CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Twice is Nice, the donation-based resale boutique, has awarded more than $300,000 in grant money to 31 nonprofits in the Charlottesville area aimed at benefiting seniors in need. In addition to selling lightly used clothing, furniture, and household items, all received via donations from the community, each year the secondhand store puts the earnings from sales at the store back into the community.

“The proceeds that we get from the sales of these donated items are turned around and given back to the community in form of grants for programs to support seniors in need,” said Lori Woolworth, Operations Manager for Twice is Nice, in an interview with Cville Right Now.

In total, Twice is Nice awarded $301,320 in community grants in 2025 bringing the decade total to nearly $2.5 million.

Sorting through a record number of 59 applications this year, Twice is Nice aimed at making a specific impact for 2025 in easing burdens associated with the rising cost of living.

“This year, we chose with the economic climate to particularly focus on food insecurity and supporting programs that help seniors stay safely in their homes and age with dignity,” said Woolworth.

25% of the nonprofits chosen deal with food insecurity such as local food banks like Loaves and Fishes and services that bring meals to seniors in their homes like local branches of Meals on Wheels.

The grant funds are divided into two categories when sorting through applications: life sustaining and life enhancing services. Life sustaining refers to nonprofits that provide direct food or medical assistance while life enhancing has a broader definition.

“Just improving that quality of life all throughout people’s lives,” is how Woolworth explained it.

One recipient, We Bring the Music, performs for seniors in assisted living facilities and has intergenerational singalongs at the Mary Williams Community Center.

Twice is Nice is also in the midst of a large transition consolidating two retail spaces into one new building which was formerly occupied by Reid Super Save Market. To assist with the move, Twice is Nice has launched its first ever capital campaign asking for donations from the community with a goal of raising $2 million to fund renovations.

As Woolworth explained, however, the campaign also assisted in their ability to give grants back to community nonprofits.

“One of the reasons we decided to conduct a first, and last, time capital campaign was so that we could continue to give back to the community and keep our grant capacity where it had been for the last several years.”