Background on the Community Grant Program:
The purpose of the Community Grant Program is to support nonprofits serving the needs of Horry and Georgetown Counties with small, timely grants. Grants can be used for general operating, program development, emergency assistance, education/training or special opportunities.
The Community Grant Program is sponsored by the Knight Foundation Donor-Advised Fund at the Waccamaw Community Foundation. The maximum grant size is $10,000, with the majority being between $1,000 and $5,000. Grants are awarded on an on-going basis, by joint decision of the Knight Donor-Advisor, the Knight Program Officer and the Community Foundation President.
We seek to fund organizations that are in line with Knight Foundation's areas of interest. An organization may only apply once a year and will not be funded in consecutive years. This funding does not affect any other funding opportunities through the Waccamaw Community Foundation. The goal of the Community Grant is to provide timely assistance to nonprofit organizations.
Community Grant letters of request will be received by the Waccamaw Community Foundation. Grant requests received by the last day of the month will be awarded or denied by the last day of the following month.
Priority Areas
Eligible nonprofit organizations need to address one or more of the following priority areas, and serve Horry and/or Georgetown County.
- Education: To help all residents gain the knowledge and skills necessary to reach economic self-sufficiency, remain active learners, be good parents and effective citizens in a democracy. To provide an environment in which talented individuals refine and develop their abilities.
- Well-Being of Children and Families: To provide all children and youth with opportunities for positive growth and development and to give all parents resources they need to strengthen their families.
- Housing and Community Development: To provide all residents with access to affordable and decent housing in safe, drug-free neighborhoods. To provide a continuum that includes everything from services for the homeless to affordable opportunities for home ownership.
- Economic Development: To help all adults gain access to jobs. To build alliances among government, business and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunities for residents.
- Civic Engagement/Positive Human Relations: To encourage and enable all residents to participate effectively in the democratic process, form ties to local institutions and strengthen relationships with one another.
- Vitality of Cultural Life: To provide all residents access to a wide variety of artistic and cultural pursuits. To nourish creativity in children, youth and adults.
We recognize that there may be overlap among the above focus areas. Proposals that fit strongly within one priority will receive greater consideration than proposals that marginally address several priorities.
If your organization meets one or more of the focus areas listed above, read on.
Eligibility Criteria:
The Community Grant Program seeks to fund organizations that have the following characteristics:
- Nonprofit organization - 501(c)(3) status, or has a fiscal sponsor **
- Based in or serving Horry or Georgetown County **
- Seek to launch, expand, or replicate an innovative program
- A track record of successful program/service implementation, making measurable impacts on populations served and/or issues addressed
- Reasoned methology, i.e. needs assessment or replication of a model program, to demonstrate potential for success
- In the case of some new organizations, provide a revolutionary approach to solving a community issue
- Collaboration with other nonprofits
** required
Application Process:
To be considered for support, organizations should submit a Letter of Request to the Knight Foundation Donor-Advised Fund of the Waccamaw Community Foundation. The letter should not exceed two pages in length, and should include no attachments. The Letter of Request should include the following information:
- One paragraph summarizing your organization's mission and history.
- A summary of your goals and specific activities to be supported by the award. Please include details around the population you intend to serve and how the program addresses one of the focus areas described above.
- Budget figures: a) the amount of financial support requested from Community Mini Grant program; b) the total budget for the requested project, if project-specific support is sought; c) the organizations total annual operation budget.
Please note: For the Letter of Request, you do not have to submit a line item budget. For example, nonprofits need only state, "We are requesting $2,000 to support a study of human services needs of underachieving middle school students in Loris for our XYZ program. The total program budget is $25,000 and our total agency budget for FY2005 is $125,000."
Submit Letters of Request and questions via e-mail to Jonathan P. Kresken, President, Waccamaw Community Foundation at jkresken-wcf@sc.rr.com .
If you are unable to submit your letter via e-mail, hard copies may be mailed or hand-delivered to:
The Waccamaw Community Foundation
Attn: The Knight Donor-Advised Fund
3655 S. Hwy. 17 Bus.
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
KNIGHT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
| Pamela J. Browning |
Howard Barnard |
| Brad Dean |
Jonathan P. Kresken |
| Leigh Meese |
Milton Miles |
| John Smithson |
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| Susan Patterson - Knight Foundation, Deputy Director Community Partners Program |
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