# Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Charleston, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation - **Headquarters:** Charleston, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** 178 Summers Street, Charleston, WV 25301, United States - **Founded:** 1962 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** tgkvf.org - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/greater-kanawha-valley-foundation ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Founded in 1962 through the merger of two predecessor charitable trusts, the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation operates as a community foundation anchored in Charleston, West Virginia. Its mandate spans six counties — Kanawha, Putnam, Clay, Boone, Lincoln, and Fayette — where it functions as the primary philanthropic intermediary for donor-advised funds, scholarship endowments, and competitive grantmaking programs. Michelle Foster, who joined the foundation in 1992 and became President and CEO in 2003, has overseen its evolution from a local grantmaker into a regional institution that blends traditional philanthropy with direct investment in West Virginia's physical assets. The foundation's investment portfolio departs from the standard 60/40 endowment model. Holdings include commercial real estate, exemplified by the foundation's own headquarters at 178 Summers Street, and timberland investments that double as conservation instruments. Operationally, the foundation maintains a lean governance structure led by Foster and a board chaired by Andy Young, a tax partner at Forvis. Additional trustees including Will Carter, co-founder of McKinley Carter Wealth Services, and Sarah Ellis, an attorney at Steptoe & Johnson, bring legal and wealth-management expertise to the investment committee. While total assets under management are not publicly disclosed, the foundation's profile within Philanthropy West Virginia and the Council on Foundations places it among the state's more capitalized charitable entities. In recent years, Foster has publicly advocated for community foundations to expand beyond grantmaking into direct investment in local enterprises — a posture observable in the foundation's balance-sheet allocation to real assets and natural-capital instruments. What distinguishes the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation structurally is its dual identity as both a grantmaking community foundation and a direct investor in West Virginia's physical economy. Most community foundations confine their investment activity to marketable securities portfolios managed by external OCIOs. TGKVF, by contrast, carries timberland, commercial real estate, and natural-capital debt on its own books — a configuration that makes it resemble a hybrid of a community foundation and a place-based impact investor. ## Sectors - Real Estate - AgriTech & FoodTech - Private Credit ## People - Michelle Foster — President and CEO - Andy Young — Chair of the Board of Trustees ## Questions ### Who runs investment decisions at the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation? Investment oversight is governed by the Board of Trustees, chaired by Andy Young, a tax partner at Forvis. The board includes trustees with direct wealth-management and legal experience, including Will Carter, co-founder of McKinley Carter Wealth Services, and Sarah Ellis, an attorney at Steptoe & Johnson. Day-to-day executive leadership, including strategic direction of the foundation's asset base, falls under President and CEO Michelle Foster. ### How is the foundation's investment portfolio structured? The foundation holds a portfolio that extends beyond traditional equities and fixed income into direct ownership of commercial real estate, timberland, and mixed-use real assets. It also carries a promissory note with the Natural Capital Investment Fund, a community development financial institution active in West Virginia. This blend of liquid securities and place-based illiquid assets reflects a strategy that links the foundation's endowment performance to the economic health of its six-county service region. ### What geographic area does the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation serve? The foundation's grantmaking footprint covers six West Virginia counties: Kanawha, Putnam, Clay, Boone, Lincoln, and Fayette. Its investment strategy, particularly the timberland and real-asset holdings, is concentrated within West Virginia and the broader Central Appalachian region. The foundation participates in the Appalachia Funders Network, a collaborative spanning multiple states in Central Appalachia. ### How is the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation governed? The foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees whose members bring professional expertise in tax, law, and wealth management. Andy Young serves as board chair while maintaining his role as a tax partner at Forvis. Additional trustees include representatives from McKinley Carter Wealth Services and Steptoe & Johnson, creating a governance body with deep financial and legal capability applied to the foundation's investment and grantmaking decisions. ### Does the foundation co-invest or partner with other institutional funders? Yes, the foundation's membership in the Appalachia Funders Network connects it to a collaborative of philanthropic institutions and impact investors operating across Central Appalachia. This network facilitates co-investment, shared due diligence, and pooled funding for regional initiatives. The foundation also maintains ties to Philanthropy West Virginia, the state-level association for grantmakers, and the national Council on Foundations. ## Related profiles - [Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund](https://altss.com/profile/greater-gwent-torfaen-pension-fund) - [Greater Kansas City Community Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/greater-kansas-city-community-foundation) --- Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/greater-kanawha-valley-foundation Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology