In 2005, the sale of the hospital — formerly known as Danville Regional Medical Center — launched a philanthropic nonprofit that arguably has been the foundation of the Danville’s rebirth. In 2006, a weeklong blitz full of pomp and circumstance infused millions into projects around the region — Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County, North Carolina — including a health and science building at Danville Community College.

“Today, we’ve got an endowment of roughly $272 million,” Danville Regional Foundation President and CEO Clark Casteel told the Register & Bee in an interview last month. Averaging about $10 million to $12 million annually, about $170 million in grants have funneled to projects that will create a more vibrant Danville in the VERY NEAR FUTURE.

At least $25 million has poured into Danville’s River District, the area the city calls is downtown. The Danville Family YMCA — the first new building constructed on the river in about 100 years — received a $10 million grant itself when it opened in 2014. This helped to drive downtown revitalization. The multimillion-dollar grant was a way of telling the city — and, in essence, the world — the river was the place to be.

The Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) works to encourage revitalization and renewal in the Dan River Region. We do so by making long-term investments to improve education, economic vitality, community wellness, financial stability and civic capacity for citizens throughout the City of Danville, Virginia; Pittsylvania County, Virginia; and Caswell County, North Carolina.

DRF is committed to fostering collaboration, establishing partnerships and working across borders and with many types of organizations to rethink tomorrow and create solutions, positioning the Dan River Region as a place of opportunities. DRF encourages and supports new approaches, and believes that initiative and courage to view things from fresh and different perspectives empowers our community as we collaborate on a Bridge to the Future! To learn more about the Danville Regional Foundation and upcoming growth, visit https://www.drfonline.org/.