West Virginia First Foundation

What West Virginia First Foundation does

West Virginia First Foundation, Inc. is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in May 2023 pursuant to the West Virginia First Memorandum of Understanding to receive and disburse opioid settlement funds within the State of West Virginia. The foundation controls 72.5% of the state's opioid settlement proceeds, with 24.5% flowing directly to local governments and 3% to the Office of the Attorney General. WVFF administers competitive grant programs across six geographic regions covering all 55 West Virginia counties, serving 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, government entities, and community-based initiatives engaged in evidence-based substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, and reentry services.

WVFF's product surface is organized around four funding mechanisms: the Initial Opportunity Grant (IOG), a rapid-deployment program that has awarded nearly $17 million across 94 projects; the Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG), a long-term impact program that has awarded nearly $18 million across 76 projects; the Community Catalyst Grant (CCG), a $9.87 million three-year performance-based program launched in mid-2026; and a Direct Funding Model for multi-regional strategic investments, which has committed at least $5 million to date including to Jacob's Ladder and the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. Underlying infrastructure includes a self-serve Grant Portal (wvff.grantplatform.com), a transparency regime publishing bylaws, articles of incorporation, meeting minutes, and financial reports, and the West Virginia Wayfinder statewide needs assessment conducted with West Virginia University partners.

The foundation's revenue model is fund administration rather than commercial sales: it receives settlement proceeds from manufacturers and distributors involved in the opioid crisis and distributes them through grant cycles, charging no fees and collecting no revenue from applicants. Governance is provided by a volunteer Board of Directors with elected regional and governor-appointed members, advised by Regional and Statewide Expert Panels. The organization operates with a lean core staff of approximately eight named executives and program leads and is headquartered in Bridgeport, West Virginia. To date, WVFF has awarded 171 projects totaling nearly $40 million reinvested across all six regions of the state.

Name

West Virginia First Foundation

Legal name

West Virginia First Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://wvfirst.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Short description

West Virginia First Foundation is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) that stewards 72.5% of West Virginia's opioid settlement funds, distributing nearly $40 million across 171 prevention, treatment, recovery, and reentry grants to nonprofits and government entities in all 55 state counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health & Substance Use Program Funding (Public Health) (HLAJALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health & Prevention Program Funding (HLAJALAF), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Opioid settlement funds
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Substance use recovery
• Community prevention funding
• Philanthropic grant programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bridgeport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Opioid Settlement Fund Distribution: The foundation receives and distributes opioid settlement funds from manufacturers, distributors, and other companies involved in the opioid crisis. WVFF manages 72.5% of settlement funds for prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives across six regions. The remaining funds flow directly to local governments (24.5%) and the Attorney General's office (3%).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

West Virginia First Foundation receives and distributes opioid settlement funds from manufacturers, distributors, and other companies involved in the opioid crisis, managing 72.5% of West Virginia's settlement allocation. The foundation offers a portfolio of competitive grant programs (IOG, MIG, CCG) and a Direct Funding Model for prevention, treatment, recovery, and reentry initiatives across all six regions covering all 55 West Virginia counties.

Product overview

West Virginia First Foundation operates as a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that manages and distributes opioid settlement funds across West Virginia. The foundation offers a portfolio of grant programs including the Initial Opportunity Grant (IOG), Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG), and Community Catalyst Grant (CCG), alongside a Direct Funding Model for strategic multi-region projects. The organization also conducts the West Virginia Wayfinder statewide needs assessment in partnership with West Virginia University. All programs are accessible through a web-based Grant Portal and are governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with regional Expert Panels providing advisory input.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Initial Opportunity Grant (IOG): Rapid deployment grant program launched in 2024, distributing nearly $17 million across 94 projects for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.
• Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG)
• Community Catalyst Grant (CCG)
• Direct Funding Model (DFM)
• West Virginia Wayfinder

Products and services

• Initial Opportunity Grant (IOG) Rapid deployment grant program for West Virginia nonprofits, government entities, and community-based organizations focused on opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. Designed for fast stabilization of community programs.
• Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG) Long-term impact grant program targeting sustainable solutions in five areas: Foster Care & Non-Parental Caregivers, Youth Prevention, Recovery Housing, Behavioral Health & Workforce Development, and Day Report Centers & Reentry Programs.
• Community Catalyst Grant (CCG) Performance-based three-year grant program with $9.87 million investment designed to reduce substance use, strengthen public safety responses, and improve rehabilitation and prevention systems across West Virginia.
• Direct Funding Model Funding mechanism for multi-regional projects demonstrating impact in at least four regions plus co-funding from other sources. Accessed through a Funding Inquiry Form and Opportunity Consideration application.
• West Virginia Wayfinder Needs Assessment Statewide needs assessment initiative led by WVU to analyze opioid and substance use disorder burden, map current services, identify gaps, and create a public dashboard for transparency and data accessibility.
• Grant Portal Online platform for managing grant applications, submissions, and awardee reporting for all WVFF grant programs (IOG, MIG, CCG).

