The Vibrant Community Fund (VCF) panel is tasked by the City of Charlottesville with reviewing community agency program funding requests to the City with providing ratings recommendations to the Charlottesville City Manager and City Council. City staff serve as the grant managers for the Vibrant Community Fund process, including issuing the application, facilitating orientation and trainings, providing technical assistance to applicant agencies, organizing and staffing panel meetings, and preparing a final report. City Council makes the ultimate funding decisions.
Process
The competitive process begins with technical assistance orientation and training for prospective applicants, generally held in early fall. Applicants are provided with special instructions, an overview of the process and any specific priority areas identified by the local government. Applications are accepted via an online tool. Note: award recipients must provide services to residents of the City of Charlottesville.
The application for the FY27 process is slated to open on Sept. 19, 2025 and will close on Oct. 20, 2025. The application can be found here on and after September 19th: FY27 VCF Application Link. The application cannot be accessed prior to the open date. Please contact Hunter Smith at smithha@charlottesville.gov if you have any questions.
Orientation Information: Orientation is required for applicants. An in-person orientation for the FY27 application process is scheduled for September 9th from 1:30-3pm at CitySpace, located at 100 5th St. NE, Charlottesville, VA.
FY27 Orientation Slides (PDF Version; no audio): FY27 VCF Orientation Slides
Virtual FY27 VCF Orientation Option: scheduled for September 10th from 11am-12:30pm via Zoom. Link will be posted the week of September 8th. For a copy of this recorded session, please contact Hunter Smith at smithha@charlottesville.gov
Office Hours: Each Tuesday from 11am to 12:30pm during open application period. Zoom link here: FY27 VCF Office Hours (Tuesday)
Office Hours: Each Wednesday from 1pm to 2:30pm during open application period. Zoom link here: FY27 VCF Office Hours (Wednesday)
Budget Office webpage Budget | Charlottesville, VA
FY27 Budget Meeting Calendar: FY27 Budget Calendar
This year applications must meet the following City Council priorities--Public Safety, Transportation, Climate Action, and Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI), Education, Economic Prosperity, and Recreation, Arts, Culture
Please note that applicants focused on Affordable Housing and Homelessness Supports will be considered as part of the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund (CAHF) or Housing Operations and Support (HOPS) Process. For questions about HOPS and CAHF, folks should be directed to Madelyn Metzler at metzlerm@charlottesville.gov with the Housing Team at Neighborhood Development Services. For general questions about grants with the City of Charlottesville, please contact Taylor Harvey-Ryan at harveyryant@charlottesville.gov.
Please go to the following link for more information on other city grant opportunities:
Albemarle County ABRT Funding Opportunity: Agency & Cultural Funding | Albemarle County, VA
The applications are reviewed and scored by the designated panel on quality of application and level of importance. Panel members consist of diverse members; those with lived experience as a consumer of services, non-profit and/or grant writing experience and city staff. Applications are scored individually and then discussed as a team.