Greenville Women Giving awards $525K in grants

Greenville Women Giving awarded $525,799 in grant funding to seven Greenville County non-profit organizations.

The group announced the funding level and the recipients at an event May 19 at The Annex at Judson Mill.

Since its inception in 2006, Greenville Women Giving has awarded 166 grants to 97 non-profit organizations for a total of more than $9.5 million.

“As population soars in Greenville County, so do the needs of our community and non-profits,” Co-Chair Jane Pannier, said in a news release. “Thanks to our membership and their commitment to contribute to the quality of life for all, we are again able to consistently fund organizations addressing critical needs. The caliber of applications this year was truly extraordinary, yet it underscores the staggering amount of unmet need within our community. Greenville Women Giving remains dedicated to bridging the gap between our vital non-profits and the resources they need to thrive.”

Ninety qualified grant applications were submitted to Greenville Women Giving for consideration this year.  To qualify, an application for a grant must meet a need in at least one of GWG’s five focus areas: arts, education, environment, health and human services.  In addition, the grant request must provide services in Greenville County and range from $50,000 to $100,000.  Based on a vote of GWG members, seven organizations were selected to receive grants this year.

Arts

ReCraft Creative Reuse Center: $52,040

ReCraft Reuse Center collects donations from Upstate manufacturers, retailers, institutions and households and redistributes the materials to schools, festivals, makers, crafters, artists and students. In 2025, ReCraft ensured that 25,000 local families, teachers, artists and makers had access to otherwise expensive creative materials. GWG grant funds will help them open a second location in Greer.

Outcome/Impact: A second location will reduce the barrier for many without transportation and bring access to creative, affordable materials and outreach programming to as many as 10,000 people in eastern and northern Greenville County.

Education

Augustine Literacy Project of the Upstate: $97,759

The mission of Augustine Literacy Project is to improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of young children living in poverty. Trained volunteer tutors provide free, one-on-one literacy instruction to K-3 students, using a specific phonics-based curriculum to ensure children read on grade level by third grade, unlocking their potential and strengthening the future. Currently, 46% of South Carolina third graders are not reading on grade level.

The GWG grant funding will allow the organization to hire a program coordinator who, in turn, will train more tutors, serve more struggling readers and meet the rising demand across Greenville County.

Outcome/Impact: A minimum of 30 new tutors trained per year, serving 60 additional students per year.

Environment

Blue Ridge Council, Scouting America: $100,000

The Blue Ridge Council of Scouting America serves over 3,000 youth annually in eight counties. Camp Old Indian is owned and maintained by the council and celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2026. All money is raised locally by volunteers and donations. The GWG grant will provide $100,000 of the $189,500 needed to complete an urgent cleanup of Camp Old Indian Lake. Hurricane Helene devastation dumped six feet of sediment into the lake, disrupting the ecological balance of the entire region and creating a major source of pollution at the headwaters of the North Saluda watershed. This project impacts the health of fish and wildlife as well as the quality of drinking water in the region.

Outcome/Impact: In its present condition, the lake cannot be used by scout campers. With GWG funding, sediment will be removed, and a permanent, sustainable berm addition will prevent future sediment from entering the lake, making it usable again. Longer term, improvement will be measured through monitoring of turbidity levels in the Callahan Branch waterway that connects the lake to the North Saluda River, improvement to aquatic wildlife populations, and drinking water quality of its downstream sources.

Health

Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired SC: $25,000

ABVI is the only South Carolina provider of comprehensive vision rehabilitation services for adults. Vision rehabilitation equips individuals with adaptive and practical skills for daily living, such as meal preparation, medication management, assistive technology use, and safe travel, yet these services are rarely covered by insurance or offered in medical settings. ABVI addresses this critical gap by providing free vision rehabilitation services, ensuring adults with vision loss can live safely and independently.

Outcome/Impact: The GWG grant will fund a full-time vision rehabilitation specialist who will provide 250 hours of vision rehabilitation training to more than 35 Greenville adults who are blind or low vision. As a result, 80% of participants will demonstrate increased independence through mastery of key skills and 75% of clients are projected to report improved quality of life based on pre- and post-program surveys.

Feed & Seed Co.: $70,000

Feed & Seed Co is a Greenville based, non-profit Food Innovation Hub with the mission of “healthy food for all, thriving farms for the future.” In January 2026, Feed & Seed along with the Greenville County School System were announced as recipients of the prestigious Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems grant by the USDA healthy meals initiative. This grant is one of only nine awarded across the country. A one-time investment by GWG will provide the critical seed funding needed to build a long-term sustainable program.

Outcome/Impact: The 77,000 students in Greenville County Schools (more than 50% living in poverty) will receive increased access to healthy South Carolina grown food, local small and medium sized farmers will have a reliable market, and a sustainable local food system will be created.

Unity Health on Main: $100,000

Unity Health on Main is a community health center that provides a lifeline to thousands of individuals and families. Their satellite clinic in the underserved community of District 25 was forced to limit operations to one day per week due to unprecedented federal funding cuts. The GWG grant will allow Unity Health to expand clinic hours to three days per week so more families can receive essential services, such as physical and mental health screenings led by a family nurse practitioner, bilingual mental health counseling, and support from a community health worker.

Outcome/Impact: The GWG grant will provide: health care services to at least 250 patients while helping families obtain insurance coverage and benefits for which they qualify; mental health counseling to 75 clients; and workshops for 500 residents focused on education and resources.

Human Services

Julie Valentine Center: $81,000

The Julie Valentine Center’s mission is to provide hope and healing to those impacted by child abuse and sexual assault. It has three aims: stop abuse before it happens; reduce trauma and reestablish safety; and engage survivors in healing through compassionate treatment. All services are free.

JVC is the sole provider of trauma-informed forensic interviews in Greenville County and coordinates the 13th Circuit Multidisciplinary Team. Forensic interviews directly protect children and lead to justice. In certain cases, the tape of the Forensic Interview can prevent the need for child victims to testify in court. Rising costs and state funding cuts threaten the organization’s ability to continue providing forensic interview services.

Outcome/Impact: GWG grant funding will sustain services, enabling JVC’s forensic professionals to conduct nearly 600 interviews over 12 months, and to get the training required to maintain their accreditations.

Grants are funded by the contributions of Greenville Women Giving members.

Greenville Women Giving is a philanthropic women’s collective giving organization created as a special initiative of the Community Foundation in 2006. The organization has more than 500 members. Membership in Greenville Women Giving is open to all women who commit to the annual contribution.