12,500 for two years).

These categories are tied to the number of adult literacy students a program serves with a minimum number of 12 hours of yearly instruction.

about our grants