GCCF Awards Capacity Building and Operational Support Grants, June 2024
Greenwood County Community Foundation (GCCF) is pleased to announce the following grant awards in their inaugural Capacity Building and Operational Support cycle:
Beyond Abuse — $15,000 for a new security system and upgraded heating and cooling system
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lakelands — $10,000 to develop Rising Starz for middle school-aged youth
Humane Society of Greenwood — $20,000 for health care for shelter animals
Piedmont Agency on Aging — $25,000 for a warming cabinet for Meals on Wheels kitchen
Capacity Building and Operational Support Grants are designed to assist nonprofit organizations in strengthening operations and infrastructure, enhancing organizational stability, planning for strategic growth, and/or making critical improvements to their facilities.
Deborah Parks, Executive Director of Beyond Abuse, expressed, “We are so excited about the funding we received from the Greenwood County Community Foundation! Having a comfortable and safe environment are top priorities for our clients. A new heating/cooling unit and security system are exactly what we need to continue providing effective and quality services.”
“Boys & Girls Clubs is honored to be chosen for this inaugural grant,” expressed Sabrina Miller, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lakelands, Executive Director. “This award will allow us to hire the necessary staff to expand our programming to middle school youth during their most important developmental transition and provide much needed academic and social-emotional support.”
“The Humane Society of Greenwood (HSoG) provides homeless, lost, and unwanted pets from the Greenwood community with safe housing, medical care, food and nutritional needs, sterilization, and enrichment to keep them healthy and secure. Supplies and outsourced services to provide this care amount to $225,000 annually. This $20,000 grant will aid in providing items and services necessary to provide health care for sheltered pets,” said Samantha Brooks, HSoG Executive Director.
Tracey Bedenbaugh, CEO of Piedmont Agency on Aging, noted “Receiving this grant from the Greenwood County Community Foundation to help purchase this kitchen equipment is huge! The agency has increased meal production over the past few years to meet the need in our community. This equipment will help streamline our production making the overall operation more efficient and affordable.”
“As GCCF’s assets have grown, so has our ability to enhance our community through our grantmaking,” said Mary Woodiwiss, GCCF Director of Grants and Projects. “The Community Foundation is privileged to be able to offer this new, annual source of funding for capacity building and operational costs that is broader in purpose than our grants designed for specific programs and projects. We believe this helps to fill a gap in supporting nonprofits in their important missions in service to our community. In the developing this new grant cycle, we benefitted from the experiences and expertise of staff of other community foundations around the state and the invaluable insights of a focus group of nonprofit leaders. We received a high number of quality applications in this cycle. While this made the assessments of our Grants Review Committee of community volunteers and Board members more challenging, it also reinforced the need for such funding.”
GCCF congratulates these four recipient organizations and wishes them all the best in their efforts to enrich our community with their excellent work!
