Our Story

Combining a family history of service with an innovative approach.

Our Mission

Flashpoint Fund exists to break down barriers and ignite action so you can continue to do great work in our community. We empower nonprofit organizations to improve their performance by providing access to capacity building opportunities. We do this by awarding numerous grants every year to nonprofits seeking services and training that build capacity within their organization. Flashpoint Fund is here to empower you, connect you, and help you accomplish more than you ever thought you could. Central Virginia is rich with nonprofit organizations that are passionate about serving the community but passion is only part of the equation. Fundamentals such as clear missions, defined strategic plans, and effective marketing need attention, too. Nonprofits must combine their passion with the ability to function as a business-like entity if they are to continue their calling. Flashpoint Fund was founded to help build your organization’s capacity with grants, expertise and resources from a community of organizations.

We’re here to empower you. We’re here to connect you. We’re here to help you accomplish more than you ever thought you could.

Our Story

After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master’s Degree in Social Work, Rick Schofield worked in the nonprofit and social service fields for a variety of organizations. Through his work and volunteer experiences, Rick came to realize that nonprofit organizations must function more like businesses- with efficiency and a streamlined approach – to better serve their communities. It is with that goal in mind that he created the Flashpoint Fund. The Flashpoint Fund is dedicated to the memory of Rick’s mother, Betsy Harris Schofield. Betsy was a tireless community volunteer and avid learner. Her purpose in learning wasn’t to gain knowledge for knowledge’s sake but for a more meaningful purpose such as helping her family, assisting a friend or serving her community. For these reasons and so many more, she is the inspiration behind Flashpoint.

Flashpoint Fund is dedicated to the memory of Betsy Harris Schofield.

Testimonials

Flashpoint Fund has donated over $100,000 to capacity building opportunities for non profit organizations. We’ve helped provide access to board development retreats, social media training, brand consulting, and more.

Flashpoint Fund provided Youth Life Foundation of Richmond with funds and resources to have a strategic planning process. Through the help given, we were introduced to a wonderful facilitator who gave us a good price for her time. With her help in both preplanning and pulling everything together at the end, we emerged with an 18-month strategic plan after one solid day of gathering staff and board members together. This plan had five strategic goals and a champion for each goal who formed five committees. Those committees still meet to this day. Our outcomes include board development, staff recognition and development, a new fundraising event, and staff/employee handbooks. We are so thankful for the wisdom and generosity of Flashpoint Fund to revitalize and reenergize the staff and board of Youth Life Foundation of Richmond.

Heather Goodlett

Executive Director, Youth Life Foundation of Richmond

Flashpoint Fund is unique and vitally important in the field of nonprofit funding. So many foundations and funding sources do not want their donations to go to “over-head” or marketing.  While we are always grateful for our donations, this restriction limits our ability to reach the population we are trying to serve as well as other donors.  Ultimately, the “return on investment” that we have seen from our Flashpoint Fund grant goes well beyond the initial dollar value.

Thank you for all you do and please know how vitally important you are to the non-profit community!

Alyson Wright

Director of Development, Bacon Street

IT4Causes used our Flashpoint Fund grant to hire a part-time Project Manager/Volunteer Manager, who helped us implement numerous information technology projects like Office 365, donor management software, new web sites, and network infrastructure improvements at six different small, local nonprofit agencies in the first half of 2015.  These projects, which helped our nonprofit partners become more efficient in serving their clients, simply would not have been possible without this grant.

Tom Anderson

CEO and Founder, IT4Causes