SCF Nonprofit Effectiveness Grant

The 2025 Nonprofit Effectiveness Grant Opportunity is administered by the Spartanburg County Foundation, a philanthropic organization committed to enhancing the quality of life, educational achievement, and economic mobility for residents of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The Foundation’s mission centers on fostering philanthropy, encouraging civic engagement, and addressing the needs of the local community. This grant opportunity provides up to $10,000 in funding to strengthen the internal capacity or infrastructure of community-based nonprofit organizations. Specifically, the Nonprofit Effectiveness Grants support initiatives such as improving board governance, enhancing financial management, developing fundraising capacity, fostering strategic collaborations, advancing communications strategies, supporting succession planning, and establishing or refining evaluation frameworks. The focus of the grant is to build long-term organizational effectiveness rather than to support direct service delivery or programming. Eligible applicants must be tax-exempt entities under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code and must serve residents of Spartanburg County. Organizations located outside of the county may apply if they can clearly demonstrate the funding’s impact within Spartanburg County and ensure all grant monies are used within the county. Applicants must also adhere to local, state, and federal non-discrimination laws. Notably, organizations must have been operational for at least one year to be eligible for funding consideration. Faith-based organizations may apply, provided they do not restrict services based on religious affiliation and comply with inclusive service requirements. The grant application process is conducted quarterly through an online portal. Deadlines for 2025 submissions are February 24, May 6, August 5, and October 28. Applications must include detailed information such as the organization’s mission, project need and supporting data, description of proposed activities, SMART goals, a one-year project timeline beginning April 1 following award, and anticipated leveraged funding. Applicants must also provide geographic and demographic data, a project budget, a list of board members, and relevant documents such as the organization’s budget, IRS Form 990, and consultant proposals if applicable. Proposals are evaluated based on alignment with the Foundation’s mission and vision, the ability to address key areas of continuous improvement (quality of life, educational achievement, economic mobility), the use of measurement and evaluation tools, and the potential to attract additional funding. Funding is generally not provided for annual campaigns, endowments, films, publications, fundraising events, grants to individuals, political or lobbying activities, or for schools unless the project is district or county-wide. Grant decisions are issued at the end of each quarter, with first-quarter awards made by March 31.