The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) has announced that in partnership with the USVI Office of the Governor, it has awarded $1.425 million in Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) grants to educational agencies, institutions of higher education and other education-related entities in the St. Thomas/St. John District. The funding is allocated to provide emergency assistance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CFVI was asked by the Office of the Governor to assist in identifying eligible sub-grantees for the Education Stabilization Fund federal monies as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021. Grantees were selected through a competitive process and were awarded funds to carry out emergency educational services to students, provide childcare and early childhood education, give social and emotional support, and protect education-related jobs.
Funding will support the efforts to provide safer, in-person learning opportunities for students; to support students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs; to address educational inequities exacerbated by the pandemic; to address the academic impact of lost instructional time; and to support technology infrastructure and professional development training to improve capacity and provide comprehensive distance education.
All applications were reviewed by an evaluation committee composed of community members with experience and expertise in education and grantmaking.
ESF Grant Recipients
Beautiful Dreamers: $100,000
Friends of Virgin Islands National Park: $81,259
Gifft Hill School: $100,000
Grace Ministries: $50,000
Humane Society of St. Thomas: $3,398
Marine Vocational Program Inc.: $65,000
Partners for Strings Inc.: $100,000
Salvation Army of the USVI: $78,096
St. John Christian Academy (Cruz Bay Baptist Church): $66,000
St. Thomas Reformed Church: $71,444
The University of the Virgin Islands (three grants): $300,000
Virgin Islands Children’s Museum: $159,005
Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy: $100,000
Virgin Islands Village Academy Inc.: $100,000
Youth Arise Inc.: $50,798
