The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) is now accepting applications for an incentive grant program that will reward community-based organizations for educating thousands of teens about the dangers of fentanyl. Now entering its second year, the program is expanding from 25 to 35 organizations for 2026.
Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid that has become the number one cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45 years old. To avoid detection, drug dealers have mass produced fentanyl in pills that appear like common prescription drugs. While drugs found in pharmacies or obtained with prescriptions are safe, many overdose victims purchased pills illegally and were not even aware that they were taking fentanyl.
Selected grantees across Virginia will receive an unrestricted grant of $4,000 after implementing VFHY’s lesson, the “The Dangers of Fentanyl.” This evidence-informed curriculum was created by VFHY in response to limited knowledge about the emerging threat of fentanyl to youth, and the lack of informed resources available to educate them.
The program consists of a 30-minute lesson targeting middle school students, and a one-hour lesson appropriate for high school students. Both lessons and all instructor materials will be available in Spanish. The curriculum and instructor training materials are available for free for anyone to use at https://vfhy.org/prevention-lessons-fentanyl-form-wall.
VFHY has crafted the program to meet Virginia’s youth where they are, within their familiar settings, and from adults that they already trust. Applications for the incentive grant program will be accepted from a wide range of groups, including non-profits, after-school programs, church groups, youth sports leagues, public school divisions, private schools, interest clubs, or other groups that support youth activities and meet the requirements.
The instructor materials allow non-educators to confidently deliver a quality lesson that can save the lives of the teens they support, while also bringing needed funding to their respective organizational mission.
“The webinar, implementation guide, and slide notes were extremely helpful in preparing us to administer the lesson,” the team from Elev8 Today Inc wrote in its 2025 post-implementation survey. “They not only gave us clear language and structure, but also prepared us for the types of reactions and questions students might have.”
While anyone can access and use the resources and materials, participation in the grant program has limitations. To qualify for the funding, youth-serving groups must:
• Successfully apply and be awarded one of the 35 grants
• Be located and operating in Virginia
• Train two staff members on the curriculum
• Present the program to at least 200 students between January and August of 2026
• Conduct student pre- and post-tests to assess the impact of the lesson
• Complete a trainer survey after the program concludes to provide feedback on the implementation
For complete details on requirements and more information about the opportunity, visit https://vfhy.org/dangers-of-fentanyl-activation-grants.
To encourage the broad participation from around the Commonwealth, VFHY has created a streamlined application that should take applicants just minutes to complete. The deadline for groups to apply is December 5.
About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth
Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity.
VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work, including reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, daycares, and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to over 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight into methods to reduce tobacco use effectively. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia.