Community Engagement Grants
Community Engagement Grants support outreach, events, trainings, workshops, celebrations and other activities that serve and engage communities experiencing poverty.
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What Community Engagement Grants Support
Activities focused in at least one of the Foundation’s focus areas: economic mobility, housing security and/or health care. To see how the Foundation defines these terms, visit our Strategic Plan webpage.
One-time or occasional activities that engage communities experiencing poverty. These grants are not meant to support an organization’s core programs and activities (for example, a free medical clinic’s health care services).
Activities that are occurring within six months of the funding date.
Activities that benefit from a small one-time funding. Grant requests can be up to $1,500.
Community Engagement Grants CANNOT be used for fundraising events such as galas and capital campaigns.
Ready to Apply?
Could your organization be a fit for a Community Engagement Grant? Learn more.
Additional Funding Considerations
Organizations cannot receive both a Community Engagement Grant and a Systems Change Grant from the Foundation in the same year. That means, if your organization has received a Systems Change Grant, you cannot apply for this grant.
Organizations can receive one Community Engagement Grant annually.
Organizations ARE eligible to apply if they have an open 2025 grant from the Foundation.
While these are not application requirements, we strongly encourage applications from organizations that are:
- Grassroots, or led by community members who understand the specific needs of their area.
- Serving people/communities of color, in order to address systemic racism as a root cause of poverty. SCFSC will consider this criterion alongside the applicant’s service area demographics and other factors.
- Located in and/or primarily serving at least one of the following 12 persistent poverty counties in South Carolina: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Clarendon, Colleton, Dillon, Hampton, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Williamsburg (based on U.S. Census definition).
Community Engagement Grant recipients do not need to submit reports to the Foundation.
Application Process and Timeline
If you think your work fits within the goals of the Community Engagement Grants, we’d love to hear from you! Here are the steps:
- Review our Inquiry Checklist and make sure you meet our basic eligibility requirements.
- Submit a application when the form opens on January 20, 2026.
- In the meantime, you can preview the application questions via our grants portal.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Deadline | March 16 | June 1 | October 5 |
| Award Notifications Sent to Applicants | Week of April 6 | Week of June 22 | Week of October 26 |
| Funded activities should take place before… | October 31 | January 31, 2027 | May 31, 2027 |
Selection Criteria
Applications are reviewed by Foundation staff. When selecting which grant proposals to fund, the Foundation considers:
- An application’s individual score based on the rubrics below, and
- The full portfolio of high-scoring applications.
By considering all applications together, the Foundation can ensure our grants are not unfairly concentrated in one focus area, in one geographic region of the state, etc.
Evaluation Rubric for Applications
| Rated out of 10 | High (8-10 points) | Medium (4-7 points) | Low (0-3 points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation Mission and Values Alignment | The application aligns with SCFSC mission and values. | The application somewhat aligns with SCFSC mission and values. | The application does not align with SCFSC mission and values. |
| Focus Area Alignment | The proposed activity falls directly within the Foundation’s focus areas economic mobility, housing security and/or health care. | The proposed activity could have an effect on Foundation focus areas but is tangential. | The proposed activity has an indirect or no connection to the Foundation’s focus areas. |
| Rated out of 5 | High (4-5 points) | Medium (2-3 points) | Low (0-1 points) |
| Community Input | The organization listens to community and gives examples of how input has informed the proposed activity. | The organization gathers input, but it is not clear how that input has shaped the proposed activity. | The organization gave little to no evidence of listening to community. |
| Community Impact | This activity will have a clear, positive impact on the community. | The activity could have a positive impact on community, but it could be stronger. | This application does not explain any impact on the community. |
| Rated out of 3 | High (3 points) | Medium (1-2 points) | Low (0 points) |
| Budget | The proposed budget aligns with the proposed activities. | The proposed budget raises some questions given the proposed activities. | The proposed budget does not make sense given the proposed activities. |
Applications will receive an additional one (1) point for each of the following criteria met:
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2026 Community Engagement Grant Deadlines
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March 16
Round 1 application due
June 1
Round 2 application due
October 5
Round 3 application due
