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Greenville Women Giving Awards Seven Grants Totaling $541,844

May 11, 2020

Over $6.5 Million of Grants Invested in Greenville County Since 2006

Greenville Women Giving (GWG) announced today it has awarded a total of $541,844 in grant funding to seven non-profit organizations in Greenville County.

GWG was founded in 2006 as a special initiative of the Community Foundation of Greenville. Since its founding, GWG has funded 123 grants in the Greenville community totaling over $6.5million. Grants are fully funded by the contributions of Greenville Women Giving members.

“Each of the organizations receiving grants this year will invest their funds in high impact areas of need that will have far reaching effects throughout our community,” said GWG Grants Committee Chair Rene’ Hutchisson.

Grant applications were submitted between October 14 and November 29, 2019. Qualifying applications must meet a need that directly supports at least one of GWG’s five core areas of focus: the arts, the environment, education, health, and human services.

Each of the five areas had a separate grants review team that carefully reviewed 73 applications. Site visits were conducted in order to learn more about the organizations and their needs. Site visits were completed by the end of February, prior to the pandemic becoming an issue in South Carolina.

In early March, when social distancing measures went into effect, grants review team members conducted video conferences to determine which organizations would appear on the final ballot. The ballot, with 17 finalists, was emailed to all 530 members, and seven nonprofits were selected to receive grant award checks on May 8, 2020.

The 2020 grantees chosen for funding are:

Greenville Center for Creative Arts – $84,183 to enhance visitor experience by installing signage, ADA compliant entrances, gallery lighting, and security lighting.

Greenville Zoo Foundation – $75,000 to remodel and expand the leopard housing area, meeting requirements for continued participation in the international Amur leopard breeding program.

Harvest Hope Food Bank – $55,485 to install a new, safe loading dock system which will increase the efficiency of food intake and delivery to 450,000 people per year.

Julie Valentine Center – $99,225 to upgrade the sexual assault forensic exam room and increase access to trauma-informed counseling services for sexual assault victims.

Legacy Early College High School – $98,566 over 2 years to fund increasing program costs and support program expansion to over 300 underserved students.

Soteria at Work – $49,385 to hire a manager and renovate the woodshop, increasing job-training capabilities for previously incarcerated men and reducing recidivism.

United Ministries – $80,000 over 2 years to qualify for matching funds and purchase 2 homes to provide interim housing for families transitioning out of homelessness.

“This year’s grants are awarded at a time when unprecedented challenges face our community due to the pandemic,” said GWG Co-Chair Emelia Stephenson. “We are particularly grateful to be able to support these organizations at a time when funding for non-profits is especially challenging.”

More about Greenville Women Giving and the organizations that received 2020 grant funding may be found by clicking the link to this video.