$345,000 Awarded to Local Nonprofits

“We ask our applicants to focus on the impact their request will have on the community,” Debbie Cahoon, vice president for community investment at the Community Foundation says. “We view applications through an equity lens and look for opportunities that improve the quality of life.”

The Community Foundation’s competitive grants support new or expanded programs that enhance the mission of the recipient nonprofits. They include:

Hilton Head Island Deep Well Project: A $122,300 grant will support a program to help break the cycle of generational poverty through the guidance of a newly hired social worker that will manage a mentorship program to help move families from dependency to self-sufficiency.

Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity: A grant of $85,000 will fund a newly created home repair program that will serve low- to moderate-income families in Jasper and Southern Beaufort County. The grant will provide three years of support for a project manager to coordinate volunteers, purchase tools and cover the costs of materials.

Mental Health America of Beaufort/Jasper: Safety and privacy are an important ingredient in providing mental health support. A grant of $18,351 will cover a portion of the costs of updating Island House, the facility the organization uses to conduct their outreach programs.

Programs for Exceptional People (PEP): Through a collaboration with Horizon Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine and The Island Recreation Center, PEP will receive a grant of $18,000 to provide fitness/physical therapy program to improve its clients’ stamina, mobility and life expectancy.

Second Founding of America (formerly Reconstruction Beaufort): A grant of $30,150 will fund a pilot program in Southern Beaufort County where local students, age 11 – 16, will identify and research a Reconstruction Era historic site. The grant will help cover the cost of staffing and supplies.

Second Helpings: The $12,000 grant will help fund the creation of technical reports that will increase efficiencies, including better utilization of volunteers and trends to ensure the proper quantities of food are distributed to partner agencies.

Volunteers in Medicine: A grant of $59,600 will support the purchase of a web-based interpretation software that allows Spanish- and other-speaking patients to converse with healthcare providers when an interpreter is unavailable.

Cahoon said a second competitive grant cycle will occur this spring. For more information, visit the Community Foundation’s website at cf-lowcountry.org.