awards

June 22 2023

Piedmont Arts Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, artwork, awards, Beehives, gardens, Green Grants, Piedmont Arts, Pollinators

Piedmont Arts is all abuzz with a $1,000 Green Grant for their Community Beautification plans, as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Located in the heart of Martinsville’s Arts and Cultural District in Southwest Virginia, Piedmont Arts is an award-winning art museum that curates thought-provoking exhibitions by international, national and regional artists. The museum also offers performing arts, from concerts to plays to children’s performances, and art classes for all ages. Educational programming is offered for students of all ages, including in gallery classes as well as organizing events for in-school outreach. Piedmont Arts is the hub for arts of all varieties and arts education in Martinsville and Henry County.

Funds provided by the Green Grants award will be used to purchase bee hives, beekeeping supplies, and bees for the Art Garden and attached pollinator garden trail.

The beekeeping program will take place along the pollinator path, which is located on an area of unused land that runs from the museum’s parking lot to the Gravely-Lester Art Garden. The pathway is made of ADA-compliant crush-and-run gravel to create an accessible and beautiful space that will function as a trail and community garden. Martinsville is a Bee City, meaning the city is dedicated to the protection and stewardship of native pollinators. The pathway will be lined with garden plots and raised beds that can be adopted by the community that will be filled with native and noninvasive pollinator plants.

The garden will have a compost station and educational signage posted throughout so that even people who do not want to plant and maintain a garden can still learn from the pollinator. Piedmont Arts is working to create opportunities for local artists to paint signage, birdhouses, and other structures so the garden path will be filled with compelling and beautiful artwork.

The bees and butterflies will thank you by pollinating the flowers and gardens that you’re planting!

March 6 2023

Time to Apply for a Green Grant

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, $500, $750, awards, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, Green Grants, Litter Prevention, recycling, Seed money

Our spring Green Grants Program is ready for your application!

The Green Grants program empowers groups all across Virginia to make an environmental impact in their own communities. This is one of the ways we can engage the people who live in Virginia to improve our natural and scenic environment. We believe in a shared responsibility to end littering, improve recycling and beautify communities, and we know with your determination and our support, much can be accomplished!

Grant applications will be accepted from March 1 through April 30, 2023.

The applications are evaluated and scored by a panel of experts in their fields. In June, one Green Grant award is announced one each day. The grants are awarded to schools, parks, counties and towns, environmental groups, associations, nonprofits, service organizations, and other groups. Individuals are not eligible.

Here are the general Grant Application Guidelines. You should apply for the category that matches the project or program you plan to put in place: Litter Prevention, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, or Recycling. Please see the Green Grant Program webpage for more information on how to submit an application.

Here are some past awards to inspire you!

The “Litter Critter Project” at DuPont Elementary School has positively impacted Dupont and our school community by using litter grabbers and other cleanup equipment we purchased through a Green Grant. Students have been learning about various ways to help take care of the environment and are inspiring others by encouraging them to not litter!

The Children’s Museum of Richmond now offers refillable water stations to visitors! Through the Green Grant Award, upgraded the water fountain to include a state-of-the-art refillable water bottle stations in effort to help reduce the amount of single use plastic that ends up in landfills. By encouraging visitors to reduce their use of plastic and reuse their bottles for water consumption, the Children’s Museum of Richmond hopes to help reduce their carbon footprint and raise awareness about the importance of reducing use of plastic materials.

Dorey Park Farmers Market partnered with Troop 501 Boy Scouts to design and build a three-compartment recycle, compost, and trash bin for use at the Saturday morning farmers market. The recycle and compost bin will be used for many market seasons. It will serve to educate the community about good environmental practices.

Dickenson County Chamber of Commerce placed 18 cigarette receptacles throughout the county, and distributed pocket ashtrays to smokers during this grant period. The town employees and county workers at the park had been picking up cigarette butts that were littered, but as time goes on there are more and more in the receptacles instead of on the ground.

To see all of the 2022 Green Grant Awards, follow THIS LINK!

To learn more about this year’s application process, please visit the Green Grants Program webpage.

For questions about the Green Grants Program or the application, please contact Beckey Watson [email protected].

Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $282,000 for 385 programs and projects throughout the state. We are grateful to the 2022 sponsors of our Green Grants program:

July 1 2022

Thirty Green Grant Awards Wrap Up for 2022

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, 2022 Green Grants, awards, Beautification, Cigarette Litter, CLPP, Grant, Green Grants, Litter Prevention, recycling

Congratulations to all the 2022 Green Grants that were awarded in June!

We continue to be impressed by the ideas for projects and programs that groups submitted, and the volunteer power and sweat equity that they’re ready to put into action to accomplish goals that will improve our natural and scenic environment. Thank you to all who applied, and for the good work that you’re doing in your communities!

We wish we could fund all the applications — the competition is fierce! It makes the role of our judging panel difficult, and we appreciate their time and expertise.

We also want to give a shout out and a huge THANK YOU to this year’s sponsors, without whom this program would not be possible: Altria, WestRock, and Village Bank!

Here’s a recap of the daily announcements of Green Grant awards for 2022, with links for your reading pleasure and inspiration!

Announced	Category	Amount	Organization
6/1/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Mill Mountain Zoo
6/2/2022	Recycling	$1,000	Northern VA 4-H Educational & Conf Center
6/3/2022	Litter Prevention	$750	DuPont Elementary School
6/4/2022	CLPP	$1,000	Frederick County
6/5/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Union Presbyterian Seminary
6/6/2022	Recycling	$750	North Branch School
6/7/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Pollinator Habitat Garden Club
6/8/2022	CLPP	$1,000	Dickenson County Chamber of Commerce
6/9/2022	Recycling	$1,000	Ridge Elementary PTA
6/10/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Town of Purcellville
6/11/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Virginia Community Voice
6/12/2022	Community Beautification	$500	Friends of Forest Hill Park
6/13/2022	Litter Prevention	$1,000	City of Fairfax, Treasurer
6/14/2022	CLPP	$1,000	City of Newport News
6/15/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Friends of the Lower Appomattox River
6/16/2022	Litter Prevention	$500	Town of Pennington Gap
6/17/2022	Recycling	$1,000	Dorey Park Farmers Market
6/18/2022	Litter Prevention	$500	Keep Suffolk Beautiful
6/19/2022	Recycling	$1,000	Upper Tennessee River Roundtable
6/20/2022	Litter Prevention	$1,000	GroundworkRVA
6/21/2022	Recycling	$1,000	Gloucester County
6/22/2022	Litter Prevention	$1,000	Friends of Norfolk’s Environment
6/23/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Blue Ridge Conservation
6/24/2022	Recycling	$500	Charlottesville TimeBank
6/25/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Sustainability Matters
6/26/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Concerned Citizens of Charles City County
6/27/2022	CLPP	$1,000	askHRGreen
6/28/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Downtown Greens
6/29/2022	Recycling	$1,000	Children’s Museum of Richmond
6/30/2022	Community Beautification	$1,000	Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley

May 30 2022

Reasons to Celebrate

Beckey Watson Uncategorized awards, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, Green Grants, Litter Prevention, projects, recycling

As we wrap up May, with its unpredictable weather, we’re looking forward to the month of June. It’s the month where we welcome summer, have a break from school, and maybe take a vacation.

It’s an extra special month every year at our organization because for thirty days we announce the Green Grant awards – one on each day of the month. Green Grant applications were accepted in April, and our panel of experts read, evaluated, and scored the proposals in May. Now it’s time to reveal the projects and programs that groups across the state will accomplish in their communities.

Here are some statistics about the applicants we had this year and the projects or programs they submitted for evaluation:

The grant application categories:
Community Beautification: 45%
Cigarette Litter Prevention: 12%
Litter Prevention: 23%
Recycling: 20%

The types of groups that applied:
Schools: 8%
Nonprofits: 54%
Civic organizations: 4%
Faith-based institutions: 4%
Municipalities: 28%
Private business: 2%

The areas in which the program or project will take place:
Rural: 33%
Suburban: 16%
Urban: 51%

This is a good representation of the communities that make up Commonwealth. There were applications for projects in 63 different ZIP Codes. (There are about 850 ZIP Codes in the state of Virginia, in case you were wondering.) Many of the groups focus on serving their communities with a great awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Several schools and municipalities aim to educate youth and teach them that we’re each responsible for the keeping our environment clean and green.

