<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Giving back to Beaufort </strong>
<em>There are many opportunities to give, and they all need you.</em></p>
By Gloria Duryea

[caption id="attachment_21382" align="alignright" width="150"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Gloria-Duryea.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-21382" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Gloria-Duryea-150x150.jpg" alt="Gloria Duryea" width="150" height="150" /></a> Gloria Duryea[/caption]

It was a pleasure to see so many friends, colleagues and collaborators at the Beaufort Fund reception last month. Designed to bring attention to local nonprofits and recognize those selected to receive 2015 grants, the event is a celebration of everything that makes this community so special. And to many, it also signals a conclusion – the money is distributed, we applaud, everyone goes home. In reality, the reception is just one part of our year-round efforts in this region, and every member of the Beaufort community can be a part of it.

Together with a team of dedicated volunteers and local philanthropists, we carefully read through grant applications, learn about organizations, do on site visits and develop thoughtful funding recommendations to make a lasting impact in Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton and Colleton Counties – our Southern Lowcountry service region. After the grants are awarded, we keep in touch with those nonprofits by providing technical assistance and sharing our expertise where needed.

The year-round work surrounding the Beaufort Fund is a remarkable feat on its own. However, our work doesn’t stop there.

We help families create donor-advised funds so they can support the causes they care about from generation to generation, directing the funds where they are needed most. We run another competitive grant program, the Winthrop Family Fund, to serve organizations in Hampton and Allendale Counties. We also host The Beaufort Listening Network, a volunteer group of community leaders to stay abreast of philanthropy, community needs and news from across the Southern Lowcountry.

We create designated funds with individuals and families to help them give back to the same organizations every year, amplifying their impact as their fund increases. We work directly with nonprofits to set up organization endowments that build financial stability for groups like Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse (CODA) and United Way of the Lowcountry. We’ve even expanded Lowcountry Giving Day, a 24-hour online fundraiser happening May 5th, to work with more organizations in Beaufort and bring more incentive money to those groups this year.

At Coastal Community Foundation, we are dedicated to serving the Southern Lowcountry through all of these funds, programs and more, but to do so, we need one critical component: You. We need your support to grow our work in the community. With your help, we can work together to create a meaningful, permanent impact on nonprofits that are essential to the health of this region. There are many ways you can get involved with us right here in Beaufort. Start your own endowed fund to make a difference today and tomorrow in this community. Give to The Beaufort Fund, and know that your gift will become part of a long tradition of philanthropy. You can also give to us. This supports our office in Beaufort, keeping us here as a local resource for the community. If you have another idea, or just want to learn more, give us a call and we can explore what is the best option for you.

Anyone can be a philanthropist. So join us. Join our story, join our legacy, and look forward to what we can achieve together.

<em>Gloria Duryea is a Stewardship Officer at Coastal Community Foundation and leads the organization’s Beaufort Office. To learn more about how you can connect with philanthropy in the Southern Lowcountry, get in touch at Gloria@CoastalCommunityFoundation.org or call (843) 379-3400.</em>