Virginia Law Foundation
Charlottesville, VA · EIN 51-0198088. Reported 177 grants totalling $3,399,559 to 57 organizations across tax years 2021-2025, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Virginia Law Foundation, the IRS classifies it under crime & legal rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE I80Z) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 57 distinct organizations, with 7% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 76% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,000. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $6,000 and the largest $70,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Marshall Center for Constitutional History and Civics | Richmond, VA | $242,400 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Library of Virginia Foundation | Richmond, VA | $205,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Appalachian School of Law | Grundy, VA | $186,750 | 10 | 5 | 2025 |
| Virginia Poverty Law Center Inc | Richmond, VA | $180,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Greater Richmond Bar Foundation | Richmond, VA | $145,000 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| Virginia Beach Justice Initiative | Hampton, VA | $140,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Blue Ridge Legal Services Inc | Harrisonburg, VA | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| William & Mary Law School Foundation | Williamsburg, VA | $103,500 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| Fairfax Law Foundation | Fairfax, VA | $95,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Capital Area Immigrants Rights Coalition | Washington, DC | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Central Virginia Legal Aid Society Inc | Richmond, VA | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Montpelier Foundation | Mntpelier Sta, VA | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley Inc | Roanoke, VA | $77,700 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association | Charlottesvle, VA | $77,500 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| George Mason University Foundation Inc | Fairfax, VA | $77,000 | 4 | 3 | 2025 |
| Virginia Legal Aid Society Inc | Lynchburg, VA | $76,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Virginia State Bar Diversity Conference | Richmond, VA | $76,000 | 6 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance | Richmond, VA | $75,000 | 4 | 3 | 2025 |
| Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program | Glen Allen, VA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Virginia Network for Victims and Witnesses of Crime Inc | Henrico, VA | $72,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society Inc | Marion, VA | $68,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Legal Information Network for Cancer | Richmond, VA | $59,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Drive-to-Work | Richmond, VA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation | Richmond, VA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia Inc | Norfolk, VA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Virginia Civics Education Incorporated | Culpeper, VA | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Jazz 4 Justice Inc | Fairfax, VA | $47,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Liberty University Inc | Lynchburg, VA | $46,750 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of Richmond | Richmond, VA | $46,750 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Washington & Lee University | Lexington, VA | $46,750 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Just Neighbors Ministry Inc | Annandale, VA | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Legal Aid Justice Center | Charlottesvle, VA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Regent University | Virginia Bch, VA | $39,750 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Legal Services of Northern Virginia Inc | Fairfax, VA | $37,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Regent University Foundation | Virginia Bch, VA | $37,000 | 2 | 1 | 2025 |
| Virginia Hispanic Chamber Foundation Inc | N Chesterfld, VA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Virginia Holocaust Museum | Richmond, VA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason | Arlington, VA | $29,750 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Resolution Virginia | Lyndhurst, VA | $26,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fairfax Law Foundation | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 | |
| University of Virginia Law School Foundation | Charlottesvle, VA | $21,250 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| William & Mary School of Law | Williamsburg, VA | $21,250 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Madison House | Charlottesvle, VA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| William and Mary Law School Association | Williamsburg, VA | $17,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Virginia Historical Society | Richmond, VA | $16,890 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Blue Ridge CASA for Children Inc | Staunton, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates Inc | Fairfax, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Northern Virginia Family Services Inc | Falls Church, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Slover Library Foundation | Norfolk, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Virginia Beach Court Appointed Special Advocate Program Inc | Virginia Beach, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Virginia Civics Education Inc | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | |
| Randolph-Macon College | Ashland, VA | $14,569 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Council on Legal Education Opportunity Inc | Alexandria, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia Inc | Richmond, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lawyers for Children Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Virginia Law Related Education Institute | Richmond, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| YWCA of Central Virginia | Lynchburg, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
40 of 57 (70%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Library of Virginia Foundation
This grant provides for the preservation and sharing of the Virginia Convention of 1776 Collection. - Jmc for Constitutional History & Civics
THIS GRANT SUPPORTS CIVICS CONNECS WHICH WILL BE PILOTED IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS ACROSS THE STATE. THIS PROGRAM WILL COVER ALL VIRGINIA STANDARDS FOR CIVICS FOR MIDDLE GRADES. - John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics
The John Marshall Center (JMC) preserves and honors the founding legacy of John Marshall by engaging and educating learners of all ages about our constitutional history, the Rule of Law, and civics. - John Marshall Center for Constitutional History and Civics
Civics 250: A Common Cause for All educates Virginia's middle and high school civics teacher about the rule of law as well as providing SOL based lesson plans. - Appalachian School of Law
THIS GRANT SUPPORTED A MEDICAL LEGAL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LAW SCHOOL AND BALLAD HEALTH ESPECIALLY HELPING THOSE IMPACTED BY HURRICANE HELENE AND THE 2025 FLOOD. - Greater Richmond Bar Foundation
THIS GRANT SUPPORTS GRBF TO MOBILIZE, TRAIN, AND CONNECT ATTORNEYS WITH PRO BONO CLIENTS.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 45 of 57 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | $578,900 | $20,000 |
| 2022 | 33 | $608,569 | $20,000 |
| 2023 | 41 | $752,390 | $15,000 |
| 2024 | 37 | $694,200 | $15,000 |
| 2025 | 37 | $765,500 | $17,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
97% of its giving went to organizations in Virginia. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $15,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Virginia.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Virginia Law Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 105 Whitewood Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22901.
EIN 51-0198088 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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