Central Carolina Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder supports 11 counties in mid-South Carolina. Discretionary grants mostly go towards community improvements, while other funds accept grant requests too.
IP TAKE: There are 11 funds that award grants here, in addition to the community foundation’s discretionary funding. Grant seekers should take a moment to learn about what each of those funds supports and how to apply directly.
PROFILE: The Central Carolina Community Foundation (CCCF) is based in Columbia, South Carolina, and is a grantmaker in the state's Midlands area. It seeks to “promote, facilitate, and increase philanthropy to create a sustainable impact within [the] community through responsible giving.” It was established in 1984 by local business leaders and serves the following 11 counties: Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, and Sumter. The first grants were awarded in 1989, but the foundation has since increased grantmaking from about $100,000 per year to over $15 million per year.
Grants for Community Development, Arts and Culture, Education, and Women and Girls
Grants come from the community funder’s discretionary funds, as well as donor advised funds, such as the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation and the Knight Foundation Advised Fund. Most of the discretionary grants come from the funder’s Community Engagement Grants program. CCCF also has four regional affiliates: the Community Foundation for Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties, the Greater Chapin Community Endowment, the Kershaw County Endowment, and the Sumter Community Foundation. Meanwhile, Women in Philanthropy provides grants to groups that support women and children, and the One SC Fund supports disaster relief. Other funds support specific counties and the Lynches River watershed.
As far as community foundation discretionary grants go, CCCF mostly supports open and inclusive programs, arts and cultural opportunities, and the beautification of public spaces. These grants go up to $75,000 each and serve as challenge grants. In a past grant cycle, the funder funded $448,500 for Connected Community grants, which are meant to support innovative ideas that have been defined as the most important elements of a good community, according to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Gallup. Grantees in that round included the Columbia Museum of Art, FoodShare, Friends of Lexington Main Library, and the Columbia Children’s Theater.
The foundation also supports annual Best of Philanthropy Awards to honor people in the community that give back locally. It accepts public nominations, and the $1,000 awards are given to a nonprofit of winners’ choices.
Open grant opportunities are typically listed on the funder’s Nonprofits page. In recent years, grant opportunities sessions have been hosted in July. Current sessions are posted on CCCF’s events page to let local nonprofits in on tips for applying for grants.
Important Grant Details
Over a recent five-year period, CCCF awarded over $63 million to nonprofits. At least 97 percent of those grants were given to groups in the foundation’s direct service area. Since 1989, the funder has made over $115 million in grants.
The foundation is staffed by about nine professionals. Keep up with their blog and news section.
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