The judges mentioned that there were so many good projects that it was difficult to determine the awards. They were impressed with the creative ideas, and the power of modest-sized organizations who are willing to make a big difference. We wish we could fund them all!

There was one thing, however, that they all had in common with our organization: ALL of them want to make improvements in the natural and scenic environment of our Commonwealth. We’re grateful for the work they’re doing, and we hope that you’ll enjoy seeing the announcements each day in June.

Check back here on our Latest News post beginning on June 1^st to see the announcements. You’ll be inspired by the projects and programs they have planned! Follow us and comment on social media too.

June 24 2021

VTC Environmental Institute is Awarded a Green Grant

Beckey Watson 30 in 30 Green Grants, Uncategorized award, awards, environment, erosion control, Green Grants, Native grasses, native plants, Petersburg

Congratulations to today’s award of our 2021 Green Grants! VTC Environmental Institute, in Virginia Beach, will receive $750 for their Community Beautification project. We continue to announce one grant award each day during the month of June.

VTC Environmental Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to working with lawn and landscape industries, cities, environmental groups, and others to preserve and restore the environment.

VTC Environmental Institute will work with Virginia Cooperative Extension Agents at Virginia State University to establish erosion control projects in the City of Petersburg. Erosion control is important for maintaining soil quality, filtering pollutants that end up in our waterways, and providing natural habitats for wildlife and vegetation. VTC Environmental Institute will use their grant funds to purchase native grasses for this project and materials for amending the nutrient-drained soil.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic and service organizations in Virginia were invited to apply for grants for $500 to $1,000 describing how they plan to tackle an environmental concern in their community regarding Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification. Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different environmental programs and projects all across the Commonwealth, due to the generosity of their partnership with Altria, as well as additional support from Coca-Cola, WestRock and Keep America Beautiful.

June 22 2021

$1,000 Grant Goes to Lynchburg Grows

Beckey Watson Uncategorized award, awards, Beautification, Bees, garden, Grant, Grants, Green Grants, grow, Lynchburg, native plants, Pollinators

We are all abuzz about today’s Green Grant award! Congratulations to Lynchburg Grows, who will receive a grant award of $1000 to implement its Community Beautification project to install a pollinator garden! We’ll continue announcing one grant award each day during the month of June.

Lynchburg Grows is a non-profit urban farm in the heart of Lynchburg, Virginia. The city received the designation of Bee City USA, in 2019. Lynchburg Grows donates the produce they grow to local organizations that feed the hungry, and to participants in their cooking and nutrition program.

Lynchburg Grows will use their grant award to create a pollinator garden. Pollinators are critical to the functioning of the food-producing ecosystem on the farm. They will plant a large variety of native plants to attract and feed native pollinators, who will in turn pollinate the crops that are growing on the farm.

June 20 2021

Buena Vista is Awarded $1,000 Grant

Beckey Watson 30 in 30 Green Grants, Uncategorized award, awards, Beautification, Community, Grant, Grants, Green Grants, landscaping

The City of Beuna Vista is today’s award of our 2021 Green Grants, and will receive $1000 for its Community Beautification project. We’ll be announcing one each day during the month of June.

The City of Buena Vista, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is working hard to beautify and revitalize the community. The Community Beautification project they plan to implement is for new landscaping on one corner of the most trafficked intersection in the City. The intersection of State Route 60 and State Route 501 has the highest vehicle count of any in the City. But it has languished for decades with sparse grass and unkempt trees, without enough budget or City personnel to attend to it.

The City of Buena Vista will use funds from their Green Grant award to purchase and install new landscaping. The City will be able to plant shrubs and flowers that draw attention to the beauty of Buena Vista, and give residents a sense of pride in their town.

June 3 2021

$1,000 Grant Goes to Chancellor Elementary PTA

Beckey Watson 30 in 30 Green Grants, Uncategorized awards, environment, Grant, Grants, green, Green Grants, recycle, recycling, reduce, reuse, School

We’re excited to announce that today’s award of our 2021 Green Grants goes to the Chancellor Elementary Parent-Teacher Association in Spotsylvania County, who will receive $1000 for its Recycling project. We’ll be announcing one each day during the month of June.

The Chancellor Elementary PTA will use their grant funds to install water bottle refill stations. This will encourage students to use refillable water bottles to safely meet their hydration needs because the school’s water fountains were closed due to COVID restrictions. Currently, single-use plastic bottles are the only way for children to access drinking water. The plastic bottles are being thrown away, and if even a fourth of the students fill their water bottle once each school day, a refill station will prevent over 2,400 plastic water bottles from being sent to the landfill every month!

The school system’s county maintenance will install the retrofit kit to the water fountain therefore eliminating installation costs.

The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve the natural and scenic environment. Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different environmental programs and projects all across the Commonwealth, due to the generosity of their partnership with Altria, as well as additional support from Coca-Cola, WestRock and Keep America Beautiful.

30in30 2021 posts - Partnership for a New Phoebus

June 1 2021

First Green Grant is Awarded to Partnership for a New Phoebus

Beckey Watson 30 in 30 Green Grants, Uncategorized 30 IN 30, award, awards, Beautification, Green Grants, Hampton, rain garden, shore

We’re excited to announce the first award of our 2021 “Green Grants!” We’ll be announcing one each day during the month of June.

Congratulations to the Partnership for a New Phoebus, located in Hampton, who will receive a grant award of $1000 for its Community Beautification project!

Partnership for a New Phoebus will improve the flood resiliency, landscape aesthetics, and overall amenities of their new waterfront park. The neighborhood’s small waterfront green space, the Phoebus Waterfront Park, was formerly a vacant business and parking lot that stood on historically significant land. Rain gardens will be installed to purify storm water draining into the Chesapeake Bay, and serve as a pollinator garden. Native marsh grass along the shore will be installed to act as a natural safeguard against erosion. Grant funds will be used to purchase an acre’s worth of seeds and plugs for restoring the salt marsh, as well as native pollinator plants.

May 10 2021

Here Comes the Judge

Beckey Watson Uncategorized 30 IN 30, award, awards, Beautification, Cigarette Litter, environment, green, Green Grants, litter, Litter Prevention, recycle, recycling, Virginia

Thank you to everyone who submitted an application for our 30 in 30 Green Grants Program! We had a good response in all four categories, outlining projects that were varied and purposeful. They clearly demonstrate the needs in communities, and show what can be done with dedication and some funding. The judges certainly will have a tough time evaluating and scoring this year’s proposals!

We’d like to thank this year’s panel of judges for their expertise in their fields. They take time from their busy days to read, evaluate, and score applications for their respective category. We will compile their scores to determine the top applications, and announce one grant award each day during the month of June on our website and social media channels.

Judging Panel for 2021 Green Grants

Community Beautification Category
Renesha Chiles, Dept. of Conservation and Recreation
Lane Guilliam, former KVB Board member, Wilton House
Nancy Heltman, Dept. of Conservation and Recreation
Eunice Kulesza, former Sr. Env. Comp. Specialist at FAREVA
Kathy Emerson, Local Artist
Chris Vassey, Attorney, KVB Board member

Litter Prevention and Cigarette Litter Prevention Categories
Carol W. Doss, Former KVB Board member, Keep SW Virginia Beautiful
Kris Ferguson, KVB Board Member, Ferguson Environmental Consulting
Julia Hillegass, KVB Board Member, Agricultural Reserve City of Virginia Beach
Kendra Norrell, Community Outreach Coordinator, City of Richmond
Suzanne Taylor, Dept. of Environmental Quality

Recycling Category
Chris Conley, Afton Chemical
Jake Hughes, WestRock
Rebecca Johnson, WestRock
Roseann Lee, WestRock
Ravi Menon, Afton Chemical
Douglas Sharo, KVB Board Member, Sustainability Manager, WestRock
Cathy Warner, GHD
Julie Williams-Daves, Dominion Energy

We are also very grateful to this year’s sponsors: Altria, Coca-Cola, WestRock, and Keep America Beautiful! We sincerely appreciate the financial and other support they provide.

Follow THIS LINK to see the list of last year’s Green Grant Awards. Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different programs and projects throughout the state.