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Gullah Geechee CDC board approves FY2027 budget, earmarks $1 million for land purchases and seed funding for grants
Summary
The Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods CDC board approved its FY2027 budget, including $1,000,000 for land acquisition, a personnel funding arrangement with the Town of Hilton Head Island, $100,000 toward a community grant program and $25,000 for a small business pitch competition. The board voted to approve the proposal after discussion.
The Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation board approved the organization's fiscal year 2027 budget at its March meeting, voting to adopt a plan that includes land‑acquisition funding, a personnel funding arrangement with the Town of Hilton Head Island and seed money for a local grant and pitch competition.
Executive Director Thomas Foxley summarized highlights of the proposed FY2027 budget, saying the organization had partnered with the town to acquire 117 William Hilton Parkway and 1 & 5 Wild Horse Road and planned further land purchases within historic neighborhoods. He told the board the personnel budget line — to be administered through the town general fund — is $355,226; the land‑purchase outlay was listed as $1,000,000; and the operating budget shows $335,007.52. Foxley said the CDC’s projected beginning fund balance for July 1, 2027, is $4,074,501. The transcript records the total projected expenditures figure unclearly (garbled in the record).
The budget also sets aside $100,000 to support a community grant program (noted as a Stony Improvement Grant program in the presentation) and $25,000 for a small business pitch competition Foxley described as an annually recurring initiative to put funds into entrepreneurs’ hands. The budget includes a recurring line for legal services to support community cases and continued funding for Experience Gullah, the CDC’s website and app that highlights historic churches, cemeteries and other sites.
Board members engaged several times during the presentation, sharing examples of how legal and grant support had prevented foreclosures and helped families retain property. After discussion, a board member moved to approve the budget as presented and a second was given. The chair called the vote and announced the FY2027 budget was approved and supported by the CDC board; the transcript does not record a roll‑call tally or individual votes.
Next steps: Foxley said staff will move forward on implementing the priorities in the FY2027 budget, pursue identified grant and foundation contacts and continue outreach to federal representatives to identify funding opportunities.