Quantifiable outcome

• 171 projects awarded statewide across all six regions of West Virginia
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Board approved $4 million Direct Funding request for RNI to expand access to innovative addiction treatment and recovery support tools, building technology and infrastructure for implementation across West Virginia.
• Ascend West Virginia (Meeting Venue)minorOthers · 18 June 2026Second quarterly Board meeting of 2026 was held at Ascend West Virginia in Charleston, WV.
• West Virginia University Health Affairs InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026WVFF selected WVU Health Affairs Institute to lead the West Virginia Wayfinder statewide needs assessment project. The assessment will analyze opioid and substance use disorder burden, evaluate existing services, identify gaps, and develop tools for transparency and decision-making.
• Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs (WVU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Partnership with WVU's Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs to support the statewide needs assessment, bringing expertise in public policy research and community engagement.
• Data Driven WVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Partnership with Data Driven WV (a WVU-affiliated research center) to provide analytics expertise for the West Virginia Wayfinder needs assessment project.
• Jacob's LaddercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025WVFF approved $1 million strategic investment in Jacob's Ladder, a nationally recognized residential recovery program located in Aurora, West Virginia known for its long-term, outcomes-based therapeutic model.
• Appalachian Continuum of Care ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2024WVFF approved $20 million funding commitment for the Appalachian Continuum of Care - a groundbreaking addiction recovery project focused on innovative, outcomes-based addiction recovery.
• Ascend West VirginiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2024WVFF partnered with WVU and Ascend WV - the nation's premier talent attraction and retention program - to provide statewide support to combat the opioid epidemic.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pew Charitable Trusts: A major national philanthropic organization with substantial health and substance use disorder programming alongside public policy research. Operates a comparable structure of competitive grant cycles plus strategic initiatives, but at national scale rather than within a single state.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: One of the largest U.S. health-focused private foundations, with a multi-billion-dollar endowment and a national grantmaking footprint across behavioral health, equity, and prevention. A broad incumbent in the same philanthropic health-funders category as WVFF, but operating at vastly larger scale and across all 50 states.

Direct peers

• Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority: Virginia's dedicated state authority for distributing opioid abatement funds to localities and community organizations. Shares WVFF's core mandate — turning litigation proceeds into prevention, treatment, and recovery investments — and serves as a comparable public-sector model for state-administered settlement distribution.
• Colorado Opioid Abatement Council: The Colorado body responsible for allocating the state's share of opioid settlement funds across regional and statewide programs. Operates with a similar regional-plus-statewide governance model and focuses on the same SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery use cases that anchor WVFF's grantmaking.
• Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership: A partnership-based organization that administers Arkansas's opioid settlement funds for prevention, treatment, recovery, and reentry. Directly comparable to WVFF in operational role, target populations, and emphasis on evidence-based regional investment.
• OneOhio Recovery Foundation: A private 501(c)(3) nonprofit established to manage Ohio's share of national opioid settlement funds. Structurally the closest analog to WVFF: it stewards the majority of Ohio's settlement allocation, runs regional grantmaking, and distributes funds for prevention, treatment, and recovery — the same operating model WVFF is deploying in West Virginia.
• Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council: Tennessee's state council that oversees opioid settlement fund allocation, distributing dollars to counties and treatment/recovery providers. Comparable to WVFF in mission, regional distribution mechanics, and policy alignment with the national opioid settlement framework.
• Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission: Kentucky's advisory body that guides distribution of the state's opioid settlement proceeds. Operates in a neighboring high-burden Appalachian state with overlapping community needs, comparable governance structure, and parallel grantmaking priorities for treatment and recovery.

Emerging players

• Shatterproof: A national nonprofit focused specifically on transforming the substance use disorder treatment system through advocacy, payer reform, and provider quality standards. Shares WVFF's SUD mission but pursues it through national system-change rather than direct regional grantmaking.

Regional players

• Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation: A regional foundation that has long invested in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania across health, education, and economic development. While not opioid-specific, it is one of the few major private grantmakers with deep WV roots and a similar regional place-based approach to health-related funding.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WVFirstHope
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wvfirst
• Facebookfacebook.com/wvfirst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wvfirst
• Instagraminstagram.com/wvfirst

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about West Virginia First Foundation