Marshall, WVU Partnership Helps Bring Millions In Grants To The State

The West Virginia Grant Resource Centers announced Thursday it helped secure more than 61 funding awards, totaling $14,741,327.60 in 2024 to support economic, community and workforce development projects across the state. 

The free resource helps groups across West Virginia maximize state, federal, and private dollars by supporting and guiding grant writing.

Liz Vitullo, assistant vice president for economic innovation at WVU, co-founded the Grant Resource Centers in 2023 with Sara Payne Scarbro, of Marshall University. She said they provide not only writing support, but also training so organizations can enhance their own grant writing capacity.

“One of the goals of the Grant Resource Centers is to enhance the skills and capacity within the state and within organizations,” Vitullo said. “We don’t just fish for someone, we teach them how to fish as well.”

Since its founding, the Grant Resources Centers have assisted clients with securing more than $44 million in project funding and creating or sustaining 180 jobs altogether. Vitullo said they focus on grants that focus on achieving or pursuing economic prosperity throughout the state.

“I can’t wait to see the ripple effect of the Grant Resource Centers five, ten years down the road,” she said. “These individuals are writing proposals that are going to impact their lives directly, will be in the jobs and in the careers, or will be building the businesses and flourishing as entrepreneurs, or the infrastructure will be in place and recruiting the new businesses to the state.”

The Grant Resource Centers are located in Huntington and Morgantown, but Vitullo said they are excited to assist organizations across the state, and pay particular attention to organizations that are in distressed counties, as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“We try to support where we can so as long as it aligns with our big buckets of activities that support economic prosperity,” she said. “That’s a wide bucket. We support proposals that are workforce Initiatives, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, outdoor and community development. So things that align in those buckets are our guide posts, but we try to support wherever we can.”

Due to recent cuts across federal funding systems, and an uncertain future in the grant space, Vitullo said her team is closely monitoring changes to  make sure they are keeping up with current events and policy priorities.

“What we’re trying to do is really help our clients navigate this funding landscape and funding opportunities, facilitating both connections on a federal and state and local level,” she said. “That means that we really try to help organizations identify funding opportunities that align with their initiatives, and making sure that they provide the most robust proposal.”

Vitullo said that will require looking beyond federal funding sources to a more diverse base to advance the work nonprofits, local and state entities are doing across the state.