Southeast Virginia Community Foundation

Southeast Virginia Community Foundation connects charitable giving with community needs in Hampton Roads and uses both grants and scholarships as core tools of that work. Its mission is to connect people who care with causes large and small to benefit the communities it serves, and its scholarship program is one of the foundation’s most visible direct investments in students. The organization operates from Chesapeake, Virginia, with an office at 1435 Crossways Blvd, Suite 303, Chesapeake, VA 23320, and it invites donors to “Give where you live” to create change in Hampton Roads. Within the foundation’s scholarship portfolio, funds are established to honor or memorialize loved ones, recognize specific academic institutions, or support particular fields of study. The foundation frames these scholarship funds as direct benefits to students that affect their lives and the community both now and for future generations. In 2025, Southeast Virginia Community Foundation awarded $96,000 to 54 students, illustrating the scale of its annual scholarship support. Its scholarship offerings include named funds such as the Susan B. Reitelbach Scholarship, W. Clayton Robertson Memorial Scholarship, Mason Hackworth Theatre Scholarship, Maylea Brockington Beasley Love & Laughter Scholarship, Portsmouth Service League Scholarship, Horace Savage Scholarship, Al Taylor Memorial Scholarship, Karen Mellott Colston, and Conner McGrevy Memorial Scholarship. Recipients attended institutions including Virginia Tech, Christopher Newport University, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Tidewater Community College, and the University of Virginia. Taken together, these awards show a community foundation that channels local philanthropy into educational opportunity while advancing its broader role as a regional philanthropic institution serving Southeast Virginia.