Northern Virginia Community Foundation Loudoun gives $23,000 in grants to Loudoun nonprofits.

“The very best part of my job is calling grant applicants to tell them they have been awarded a grant from the Northern Virginia Community Foundation, Loudoun. It is like telling someone they won the lottery and to many nonprofits it has almost the same effect” said Judy Craun, Vice President of the Northern Virginia Community Foundation. Craun opened the Loudoun office in August of 2007 and has been so grateful for the warm reception NVCF has been given.

In May of 2008 they held their first Loudoun fundraiser, For the Love of Loudoun Arts, at the National Conference Center. “It was literally made possible by a $15,000 grant from Verizon, without which we would not have been able to have the event,” explained Craun. “The community involvement allowed us to net $23,000. We had said from the beginning we would give all of the net proceeds away to Loudoun nonprofits and that is exactly what we did,” noted Craun. The money was specified to be given to child and youth development and arts education for kids who can’t afford it.

The recipients and their plans for the grant are as follows:

The Audubon Naturalist Society – Rust Nature Sanctuary  -  $5,000

Nature Rocks will provide engaging and educational outdoor experiences for 30 at-risk children ages 5-12 from four lower income communities in Loudoun County. Through interactive games and activities designed to foster responsible environmental stewardship, including an outdoor camping experience. Nature Rocks will enable participating children to understand, enjoy and care for the natural world.

Loudoun Academy of the Arts Foundation  $3,000

The Loudoun Academy of the Arts will expand its hands-on summer camps to directly benefit children who have been identified by the Loudoun County Department of Family Services as at-risk youths. Camps will provide visual arts instruction in a variety of media for carious age groups. Grant money will allow for expansion of the program to at risk young people.

The Loudoun Lyric Opera Company  -  $5,000

The Loudoun Lyric Opera will provide tuition assistance to qualified high school juniors and seniors, as well as qualified college freshman and sophomores, to study and perform opera at the Loudoun Campus of the Northern Virginia Community College.

The Loudoun Symphony Association - $5,000

The Loudoun Symphony will use the grant to support the core organization including youth education and community outreach programs.

Sterling Playmakers   -  $5,000

The Sterling Playmakers grant will support a Young Person’s Theatre Workshop production of Disney’s Aladdin Jr. next summer. Young people ages 8 to 18 will participate in a three week workshop consisting of instruction in creative dramatics, music and dance, as well as rehearsals for the production. Students will work with a qualified director/teacher, a music director and choreographer.