Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina Inc. is a public

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

charity as classified by the US Internal Revenue Service. Since 2006 it has grown to be the largest grant-making entity in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

serving donors and nonprofits in nine counties of the Lowcountry region ( Charleston, Dorchester, Colleton,

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, Beaufort, Georgetown, and most recently Horry). The foundation was created in 1974 with a gift of $9,000 from the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston, facilitated by Ted Stern, Howard Edwards, Mal Haven (namesake of the Haven Award), and others. The foundation has grown rapidly since 2009, in some years faster than all but 3% of community foundations nationwide. Its 14 person staff manage investments of $220 million and distribute in excess of $20 million in grants to the community. Donors to 650+ funds direct grants to more than 700 nonprofit organizations each year. Since 2012 Coastal Community Foundation has received more donations than all other South Carolina nonprofits except for two, substantially larger, organizations (i.e., MUSC and

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

Community leadership

The foundation assists hundreds of

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s in improving their operations through consulting and mentoring. In particular, in May 2014 Coastal Community Foundation launched Lowcountry Giving Day a community-wide, online challenge that trained nonprofits on the use of online giving tools and social media. It generated $4 million for local charities on its inaugural day. and nearly double that amount in its second year. Anita Zucker and other philanthropic leaders pledged to augment giving on Lowcountry Giving Day in proportion to the gifts made to each nonprofit participant. The foundation also works with donors to create meaningful philanthropic experiences. Starting in 2010, Social Venture Partners Charleston is one such donor education forum. It is affiliated with Social Venture Partners International and has granted out more than $155,000 since inception.

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Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina Inc.
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in South Carolina Community foundations based in the United States Organizations based in Charleston, South Carolina Organizations established in 1974 1974 establishments in South Carolina