An Agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia
An Agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Fraudulent phone calls, emails, social media posts, and text messages are being sent to Virginians by individuals claiming to represent the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). These individuals are offering CSBG funding or services in exchange for a fee. Neither the State of Virginia nor the federal government provides direct CSBG grants to individuals. Additionally, neither the Virginia Community Services Block Grant office or Office of Economic Opportunity initiates contact with individuals by phone, email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information.
If you are made aware of or receive any communication offering a CSBG grant or requesting a fee in exchange for funding, please report it to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477. For more information, please visit Grant Fraud and Scams.
The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) is a federally funded block grant in the Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides funds to states, territories, and tribes to administer to support services that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in under-resourced communities. More than 1,100 local community action agencies across the country now fight poverty and build self-sufficiency for strong families and communities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia has 31 nonprofit private and public community action agencies. These agencies receive their core funding from the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and General Assembly appropriated CSBG funds. The Virginia Department of Social Services' Office of Community Services provides oversight for the Virginia Community Action Partnership network. These grants are NOT available to individuals but are allocated to specific community agencies who apply through a grant process every three years.
Community action's mission is to address the issues of poverty and to increase the self-sufficiency of low-income families. They offer a broad range of anti-poverty programs and work collaboratively with businesses and other agencies to build a network of support for Virginia's most vulnerable populations. Some of the CSBG programs are:
(804) 726-7939
Abby Hanks, CSBG Program Manager
(804) 726-7142
Matt Fitzgerald, Office of Economic Opportunity Director
