From staff reports
In its second Impact Grant cycle of Fiscal Year 2025, the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry (CFL) awarded $618,427.53 to 11 local organizations, including several in northern Beaufort County.
These competitive grants, distributed twice per fiscal year, are available to organizations serving people who live or work in Beaufort County. In this cycle, Impact Grants were awarded for projects and programs related to health, human services, education, entrepreneurship, self-sufficiency, and food insecurity.
The recipients of the spring 2025 Community Foundation of the Lowcountry Impact Grants are:
• Beaufort Memorial Hospital Endowment Foundation — $100,000 for developing a dedicated Crisis Stabilization Unit to serve individuals experiencing acute mental health crises.
• BlacQuity — $55,000 for a year-long, cohort-based business training program that offers practical education, mentorship, and access to startup resources for Black entrepreneurs.
• Bluffton Self Help —$55,000 to purchase a refrigerated box truck for the expansion of its Mobile Market and Fresh Xpress programs.
• Deep Well Project (in partnership with Bluffton Self Help) — $100,000 to support the creation of a new, shared service center on Hilton Head Island.
• HELP of Beaufort — $25,920 to launch a new transportation assistance initiative aimed at helping low-income residents living north of the Broad River maintain employment opportunities south of the Broad.
• Love House Learning Academy — $20,000 to launch a comprehensive abuse prevention and awareness program targeting youth and families in Beaufort County.
• Lowcountry Legal Volunteers — $65,000 for funding to launch a Wills and Heirs Property Program that will provide free legal services to help families secure generational landownership through estate planning and legal education.
• Memory Matters — $36,000 to expand its Bluffton-based dementia support programs, increasing respite day programming to three days per week and adding a fourth day for the early intervention class.
• Sandalwood Community Food Pantry — $100,000 to support facility costs for its new “Resilient Pantry” on Hilton Head Island.
• The Sandbox Children’s Museum — $11,507.53 for funds to fully implement a hands-on, interactive STEM exhibit for children ages 7 to 12.
• Volunteers in Medicine HHI — $50,000 to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of its Eye Clinic by acquiring two pieces of state-of-the-art equipment.
Community Foundation of the Lowcountry is pleased to offer a co-funding opportunity for generous people interested in supporting projects above that were not fully funded through the current grant cycle. To learn more about these giving opportunities, visit the Community Foundation’s Grants Catalog at https://bit.ly/43s5RFq.
For Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025), Community Foundation of the Lowcountry awarded a total of 19 Impact Grants for more than $993,000.
If you need more information, please contact Debbie Cahoon at dcahoon@cf-lowcountry.org or call 843-681-9100.
