<h2><b>First major grant goes to Beaufort County’s Hopeful Horizons

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The Coastal Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization serving coastal South Carolina, has started a new chapter in the Southern Lowcountry region including Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties with the launch of its largest grant program yet, ncuding an advocacy initiative to stand up for policies addressing community-wide issues.

With support from a generous anonymous donation, the Foundation has launched the Catalyst Grant program supporting nonprofits' large-scale projects through collaborative, equitable and innovative approaches.

With this addition, the foundation's annual grantmaking in the region will exceed $1 million.

“We call this the Catalyst Grant because we want to spark lasting, positive outcomes in the Southern Lowcountry region by supporting bold ideas,” Vice President of Grantmaking and Community Leadership Edie Blakeslee said. “The nonprofits serving this region have so much community wisdom, but we know how difficult it can be to pursue big ideas if you’re working on a tight budget with a small staff. We asked ourselves, ‘What if that barrier was eliminated? How much good might we be able to do?’”

The program's first grant of $750,000 was awarded to Hopeful Horizons, a children's advocacy, domestic violence and rape crisis center based in Beaufort County. This significant investment — among the largest single grants ever awarded by Coastal Community Foundation — will enable the nonprofit to expand its service and open a satellite office in Colleton County, which has the highest rate of child abuse cases in South Carolina.

At this new office, Hopeful Horizons will support victims of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault with intake assessments, forensic interviews, therapy, support groups and other critical services.

“We are honored to be chosen as the first recipient of the Coastal Community Foundation’s Catalyst Grant,” Hopeful Horizons CEO Kristin Dubrowski said in a release. “This investment in our work allows us to make a broad array of life-changing services much more accessible to survivors of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault living in Colleton County.”

The Catalyst Grant is one of four categories of The Beaufort Fund, the Foundation's annual grants program that supports nonprofits serving the Southern Lowcountry region. This year, 75 nonprofits were awarded a total of $826,567 through the Beaufort Fund. Since it was established in 1998, the Beaufort Fund has awarded more than $10 million in this region.

Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create vibrant communities by uniting people and investing resources across Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry and Jasper counties. For more information, visit coastalcommunityfoundation.org or call 843-723-3635.
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