The Family Foundation of Virginia is a right-of-center advocacy group that provides research and education, and connects pastors to promote public policy issues affecting Virginia residents and families. ¹

The organization established the Church Ambassador Network, or CAN, as a ministry arm for pastors to connect to both the organization and to like-minded pastors. It also established the Founding Freedoms Law Center as a counterbalance to threats against the right to life, the freedom to peaceably assemble, the free exercise of religion, rights of conscience, and parental rights. ¹

Background

The Family Foundation of Virginia is a faith-based organization that advocates for policies at the state and local level based on Biblical principles. The group says it preserves and promotes the family in Virginia as “God’s foundation upon which all free and thriving societies are built.” ²

The foundation produces reports and issues briefs. It also holds regional citizen briefings and training. The group brings national speakers to Virginia to speak on family issues. ¹

Issues

The seven core principles for the Family Foundation of Virginia are protecting human life, recognizing marriage as between one man and one woman, recognizing only two genders, protecting parental rights, defending the right of conscience for professionals to practice their faith, affirming that the role of the government is prescribed by the Constitution; and arguing that the government has a legitimate role in curbing human exploitation, which includes opposing marijuana dispensaries and the expansion of casinos. ^{2 3}

In June 2025, the Family Foundation of Virginia announced an agreement with the Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’s (R) office to block any enforcement of the state’s five-year-old ban on “ex-gay” therapy for minors. The agreement asserted the ban on such practices violates religious freedom protections in Virginia’s constitution. ⁴

The Family Foundation of Virginia represented realtor and pastor Wilson Fauber in a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors after he faced the threat of losing his license. ⁵ The lawsuit emerged after the Virginia Association of Realtors said that Fauber violated the NAR’s “hate speech” policy for calling homosexuality a “sin” and an “abomination” in a 2015 Facebook post. The post emerged when Fauber ran for Staunton Council in 2023. In June 2025, the National Association of Realtors revised its “hate speech” policy to apply only to realtors’ speech conducted in a professional capacity. The Family Foundation of Virginia cited this as a victory. ⁶

Leadership

Victoria Cobb is the president of the Family Foundation of Virginia. She has held the post for two decades. Cobb is also the president of Family Foundation Action, a 501(c)(4) that advocates on public policy issues. ⁷

Candi Cushman is the vice president of grassroots and communications strategies for the Family Foundation of Virginia. She previously worked for 19 years at Focus on the Family as a national expert on education issues. She was also an editor for Focus on the Family’s Citizen magazine. Prior to that, she was an investigative reporter for WORLD, a weekly national news magazine. ⁷

Todd Gathje is the vice president of government relations for the Family Foundation. He was previously in state government for 13 years. From 2012 to 2018, he worked for the Virginia Department of Education managing the state’s school choice program. Before that, he worked in the Virginia Department of Taxation. He also worked for former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell (R). ⁷

Michael Morisi is the vice president of the Family Foundation’s Church Ambassador Network. He has a 30-year career in the corporate world and has been in full-time ministry since 2015. ⁷

Controversies

The far-left Southern Poverty Law Center, known for lumping even mainstream center-right groups in with the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazi organizations, has added the Family Foundation of Virginia to its “Hate Group Map,” because of what the center called “anti-LGBTQ” positions. ⁸

In December 2022, Metzger, a restaurant in Church Hill, Virginia abruptly canceled a reception planned by the Family Foundation of Virginia about 90 minutes before the event was supposed to start. The foundation accused the restaurant of religious discrimination. Metzger issued a statement saying, “We have always refused service to anyone for making our staff uncomfortable or unsafe and this was the driving force behind our decision.” ⁹

Programs

The Church Ambassador Network, or CAN, is a ministry arm of the Family Foundation to connect pastors both to the organization and to other like-minded pastors. The group is denominationally, regionally, and ethnically diverse. Clergy can receive resources such as sermon assistance (including video and manuscript support), a Chaplain Blog, video content, church bulletin inserts, and updates on the Virginia General Assembly. ¹

The group formed the Founding Freedoms Law Center as a counterbalance to threats against the right to life, the freedom to peaceably assemble, the free exercise of religion, the rights of conscience, and parental rights. The law center is also supposed to be a check against overreaching governments. ¹

Donors

The Family Foundation of Virginia receives donations directed through commercial financial institutions’ associated donor-advised fund providers. In 2023, the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund gave $127,150 to the Family Foundation of Virginia. In 2023, the Schwab Charitable Fund donated $57,700 to the Family Foundation of Virginia. ¹

The Family Leader Foundation contributed $25,000 to the Family Foundation of Virginia. ¹

1. “Family Foundation Action.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-family-foundation-of-virginia,521425355/
2. “Who We Are.” Family Foundation. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.familyfoundation.org/whoweare
3. “Human Exploitation.” Family Foundation. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.familyfoundation.org/humanexploitation
4. Kutner, Brad. “Virginia AG says enforcing Virginia’s ban on ‘ex-gay therapy’ for minors would violate religious freedoms.” WVTF Radio IQ. July 1, 2025. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.wvtf.org/news/2025-07-01/virginia-ag-says-enforcing-virginias-ban-on-ex-gay-therapy-for-minors-would-violate-religious-freedoms
5. Wise, Talia. “Virginia Real Estate Agent Could Lose License for Posting Scriptures About Marriage.” CBN. November 18, 2024. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://cbn.com/news/us/virginia-real-estate-agent-could-lose-license-posting-scriptures-about-marriage
6. Zinn, Brad. “Former Staunton council candidate claims victory in ‘hate speech’ row.” Staunton News Leader. June 10, 2025. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/2025/06/10/former-staunton-council-candidate-claims-victory-in-hate-speech-row/84068338007/
7. “Staff.” Family Foundation of Virginia. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.familyfoundation.org/staff
8. “Anti-LGBTQ.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/anti-lgbtq/
9. Oliver, Ned. “Church Hill restaurant Metzgar boots anti-abortion group.” Axios. December 5, 2022. Accessed July 12, 2025. https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2022/12/05/metzgar-restaurant-abortion-family-foundation