Williamsburg Health Foundation ponders millions in grants to help medical care, housing
In 30 years, the foundation has awarded more than $119 million to help local residents.
Good morning! It’s April 8. Today we start what will be a regular look at the many nonprofit groups that serve our community. We’ll also look at York County’s $300 capital budget, and why the county administrator hopes they can save on it by negotiating a deal to stay in the Williamsburg library system. Plus, the unveiling of the Great American Birthday Quilt tops our Top 5 list of weekend fun.
The Williamsburg Health Foundation is working through this year’s first round of grant applications for the millions of dollars it distributes annually to nonprofits to provide healthcare, housing and medical transportation across the Historic Triangle.
Since its creation three decades ago, the foundation has awarded more than $119 million in grants to 206 organizations.
The Health Foundation was established in 1996 when the Williamsburg Community Hospital and Sentara Healthcare formed a partnership agreement that included a $55 million endowment to support health initiatives in the area. Sentara merged the local hospital into its system in 2002, and the foundation assets expanded to $100 million.
Good investment results have grown the foundation’s size to $165 million as of last year, said Deanna Van Hersh, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer.
In 2025, it gave out 92 grants worth more than $6.8 million to 57 organizations. To qualify for grants, recipients must be nonprofits that address the foundation’s objectives of providing access to health care, helping economic advancement and creating healthy lifestyles.
Foundation leaders say local residents’ biggest needs remain unchanged.
“The three things that always pop up… (are) access to care, housing, and transportation,” Van Hersh said. “And really, for the last 10 years, it hasn’t changed.”
Access to care remains a major issue in our area, particularly for residents who fall into what providers call “the coverage gap.”
“They make too much to qualify for (government-paid) Medicaid… but they don’t earn enough to afford health insurance,” Van Hersh said. Six percent of James City and York County residents are uninsured, according to Foundation data. In Williamsburg the number is 8%.
One of the foundation’s largest grants supports Old Towne Medical and Dental Center, which receives $900,000. That’s about a fifth of the budget for the center, which serves 5,000 people.
“They are key to what this foundation was established for…to serve the under-insured or uninsured,” Van Hersh said.
Funding is distributed through three annual rounds of grant applications, said Bill Pribble, vice president of programs. He said grants are awarded in June, September and December.
Nonprofits must apply each year, and there is no automatic renewal no matter how often they were funded in the past, Pribble said.
The foundation has expanded its strategy in recent years to address broader needs.
“We have broadened out… to look at how we can help support housing,” Van Hersh said, along with education and workforce skills.
Transportation is another barrier for some people who need health care, Pribble said, so the foundation funds a rides program with the Peninsula Agency on Aging to help older adults get to medical appointments. The foundation also supports volunteer transportation programs.
“They may be taking some folks… to Richmond… it just depends where that person may need to go,” Pribble said.
Van Hersh said the foundation is planning to grow its staff from six to nine people to help expand its work.
“We know there’s a need… (the question is) what could be done, how could it be done, and how can we help?” Van Hersh said.
A look at York County’s $300 million capital construction budget
— Staying with Williamsburg library system can free up construction funds
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