The Blackbaud Fund of Coastal Community Foundation Awards $55,000+

Employee-led grant committee supports organizations working with special needs and disadvantaged youth

Charleston, SC: May 12, 2015 – Coastal Community Foundation, a grantmaking institution dedicated to serving coastal South Carolina, announced today that $55,543 was awarded to 7 local nonprofits through the Blackbaud Fund. An annually rotating employee-led grants committee develops funding recommendations for the fund as part of Blackbaud’s commitment to corporate philanthropy and employee-led initiatives.
Grace Strother, a member of this year’s grants committee, shared, “This program demonstrates Blackbaud’s commitment to the young people in our community. Committee members witness firsthand the impact the nonprofits make with those they serve. We were overwhelmed by the passion, talent and sheer determination offered by each organization.”
This year’s Blackbaud grantees included Reading Partners and Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding. Reading Partners, a local affiliate of a national literacy nonprofit, has had a 600% increase in students served over the past five years and recently expanded to their first rural school. Grant funds will support operations at Reading Partners. Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding, a nationally accredited therapeutic horseback riding center, will use grant funds to support their Public School Program, which works primarily in local Title I schools. This program brings much needed therapeutic riding to special needs children, improving their lives by increasing emotional, mental and physical fitness.
The Blackbaud Fund, an endowed fund established in 1995, supports organizations that work with children with special needs and provide education for disadvantaged youth. Over the past twenty years, the fund has awarded $566,960 to 54 organizations throughout Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester County. For more information about the Blackbaud Fund, please contact Sydney Meeks Fowler at sydney@coastalcommunityfoundation.org.

2015 Blackbaud Fund Grantees
Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Inc.
Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding
Communities in Schools of the Charleston Area
Metanoia
Reading Partners
WINGS for Kids
Yo Art, Inc.

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