WVFF Chairman Greg Duckworth Looks Ahead to 2026 Following Landmark Year

WEST VIRGINIA (January 14, 2026) – As 2026 begins, West Virginia First Foundation (WVFF) Chairman Greg Duckworth is highlighting the Foundation’s rapid progress and national leadership in stewarding opioid settlement funds. He notes that West Virginia has become a model for transparency, accountability, and long-term impact.

In just eighteen months of operational work, WVFF has awarded nearly 171 projects statewide and reinvested over $40 million into prevention, treatment, recovery, diversion, youth services, workforce development, and community capacity-building across all six regions of West Virginia.

WVFF’s investment strategy has been built through multiple channels. The Initial Opportunity Grant (IOG) cycle delivered rapid, community-informed investments to stabilize local prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The Foundation then advanced its work through the Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG), a competitive statewide cycle that combined objective scoring from nationally recognized data-driven experts with the insight of local Expert Panels and Board leadership. This approach has drawn national interest for its measurable impact.

To support strategic investments outside traditional cycles, WVFF implemented a Direct Funding Model (DFM) to evaluate statewide or multi-regional projects with strong performance requirements. Through DFM, the Foundation approved a $1 million strategic investment in Jacob’s Ladder, a nationally recognized residential recovery program in Aurora, West Virginia, with funds contingent upon meeting specified operational benchmarks to ensure sustainability and readiness.

Strengthening governance and accountability was also a priority in 2025. WVFF formally established and announced its Regional and Statewide Expert Panels, representing a broad range of expertise across prevention, treatment, recovery and lived experience, systems of care, law enforcement and judicial systems, first responders, and corrections and reentry services. The Foundation hosted orientation sessions for both panels, aligning expectations and reinforcing a transparent decision-support structure for long-term investment.

WVFF further expanded community visibility and engagement throughout 2025. The Foundation launched the Hold the Line Tour, which includes quarterly Board and staff visits to funded organizations delivering on-the-ground support for West Virginians. Stops included North Star Child Advocacy Center (Region 3), Southern West Virginia Fellowship Home (Region 6), Semper Liberi Recovery Village (Region 2), and the Wheeling Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team program (Region 1).

Throughout the year, WVFF Board members and staff presented at national events, highlighting the Foundation’s grantmaking model, outcomes-based framework, and data-driven approach. Chairman Greg Duckworth appeared before a United States Senate committee, testifying on the impact of the opioid crisis in southern West Virginia. Vice Chairman Dr. Matthew Christiansen presented at South by Southwest (SXSW), sharing insights on the state’s coordinated approach to prevention, treatment, and recovery. Executive Director Jonathan Board was featured at the National Addiction Solutions Summit, the Grantmakers In Health annual conference, the SAMHSA Overdose Prevention Summit, and other national forums where he discussed WVFF’s structured settlement stewardship model and emerging lessons from West Virginia.

WVFF also convened its first Initial Opportunity Grant Celebration in May 2025 during National Prevention Week. The event featured West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General JB McCuskey, and national prevention leader Dr. Karen Scott, President of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE). The celebration recognized IOG awardees and reinforced West Virginia’s leadership in responsible settlement stewardship.

“These investments are not just funding grants, they are strengthening an ecosystem,” Chairman Duckworth noted. “We are supporting foster families, peer recovery networks, workforce pipelines, diversion strategies, wraparound youth services, and the long-term capacity needed to change outcomes for generations.”

Looking ahead, WVFF will further strengthen its data-informed approach in 2026. Chairman Duckworth confirmed that the Foundation will announce a statewide needs assessment to align future investments with measurable outcomes and long-term sustainability. He also emphasized that WVFF will soon share details on its Gap Funding framework aimed at supporting continuity of essential services, ensuring that critical programs are not disrupted while larger strategies are being developed. Additional information will be shared publicly in the coming weeks.

“What WVFF has built in such a short time is extraordinary,” said WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board. “These funds are finite, and our responsibility is to invest them thoughtfully, transparently, and with the future in mind. The work ahead is about strengthening systems, supporting families, and building capacity that will last for generations to come.”

For more information, visit www.wvfirst.org