West Virginia First Foundation Inc.

West Virginia First Foundation is unlike any traditional private philanthropy — it is a publicly mandated steward of opioid settlement funds distributed under the West Virginia First Memorandum of Understanding. With $224.2 million in assets and matching annual income (reflecting active settlement disbursements rather than investment returns), the foundation operates closer to a quasi-governmental grant program than a conventional funder. This changes everything about how to approach it.

The mission is singular and non-negotiable: empowering West Virginians to prevent substance use disorder, support recovery, and save lives. Organizations working in adjacent health or social services without a direct substance use disorder nexus should not apply — the foundation's scoring criteria are anchored entirely within this mandate. Those firmly within the lane face a structured, multi-stage competitive process with meaningful safeguards against weak applications.

Relationship dynamics here are formal rather than relational. Unlike many foundations where donor cultivation and program officer rapport matter enormously, WV First evaluates applications through an expert panel scoring system that then advances top scores to the full board. Personal connections to board members are not a substitute for a strong application — and the foundation explicitly reserves the right to conduct unannounced site visits during the review period, signaling that operational fidelity and program credibility carry real weight.

First-time applicants should know that the foundation received 174 applications in its inaugural competitive round — a clear sign of high demand relative to available slots. Organizations that win consistently will likely share three traits: explicit alignment with that cycle's published target areas, documented service to communities hit hardest by the overdose crisis, and evidence-based program models with verifiable outcomes.

The typical application pathway runs: grant portal registration → 11-question project narrative → line-item budget → submission → expert panel scoring → board vote. There is no formal LOI stage for standard grants. However, organizations seeking large ($1M+), multi-regional investments should explore the separate Direct Funding Model, which requires demonstrated impact across at least 4 of WV's 6 regional zones and a committed external co-funding source — this pathway bypasses the standard competitive cycle and goes directly to board consideration after a staged review.

West Virginia First Foundation has distributed grants in three confirmed tranches since launching in late 2024, with a fourth mega-commitment approved separately.

Round 1 — Standard Grants (December 2024): $10.4 million to 38 organizations. Average award: approximately $273,684. This inaugural round likely set the floor and ceiling for standard grants — individual awards appear to range from roughly $50,000 to $500,000 based on the total spread.

Round 2 — Supplemental Cycle (Spring 2025): $6.21 million in supplemental funding, awardees announced by April 2025. Fewer details are publicly available on per-grant amounts, but the total suggests continued emphasis on a wide pool of mid-size awards.

Round 3 — Momentum Initiative Grants (December 2025): Nearly $18 million across 76 projects. Average award: approximately $236,842. The MIG program is explicitly described as targeting 'high-impact' and 'strategic' initiatives, yet the average per-grant award is modestly lower than Round 1's average — suggesting a broader distribution rather than a concentration in fewer, larger awards.

Special Commitment: A separate $20 million was committed to a single 'groundbreaking addiction recovery project' outside the competitive cycle, demonstrating that transformative capital investments are possible through the Direct Funding Model.

Total confirmed disbursements (14 months): Approximately $34.6 million across 114+ competitive grants, plus $20 million in direct funding, for an estimated $54.6 million deployed in year one.

Program area breakdown (2025 MIG target areas): - Statewide: Foster care and non-parental caregiver support - Regional Track 1: Youth substance use prevention - Regional Track 2: Recovery housing development - Regional Track 3: Behavioral health and workforce development - Regional Track 4: Day report and reentry programs

Geographic focus is exclusively West Virginia. With $224.2 million in assets and ongoing settlement disbursements as income, the foundation has multi-year grant capacity. Organizations should size requests at $150,000–$400,000 for competitive cycles; larger requests require the Direct Funding Model with co-funding evidence.

West Virginia First Foundation occupies a distinctive niche among health-focused foundations of similar asset size: it is a settlement-funded, single-state, single-issue funder with a defined statutory mandate. This contrasts with its asset peers, which are more broadly mission-driven community health funders.

WV First stands apart on several dimensions. Its annual giving rate (~$35M+ in year one, with more to come) is disproportionately large relative to assets — driven by settlement disbursement obligations rather than typical 5% payout minimums. Its geographic exclusivity (West Virginia only) and mission exclusivity (substance use disorder only) make it a rare high-conviction funder. Peer foundations serve broader populations and issue areas, creating more competition for their dollars. For WV-based substance use disorder organizations, WV First is the dominant local funder of its type and should be treated as a priority relationship.

The foundation has moved quickly for an organization that only received its IRS ruling in January 2025. Within its first 14 months, it has completed three grant cycles, approved a $20 million special commitment, commissioned a statewide needs assessment, and navigated a major leadership transition — all while managing $224 million in assets.

December 2025: Nearly $18 million in Momentum Initiative Grants announced to 76 projects across five target areas. This was the foundation's largest single competitive cycle to date and introduced the MIG as its flagship high-impact vehicle.

December 2024: $10.4 million in initial grants to 38 organizations — the foundation's debut competitive round, which received 174 applications and established the scoring infrastructure.

Spring 2025: $6.21 million supplemental round completed, with awardees named by April.

March 2025: RFP issued for a statewide needs assessment — a signal that the foundation is investing in data infrastructure to guide future funding priorities beyond the initial settlement framework.

Fall 2025: Founding board chair Matt Harvey stepped down after being nominated as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia by President Trump. Greg Duckworth — a former state trooper and sitting Raleigh County Commissioner — was elected interim chair and subsequently confirmed as permanent chair.

March 19, 2026: Next scheduled public board meeting, available virtually. This is a meaningful opportunity for prospective grantees to observe board priorities and hear about upcoming cycles before they are formally announced.

1. Read the target areas before you draft a single word. WV First announces specific funding targets at the opening of each grant cycle — statewide target areas and four regional categories. Applications are sorted into these buckets before scoring begins. If your project doesn't map cleanly to an announced target, it will not advance regardless of program quality.

2. Answer all 11 narrative questions directly and in order. The foundation has disclosed the project narrative structure publicly. Questions cover: the need your program addresses, your specific goals, your financial condition, your sustainability plan, and the precise use of requested funds. Do not conflate answers or skip sub-questions — the scoring rubric tracks each element separately.

3. Write your budget first, not last. A detailed line-item budget with narrative justifications for each expense is required. Organizations that draft the budget after the narrative often produce inconsistencies between the two that reviewers flag. Build the budget first, then write the narrative around the actual numbers.

4. Quantify your overdose/substance use impact data. The foundation's equity lens explicitly favors communities with documented high overdose rates and historically underserved populations. Pull county-level overdose data from WV DHHR or CDC WONDER and include it in your community needs section — do not make reviewers look this up themselves.

5. Demonstrate evidence-based programming. The foundation requires 'evidence-based strategies.' Name the specific model you use (e.g., SBIRT, Seeking Safety, Oxford House standards) and cite the research base. Locally-developed programs should present outcome data from prior years.

6. Prepare your operations before you apply. Unannounced site visits are explicitly permitted during review. Your facilities, staffing, recordkeeping, and program delivery must match what the application describes. An application that looks strong on paper but has a chaotic operational reality will fail at the site visit stage.

7. Use the Direct Funding Model for large, multi-regional projects. If your project covers 4+ WV regions and you have an external co-funding partner (county QSF funds, federal grants, etc.), submit an Opportunity Consideration at wvfirst.org/direct-funding/ — this bypasses the standard competitive cycle and allows for requests well above the typical range.

8. Contact grants@wvfirst.org early. The foundation's email is publicly listed. A brief eligibility check email before investing 40+ hours in an application is always worth sending.