From staff reports
The Coastal Community Foundation has awarded a $200,000 Catalyst Grant to nonprfit Habitat for Humanity of the Lowcountry. Habitat for Humanity will receive the grant over two years.
Habitat for Humanity builds affordable housing, revitalizes neighborhoods, and provides financial education. The Catalyst Grant will support the merger of Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity and Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity. The newly formed Habitat for Humanity of the Lowcountry will be able to build more homes per year, repair more existing homes, and provide additional inclusive support to homeowners. Grant funding will be used to assist with internal infrastructure, marketing, branding, and data collection through the merger process.
“We are thrilled and thankful to receive the Coastal Community Foundation’s Catalyst Grant,” Habitat for Humanity of the Lowcountry CEO Brenda Dooley said in a news release. “It gives us the ability to accelerate our transition timeline and begin helping even more families throughout Beaufort and Jasper counties realize their dream of a decent, affordable home.”
Coastal Community Foundation launched the Catalyst Grant program in 2020 as a category of The Beaufort Fund, CCF’s largest grantmaking program. Catalyst Grants support large-scale projects addressing community-wide issues. The grants are available to nonprofits serving Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, or Jasper counties and ensure multi-year funding, often exceeding a hundred thousand dollars per year.
Since 2020, CCF has awarded eight Catalyst Grants totaling $3.5 million. Previous recipients include Hopeful Horizons, Teach for America South Carolina, Sea Islands Heritage Academy, Communities in Schools of South Carolina, CommunityWorks, and EforAll.
“The Catalyst Grant is one way Coastal Community Foundation can support big, bold ideas,” CCF President and CEO Darrin Goss Sr. said in a news release. “To receive a Catalyst Grant, we ask the nonprofits to demonstrate community collaboration, inclusive access, and innovation to tackle community challenges. Securing multi-year funding means nonprofits can focus on making large-scale projects successful without constantly fundraising.”
In the past 25 years, Coastal Community Foundation has granted more than $20 million to Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties thanks to its family of endowed perpetual funds. CCF currently has more than $125 million in endowed charitable assets dedicated to future grantmaking in the region.
