Community Impact Grants

The needs and opportunities in Greenwood County are numerous, and our Greenwood community has consistently been generous in support of local organizations that enrich the lives of residents in our home county.

Greenwood County Community Foundation has established Community Impact Grant cycles to serve nonprofits in their missions. Four grant cycles are offered annually, and the Innovation cycle is offered every other year. Focus areas are designed to be broad enough to encompass a wide range of programs, projects, and purposes.

Youth and Education

This granting area includes the variety of all programs and projects which provide an educational foundation for success in achieving one’s fullest physical, emotional, and intellectual potential.

Proposals to be considered might include (but are not limited to):

  • Education Attainment
  • Early Childhood development and education
  • Afterschool and Summer Programs
  • Adult Education
Community Enhancement

This granting area includes projects and programs designed to make Greenwood County a more pleasant and livable community.

Proposals to be considered might include (but are not limited to):

  • Arts and Culture
  • Community Development
  • Parks and Recreation
  • Animal Safety and Care
Open Granting

This cycle will be open for any grant request meeting our granting guidelines, but particularly for programs and projects which do not fall within any of the above categories.

Any organization which has not received a grant from GCCF during this calendar year may apply in the Open Granting cycle. Applicants who submitted requests earlier in this calendar year but did not receive funding may reapply with the previous request or with a new proposal in this cycle.

Capacity Building and Operational Support

Capacity Building and Operational Support Grants are offered annually to assist nonprofit organizations in strengthening operations and infrastructure, enhancing organizational stability, planning for strategic growth, and/or making critical improvements to their facilities.

Awards are for larger amounts and are more competitive than in our annual Community Impact grant cycles. Proposals will be considered for grants from $10,000 to $25,000.

Applicants in this cycle are also eligible to apply in another annual Community Impact grant cycle. Organizations may also choose to apply for funding in our biennial Innovation cycle, but an organization will not receive an Innovation Grant and Capacity Building and Operational Support Grant in the same year. (These cycles will run concurrently, with Innovation awards to be determined first.) Recipients of GCCF Capacity Building and Operational Support Grants will be ineligible to apply for a grant in this cycle in the following year.

Prospective applicants must register for and attend one mandatory information meeting about this grant cycle. Details about these meetings and the application period are posted on our Timeline and Application Information page.

Proposals to be considered might include (but are not limited to):

  • Staff training and development
  • Operational support
  • Facilities expansion or improvement
  • Equipment
  • Technology expenses
  • Strategic planning

Non-eligible activities include:

  • Marketing expenses
  • Fundraising activities
  • Endowment
  • Sponsorships
  • Start-up expenses
  • Debt reduction
Innovation

The Innovation Grant supports creative ideas that foster strategic change within the Greenwood County community. This Grant generates collective excitement due to its originality and courageous approach to addressing root causes of systemic problems or deficiencies, or by contributing to a healthy, thriving community. Successful proposals will stretch the imagination and enrich lives. Collaboration and partnerships among organizations are expected and essential to assure lasting impact and success.

Innovation Grants are unique among those awarded by GCCF. Awards are for larger amounts and are more competitive than in our annual Community Impact grant cycles. Proposals will be considered for awards up to $50,000 total, to be disbursed within a single year or as a multi-year commitment, in this biennial grant cycle.

Prospective applicants must contact Foundation staff for further details before submitting an Innovation Grant application as well as attend one (1) mandatory orientation meeting. Details about mandatory meetings and the application period are posted on our Timeline and Application Information page in the years in which this grant award is offered.

Criteria for the Innovation Grant

Does the proposed project:
• creatively address an identifiable community need or aspect of quality of life?
• meaningfully engage stakeholders and, whenever possible, include those directly affected by the problem?
• reflect effective collaboration with other community organizations?
• use existing resources and maximize current community assets?
• have potential to generate broad community support and to become self-sustaining over time?
• include evaluation mechanism/metrics?

For additional information, contact us at staff@greenwoocf.org or 864.223.1524.

Grants Review Committees (GRC)

Community members from a range of fields and experiences form our Grants Review Committees (GRC) for Community Impact Grants in the Youth and Education, Community Enhancement, and Open Granting cycles. Through a careful process of review, evaluation, and discussion, each GRC serves our community with their insight, reflection, and broad experience to assist GCCF in grantmaking decisions for the benefit of our community. The GRC for each cycle makes funding recommendations that are presented to our Board of Directors for final determination. Please see our Archives and our Grants Review Committees for current and past members.

Lakelands Counts

For current information about community indicators and services in Greenwood County, see Lakelands Counts.

Lakelands Counts is an easy-to-use platform that supports community improvement work in Abbeville, Greenwood, McCormick, and Saluda counties. It contains data, best practices, and resources, and hosts over 140 health and quality of life data indicators. Users may customize maps and reports to visualize and analyze data.