NEWPORT NEWS, Va.–To address what it said are “gaps in services” in the Hampton Roads, Va. communities, Bayport Credit Union has joined with two other organizations to fund a $500,000, three-year transformation grant, called Accelerating Change Together (ACT).
Joining the credit union in the initiative are HII, a defense and technology contractor, and Ferguson, a value-added distributor of numerous products. The inaugural year’s focus will be on education and workforce development.
The grant is an extension of the One Community Transformational Grant program, which HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division launched in 2018 and has since provided start-up funding for the Fort Monroe Foundation’s National Center for Freedom and the Newport News Public Schools STEM Ecosystem project.
The partnership among the three companies will expand the initial program’s scope and funding. Recognizing their unwavering commitment to the community, the ACT Grant is an extension of the three companies existing charitable giving and social impact efforts, the organizations said.
Funding Creative Ideas
“BayPort is excited to be a leader in the ACT Grant,” said Nancy Porter, VP of marketing at BayPort Credit Union and executive director of the BayPort Foundation. “So many nonprofits have creative ideas about how to address pressing community challenges but don’t have a mechanism to fund the implementation of those ideas. The goal of the ACT Grant is to invest in a project that has the most significant potential to leave a lasting legacy on our community.”
The deadline for applications is Oct. 31.