Because of our donors, Waccamaw Community Foundation granted $2.3 million last year, roughly $1 million more than it did five years ago and $620,000 more than in 2017.
That’s partly because we adjusted our competitive grants programs, allowing us to lend more support to a greater number of organizations overall. Another driving factor was the surge in donations for Hurricane Florence recovery efforts, which we reported in our last blog.
Beginning last year, WCF doubled the maximum dollar amount organizations could be awarded from our two competitive grant programs, the Waccamaw Community Trust and the Elsie Beavers Carver & E. Lois Carver Educational Fund. As a result, both grew in dollars awarded and number of organizations supported.
The Waccamaw Community Trust Fund supports causes that improve the lives of individuals and families living in Horry and Georgetown counties. In 2017, $10,000 was distributed among five organizations. In 2018, the sum quadrupled, with $43,000 awarded to 20 organizations.
The Carver Educational Fund supports educational programs in Horry and Georgetown counties for K-12 students in areas of language arts, math, science, social studies, health and physical education and the arts. In 2018, $22,000 was distributed to six organizations, representing a 10 percent funding increase from the previous year.
These changes have allowed us to not only reach more organizations, but to offer them more resources as they work to improve the quality of life in our region.
Tara Hall Home for Boys in Georgetown is one example. The housing and educational facility provides an immersive and enriching experience for neglected, abused and troubled boys through self-achievement goal-setting, recreation, small classroom learning and family services.
The nonprofit organization, established in 1969, only receives about a half-percent of its funding from government sources. It relies on donors to sustain its programming, and WCF is honored to have become one of its supporters. The organization received $1,500 from the Waccamaw Community Trust in 2018 and $10,000 in 2018 and 2019 from WCF’s Carver Educational Fund.
Your generous support, especially through the Community Partnership Program, allows us to continue sustaining these organizations.
