In partnership with its donors, Spartanburg County Foundation has committed an initial $225,000 to a COVID-19 grant opportunity.
Grant proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis through an online application. Grants will range from $10,000-$50,000.
As a community foundation that seeks to improve the lives of Spartanburg County residents, The Spartanburg County Foundation team has been monitoring and evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on our local nonprofit sector. During this assessment period, staff explored COVID-19’s bearing on nonprofit operations, immediate nonprofit needs, the populations most impacted, and concerns about the sustainability of the nonprofit sector.
“The Spartanburg County Foundation’s model of passing gear philanthropy includes philanthropy as relief in which resources are focused on situations where addressing immediate needs is essential,” said Troy Hanna, President and CEO of The Spartanburg County Foundation. “The Foundation wants to do its part in ensuring our local nonprofit sector remains strong and immediate assistance is accessible.”
Based on the Foundation team’s research of local nonprofit organizations, the greatest community needs continue to be food and financial assistance. Many direct service organizations are seeing more than double their average requests for assistance.
There is also significant concern from nonprofit leaders around the economic aftermath of COVID-19 as the moratorium on evictions is lifted and utility bills come due. While some nonprofits have plans to cover cash flow over the next 90 days, others are concerned about their financial viability in as little as two months.
Because of the increased community urgency, the Foundation has revised its Spring Grant Cycle to be solely focused on COVID-19 relief and assistance. This grant opportunity will be dedicated to Spartanburg County nonprofits needing additional capacity to maintain operations throughout the pandemic. The Foundation’s COVID-19 grantmaking opportunity will focus on flexible grants to nonprofit and faith-based organizations providing direct services to communities that are disproportionally impacted by COVID-19. Those populations include the elderly, homeless or housing insecure, children, service/part-time/seasonal workers, healthcare workers, communities of color, immigrants, and those without English language proficiency.
“The Spartanburg County Foundation recently signed the Council on Foundation’s Call to Action Pledge for Philanthropy’s Response to COVID-19,” said Mary L. Thomas, Chief Operating Officer with The Spartanburg County Foundation. “This solidifies our commitment to support nonprofits in the Spartanburg County community by being more flexible with grants and grant restrictions.”
To view the full Request for Grant Proposals and access the online applications, visit www.spcf.org.