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Quarterly Impact Updates: April-June 2025

West Virginia Grant Resource Centers booth at a conference event.
(From left) Jessica Shaw, Lexi Browning, and Priscila Santos attended and tabled the 2025 WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Annual Conference in Shepherdstown in April.

Between outreach, training, and forging new partnerships, Spring 2025 was an eventful season for the Grant Centers team! Throughout April, May, and June we participated in 17 events across the state, including Charleston, Morgantown, Fairmont, Shepherdstown, Bridgeport, and Roanoke. The six trainings we hosted resulted in the direct upskilling of 354 individuals. 

Grant Centers, WV One Stop Business Center partnership launches

We also launched our Outreach Hours and Virtual Outreach Hours collaboration with the WV One Stop Business Center in Charleston, an initiative of the WV Secretary of State’s Office. Each month, we’ve hosted one in person and one virtual event for West Virginia businesses, communities, and nonprofits to visit, inquire about their eligibility, and receive guidance for the next steps in their grant journeys.

This series will continue through September. To learn more about this partnership and view our event schedule, read our press release. Entities interested in scheduling a Virtual Outreach Hours session may submit an application using the intake form. Walk-in Outreach Hours event attendees will be accommodated pending availability at the WV One Stop Business Center, located at 13 Kanawha Blvd W 201, Charleston, West Virginia.

Smiling woman at desk with West Virginia Grant Resource Centers materials.
Co-Founder, Sara Payne Scarbro, hosted the first in-person Outreach Hours event with the WV One Stop Business Center in Charleston, WV.

Training Opportunities

The Live Grant Assistance Sessions (LGAS) are biweekly webinars developed and presented by our talented team of grant writers that take a one-hour, deep dive into a single grant-related topic, specific funding opportunities, or other capacity-building resources. 

This spring, we also led six Live Grant Assistance Sessions, which attracted 354 attendees. We also introduced our first Resource Spotlights, which aim to shine a light on our partner entities and provide an opportunity for their featured representatives to speak with attendees about their grant programs, available resources, and respond to common questions. 

Altogether, we covered the following topics: 

  • Foundation Funding: Strategies for Success
  • Evaluation
  • Seeking and Finding Grants
  • (Creative) Grant Writing
  • Resource Spotlight: Partner Community Capital
  • Resource Spotlight: Benedum Foundation

Special thanks to our partners with Partner Community Capital and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation for taking time to participate in our Spotlight series!

Have an idea for a Live Grant Assistance Session? Send your suggestions to: info@wvgrantcenters.com with the Subject Line: LGAS.

Events Attended & Engaged

In Q2, the Grant Centers team attended and engaged with 11 events for various speaking engagements, tabling opportunities, legislative activities, and conferences. Each season, these events provide us with unique opportunities to educate attendees about our free grant writing services, reconnect with partners, and celebrate ongoing developments in our state.

West Virginia Grant Resource Centers booth at an event with two women behind table.
Lexi Browning and Katie Cartwright tabled for 2025 Flood Resiliency Day. (Photo by Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography)

Conferences & Tabling

  • 2025 Flood Resiliency Day at the Capitol | WV State Resiliency Office (Charleston)
  • 2025 Focus Forward Annual Conference | WV Public Education Collaborative (Morgantown)
  • 2025 WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Annual Conference; Bridging Innovation Week | WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (Shepherdstown)
People attending a professional meeting at West Virginia Grant Resource Centers.
Grant Writer Jessica Shaw, left, and Co-Director Priscila Santos met with various entities during the WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Conference’s Intentional Collisions activity in April. Through this event, attendees could schedule appointments with various service providers.

Speaking Engagements: 4

  • St. John’s Episcopal Church (Charleston)
  • Broadband Summit (Fairmont)
  • Mountain State Land Use Summit (Roanoke)
  • WV Municipal Financial Officers Association Conference (Bridgeport)
Woman standing next to West Virginia Business Center banner for economic growth.
Grant Writer Brittany Chaber hosted the June in-person Outreach Hours event with the WV One Stop Business Center in Charleston, WV.

Outreach Hours with the WV One Stop Business Center: 4

  • May Outreach Hours (Charleston)
  • May Virtual Outreach Hours
  • June Outreach Hours (Charleston)
  • June Virtual Outreach Hours