8 Preservation Projects Set to Receive Funding from Virginia BIPOC Fund Grant Program
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
October 2026
Contact:
Ivy Tan Ager
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.ager@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445
8 Preservation Projects Set to Receive Funding from Virginia BIPOC Fund Grant Program
—Reaching a combined total of $2,052,650, the projects will involve rehabilitation, stabilization, and data recovery—
RICHMOND – The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) have announced that funding from the Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Historic Preservation Grant Program will be used to support eight projects in the Commonwealth.
The General Assembly established the Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Historic Preservation Fund in April 2022 under Virginia Code Section 10.1-2202.5. The purpose of this legislation is to create a grant program to protect and support the Commonwealth’s historically underserved and underrepresented communities as well as the cultural and historical sites associated with them. The fund will provide grants for the acquisition, protection, and rehabilitation of historic and archaeological sites of significance associated with Virginia’s Black and Indigenous communities and People of Color.
On September 17, 2026, following a multi-step review process, DHR recommended eight projects for a total of $2,052,650 to the VBHR for approval. This includes seven rehabilitation/stabilization projects and one archaeological data recovery project. The funding for these projects covers eight different localities including five grant projects in DHR’s Eastern region, one grant project in the Northern region, and two grant projects in the Western Region. The VBHR concurred with DHR, and a complete list of projects approved for funding are listed below along with their respective applicants and localities:
| Project Name | Applicant | Locality | Award Amount |
| After Emancipation: Recovering the Black Tenant Farm House at Menokin | Menokin Foundation | Warsaw, Richmond County | $87,000 |
| Building Envelope Restoration at St. John's AME Church | St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church | City of Norfolk | $522,000 |
| Bundy's Chapel Church - Castlewood, Virginia | Bundy's Chapel Church | Castlewood, Russell County | $121,000 |
| Historic Gilbert's Restaurant Stabilization | Chatham First | Chatham, Pittsylvania County | $147,700 |
| Opening the Jarratt House: Phase I Stabilization and Limited-Use Rehabilitation | OCR Community Empowerment Group | City of Petersburg | $99,950 |
| Reimagining the Reclaimed Pine Grove School | AMMD Pine Grove Project | Cumberland, Cumberland County | $400,000 |
| Restoring and Recovering Tribal Cultural Heritage on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation | Pamunkey Indian Tribe | King William, King William County | $175,000 |
| The Morgantown School Project: A Moment in Time not to be Forgotten | Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County | Marshall, Fauquier County | $500,000 |
Over the next months, DHR staff will be conducting initial site visits and meetings with grantees. Applicants who were not selected for funding are encouraged to reapply for the next round, which will open in February 2027. For more information about Virginia’s BIPOC Fund grant program, visit dhr.virginia.gov or email DHR Grants Coordinator Caitlin Sylvester at bipocgrantfund@dhr.virginia.gov.
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