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The Spartanburg County Foundation awarded $109,837 in capacity-building grants to 14 nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of Spartanburg County residents across all seven Spartanburg Community Indicator Areas: Civic Health, Cultural Vitality, Economy, Education, Natural Environment, Public Health, and Social Environment.

Each year, The Spartanburg County Foundation trustees set an unrestricted budget from The Community Fund and a partnership of other funds to award grants to nonprofit organizations serving Spartanburg County.

“We are very excited to be investing into these nonprofits by providing capacity-building grants,” said Troy Hanna, President and CEO of The Spartanburg County Foundation. “While the purpose of each grant varies in scope, all of the grants will be used to help further the missions of these organizations and increase their charitable impact throughout the greater Spartanburg County community.”

The following organizations received funding as part of the Foundation’s Fall Responsive Grantmaking Program:

1. Angels Charge Ministry
Angels Charge Ministry is the recipient of a $4,250 grant to incorporate national best practices into its programming model. This includes an intensive workshop with Thistle Farms in Nashville, TN, a best practice in transitional programs for women, and a board retreat to create a programmatic logic model for change. Angels Charge Ministry offers a transitional housing program, case management, and advocacy to deter recidivism to facilitate a successful reentry into our community for women during and after incarceration.

2. Ballet Spartanburg, Inc.
Ballet Spartanburg, Inc., is the recipient of an $8,540 grant to redesign its website, which will contain a donation page and allow students to register for classes online. Ballet Spartanburg promotes dance and dance appreciation in Spartanburg County and surrounding areas by providing the highest quality of dance training, education, performance and outreach.

3. Carolina Miracle League, Inc.
Carolina Miracle League, Inc. is the recipient of a $ 2,047 grant to furnish a new public office space. The office will provide a venue to teach special needs parents about Carolina Miracle League programs and allow staff to connect with volunteers and the community. Carolina Miracle League provides individuals with mental and/or physical challenges an opportunity to play baseball on an organized team. Games are hosted at Miracle Park in Boiling Springs, SC.

4. FAVOR
FAVOR (Face and Voices of Recovery) is the recipient of a $4,000 grant to develop marketing materials for the FAVOR Family Support Group in Spartanburg County. FAVOR provides non-clinical recovery support services for individuals and families in the Upstate affected by substance abuse disorders. Its work is part of a national recovery advocacy movement to provide people affected by substance use disorders with access to the support they need to achieve and maintain long-term recovery.

5. HALTER
HALTER is the recipient of a $12,000 grant to create a five-year strategic plan, update policies and procedures, provide board and volunteer training, and research fund development opportunities. Celebrating 30 years, HALTER provides equine-assisted activities and therapy for individuals with special needs and at-risk youth by helping them achieve their maximum potential.

6. Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg, Inc.
Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg, Inc., is the recipient of a $15,000 grant to purchase and implement a donor software program, and to complete and implement a fundraising and marketing plan. Healthy Smiles advocates and promotes the health of Spartanburg County children through free community dental health screenings and education, and free oral health services for qualified children.

7. New Day, Inc., of Spartanburg
New Day, Inc., of Spartanburg is the recipient of a $7,500 grant to purchase plastic/vinyl chairs for the facility and reupholster lobby area seating. New Day assists adults with varying levels of mental illness so that they may live as independently as possible within the community. Earlier this year, New Day opened its new facility on Church Street after the facility on Asheville Highway was destroyed by a fire in 2015.

8. Partners for Active Living
Partners for Active Living is the recipient of a $6,000 grant to implement a brand awareness marketing campaign. Celebrating 15 years of service, Partners for Active Living works to transform Spartanburg County into a vibrant, healthy, connected community.

9. South Carolina Hunters and Land Owners for the Hungry
South Carolina Hunters and Land Owners for the Hungry is the recipient of a $3,500 grant to redesign its website. South Carolina Hunters and Land Owners for the Hungry coordinate the distribution of venison and wild hog meat from hunters to individuals in need via an integrated network of meat processors and food banks. The organization also provides nonperishable items to families in need twice per month at its distribution center in Pacolet, SC.

10. Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce
Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce is the recipient of a $10,000 challenge grant for programming and marketing OneSpartanburg’s Talent and Economic Inclusion Initiative. The Initiative will address a range of factors that influence a community’s economic competitiveness including: talent, education and training systems, business climate, infrastructure, quality of life, and quality of place.

11. Spartanburg Science Center
Spartanburg Science Center is the recipient of a $4,500 grant for marketing and signage. In 2018, the Spartanburg Science Center will celebrate 40 years of providing science education and enrichment for the students and adults of Spartanburg County.

12. TOTAL Ministries
TOTAL Ministries is the recipient of a $10,000 challenge grant to purchase a walk-in freezer. TOTAL Ministries provides assistance to Spartanburg County residents facing financial hardships through programs that: prevent loss of utility services, provide heating assistance during the winter, provide food, cover the cost of life-sustaining medication, assist with obtaining identification papers, and assist with traveler’s aid. The freezer will allow TOTAL Ministries to double the amount of food the organization is able to store so that it may provide more food to individuals and families in need.

13. Upstate Affiliate Organization
Upstate Affiliate Organization is the recipient of a $15,000 grant to establish clinical exam rooms at Hope Center for Children and Project Hope Foundation. The exam rooms will allow on-site medical care to be provided to foster children and autistic pediatric patients in Spartanburg County.

14. Upstate Warrior Solution
Upstate Warrior Solution is the recipient of a $7,500 challenge grant to research, produce, and market educational mental-health video modules for Spartanburg County veterans. The video modules are a component of a mobile app called Sharpen Warrior, which is aimed to address the immediate mental health needs of veterans as well as provide them with additional resources for continuing care. Upstate Warrior Solution connects warriors and their families to resources and opportunities, leads them through the process of self-empowerment, and inspires the community to embrace warriors and their families as valued neighbors and friends.

These grants are made possible in partnership with The Spartanburg County Foundation Community Fund; Jim D. and Johnnie G. Adams Trustee Initiated Fund; Arkwright Foundation, Inc. Trustee Initiated Fund; Rose and Vic Bailey, Jr. Trustee Initiated Fund; Bain Foundation Trustee Initiated Fund; The Barnet Foundation Trust, Inc. Trustee Initiated Fund; A.K. and Lois H. Caughman Fund; The Martha C. Chapman Trustee Initiated Fund; Stanley W. Converse Fund; Erwin N. Darrin Fund; Miller Foster Family Trustee Initiated Fund ; Robert E. Gregory, Jr. and Marie H. Gregory Trustee Initiated Fund; Tracy and Thomas E. Hannah Trustee Initiated Fund; Harriet Smith Harris, Philip Guy Harris, and Philip Guy Harris, Jr. Memorial Fund; Inman-Riverdale Foundation Trustee Initiated Fund; Betty and George Dean Johnson Trustee Initiated Fund; The Donald C. Johnston, Jr. and Ann M. Johnston Trustee Initiated Fund; The R.E. and Marion Littlejohn P Trustee Initiated Fund; Betty James and Walter S. Montgomery, Jr. Trustee Initiated Fund; John and Lynne Poole Trustee Initiated Fund; The Powell Family Fund; Virginia U. Russell Fund; Harry W. Sanders Fund; Shepherd Johnston Memorial Fund; The Reverend Clay and Jane Turner Trustee Initiated Fund; The Emery L. Williams Memorial Fund; Arthur Frederick Willis Children’s Fund; and Zimmerli Foundation, Inc. Trustee Initiated Fund.