Suffolk Foundation and Community Action Correlation announce merger – The Suffolk News-Herald

July 23, 2024

Suffolk Foundation and Community Action Correlation announce merger

Published on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, 9:00 a.m.

: Members of the Suffolk Foundation and CACOV celebrate their merger. Pictured from left to right: (Top row) Leroy Bennett, Whitney Saunders, (Middle row) Vernon Towler, Darius Davenport, Myles Standish, (Front row) Harry Cross, David Love, Dana Cutler and Betsy Totten.

The Suffolk Foundation and the Community Action Coalition of Virginia (CACOV) have announced their merger.

Both Suffolk nonprofits, which provide grant support to various nonprofits in the Suffolk and Western Tidewater regions, have joined forces. The Suffolk Foundation will assist CACOV with grant writing and administration. The merger will allow more groups, individuals and organizations in the community to be supported.

Founded in 1991, CACOV has used funds received through its active partnership with Perrel Management Company, which owns and manages various residential communities in the Hampton Roads area. Allen Perrel, a former Suffolk resident who is the owner and president of Peril Management, helped found CACOV as a way to give back to the community. Over the past 33 years, over $2.5 million in grants have been awarded to over 60 organizations, including the Western Tidewater Free Clinic, the Salvation Army, the YMCA and others, to support charitable activities such as literacy, health and wellness, and education.

In a statement, Harry Cross, president of the Suffolk Foundation and a board member of CACOV, says the partnership will allow CACOV to “be part of a larger, more cost-effective foundation while allowing CACOV volunteers to reach a larger pool of applications and make grant decisions.” Dana Cutler, director of CACOV and an accountant at Perrel Management, added that she was “thrilled to have someone help her.”

Nonprofits can complete only one application to be considered for grants from both CACOV and the Suffolk Foundation. The online grant application to the Suffolk Foundation opens September 1, and submissions are due by October 15.

Since its founding in 2006, the Suffolk Foundation has awarded over $8.4 million in grants and $450,000 in scholarships. Its mission is to support both Suffolk and the Western Tidewater areas by encouraging and developing philanthropy and awarding grants that meet a range of local community needs. For more information, visit www.suffolkfoundation.org.