Blacksburg hears funding appeals from two dozen nonprofits; ACE program seeks $50,000
Loading...
Summary
At the town council meeting nonprofits from arts, literacy, aging and conservation sectors requested continued and expanded town support. New River Community College’s ACE program requested $50,000 and multiple groups cited measurable local impacts.
Dozens of local nonprofit leaders told the Blacksburg Town Council Tuesday that municipal support helps sustain arts, literacy, food access and aging services across the New River Valley.
Deborah Kennedy, executive director of the New River Community College Educational Foundation, asked the council for $50,000 to support the ACE program, which she said removes financial barriers to college for local students, requires a GPA and 80 hours of community service and includes accountability provisions for students who withdraw from classes.
Wendy Baldwin, executive director of the Imagination Library of Montgomery County, said 2,228 children are currently enrolled in the book-giving program and that town support last year — $3,500 — paid for roughly 2,700 books. She noted the program partners with Dolly Parton’s foundation and receives state matching for book costs.
Other requests included scholarship funding from the Blacksburg Master Corral (Susan Hanson), operational support for the Blacksburg Community Band (Betsy Kibler), conservation and trail work from the New River Land Trust (Fern Michella, who cited roughly 59,000 acres conserved and 16 miles of Brush Mountain trails built), and a $20,000 request from Live.Work.Eat.Grow to maintain community garden infrastructure (Lena Schneider).
Representatives of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership (Scott Bailey) and Literacy NRV (Kareem Khan) described services for refugee families and adult learners, respectively; the Refugee Partnership asked for help preparing for legal and resettlement costs tied to federal reviews of immigration cases. Ray Parks of the New River Valley Agency on Aging requested a 5% increase to cover rising meal and transportation costs and to continue matching state and federal Older Americans Act funds.
Council considered these agency funding presentations as part of the citizen comment block; the meeting’s consent agenda — which included approval of March 3 and March 10 minutes and two resolutions referring zoning amendments on retail marijuana, tobacco and hemp and reclassifying a code inspector position in the pay plan — was approved by roll call earlier in the meeting. The council also approved the off-cycle appointment of Michael Harvey to the New River Valley Regional Commission, term ending June 30, 2027.
Council members did not take additional budget votes at this meeting; the presentations are part of the town’s annual budget consideration cycle and will inform staff and council deliberations ahead of formal budget decisions later in the process.
