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Coastal Community Foundation lays out 25‑year vision and local grants, including $2.3M to school program
Summary
The Coastal Community Foundation described a multi‑decade visioning process and highlighted recent grants in Beaufort County — notably a $2.3 million, three‑year grant to expand a school district after‑school program and smaller catalyst grants for housing repairs and capacity building.
Carrie Morris, identified as vice president for grantmaking and community leadership at the Coastal Community Foundation, described the foundation’s continuing community‑vision project and recent grant activity during the Chamber forum.
Morris said the foundation is developing a 25‑year community vision to guide investments and partnerships and has used community listening to identify priorities such as education, economic mobility, coastal resiliency and equitable opportunity. "Our foundation's mission is to create communities that are rich in equity, opportunity, and well‑being by uniting people and investing resources," she said.
She announced the foundation’s largest recent catalyst grant — a three‑year, $2,300,000 award to the Beaufort County School District’s Unite program to expand after‑school initiatives and educator supports. Morris also noted a 2022 $200,000 catalyst grant to Habitat for Humanity in the Lowcountry to support a merger and expanded repair/build capacity, and an economic mobility grant to the Saint Helena Bella Community Housing Project for critical home repairs.
Foundation staff said the grants are part of a broader, place‑based approach that the organization has pursued in the region for 25 years. They invited local partners — developers, municipalities, nonprofits and lenders — to participate in continued visioning and a planned fall forum to align strategies.
Why it matters: The grants and the foundation’s long‑range vision signal sustained private philanthropic investment in regional priorities, including education and housing. The foundation framed the investments as catalytic, intended to expand services and leverage additional partners and funding.
