Mission Statement
As a community-centered, equity-forward institution, our mission is to improve the quality of life for those negatively impacted by inequitable systems across our region, so that we can be a region in which everyone can belong, participate, contribute, and thrive.About Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
Strong nonprofits make a strong region. That belief drives everything we do at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF).
As we approach our 60th anniversary, CACF remains the place where neighbors pool their generosity to do more together than any of us could alone. We serve the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange. Generations of families, businesses, and nonprofits have trusted us to steward their giving and to help them give with greater impact.
Think of us as a partner for your generosity. Whether you’re giving your first $25 or carrying on a family tradition, we help your giving go further. We help you find where it can do the most good, handle the details, and connect you with the people doing the work. Together, we put those dollars to work in three ways:
• grants
• scholarships
• hands-on support for the local nonprofits that keep our region running, from food pantries and youth programs to housing partners and environmental groups
Most of what we grant starts with a neighbor who chose to partner with us. In 2026 alone, funds at the Community Foundation have awarded:
• $1.16M in scholarships across the region, and implemented CACF’s first Universal Scholarship Application
• nearly $900,000 to 158 nonprofits through the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band
• $93,000 to 26 nonprofits in Louisa County
• $230,000 to 11 grassroots groups through our community-advised Solidarity program
Behind each of those grants is someone who decided to give through the Community Foundation. Those numbers are their impact, and they can be yours.
Money isn’t the only thing nonprofits need. Grants rarely cover the everyday work of running an organization: HR, IT, marketing, and financial planning. So, we help fill that gap. Through our partnership with Catchafire, we’ve connected more than 340 local nonprofits with skilled volunteers and delivered over $6 million in free professional services. We also bring people together: funders, nonprofit leaders, local government, and neighbors. We tackle the region’s biggest challenges side by side, not in silos.
We do this work with a clear purpose: to improve the quality of life for people negatively impacted by inequitable systems, so that everyone in our region can belong, participate, contribute, and thrive. That means listening first, staying close to the communities we serve, and sharing resources fairly.
Your gift makes it possible.
When you give to CACF through C-VILLE Gives, your donation supports our community grantmaking and nonprofit support across the region. Every dollar stays right here at home. We don’t do this work for our community. We do it with you.