The Greenwood County Community Foundation (GCCF) was created through the generosity of an anonymous donor who provided a significant gift to start a local community foundation. This benefactor believed that Greenwood County had an opportunity to increase charitable giving to many worthy causes and institutions while also raising awareness of their needs. The initial funding of approximately $2.5 million was coupled with a dollar-for-dollar match of future donations of up to $3 million.

The Foundation was chartered and received its 501(c)(3) approval in 2009. In 2010, organization’s first Board of Directors convened and began planning. Shortly thereafter, Mark Kasper was hired as the Foundation’s first executive director. Click here for a list of founding and current Board of Directors.

In November of 2011 GCCF officially began operations.

GCCF works collaboratively with individuals and organizations that are interested in improving the quality of life in Greenwood. Through annual granting cycles the Foundation provides funding to charitable organizations located in the county. Through our numerous individual endowed and non-endowed funds, our impact extends across the nation and around the world.

Individuals can support worthy causes and institutions in their lifetimes by contributing to the Foundation’s Community Impact fund, targeted Agency and Scholarship funds, or by creating their own customized fund. They can also create a legacy beyond their lifetime by including GCCF in their estate plans. For more information or assistance with your charitable giving goals, contact the staff at Greenwood County Community Foundation.

History of the Community Foundation Movement

The community foundation movement began in 1914 in Ohio when trust officer Frederick Goff formed the Cleveland Foundation. Goff and his fellow trust officers had trouble deciding on grantmaking for trusts. By creating a separate foundation, they could continue to focus on what they did best — generating wealth — while the foundation tended to the philanthropic needs of clients and the due diligence surrounding nonprofit organizations and grantmaking. The Treasury Department soon officially recognized this new type of organization and gave community foundations the unique advantage of being able to treat multiple trusts and corporations as part of a single institution rather than separate entities.

The 1969 Tax Reform Act gave greater tax advantages to these “public” foundations than to private foundations. As a result, private foundations began to champion community foundations as a means of responding to local community needs and to serve as catalysts and resources within communities.

Today there are over 900 community foundations in the U.S., with 15 in South Carolina.