Cultivating a Connected Community
Three Connected Communities grant recipients discuss how their programs have made a long-term impact in the Midlands The Community Foundation’s Connected Communities grant initiative funds innovative, philanthropic projects that encourage a Welcoming Community, support Vibrant Social Offerings, and enhance our region’s Superb Public Spaces. The South Carolina State Museum, the Nickelodeon Theatre, and the Saluda Shoals Foundation received grants to advance programs that embodied these three categories. The State Museum opened its RACE exhibit to the public in 2016 to explore the science of human variation, the social construct of race, and the contemporary experience of racism in the United States. JoAnn Zeise, the museum’s curator of history, noted that over 7,000 individuals visited the exhibit during its fourmonth run. “We were most excited about the depth of community engagement we made with various groups,” Zeise says. “As the State Museum, we want to cover all of our constituencies. We reached out to communities that we had not before and put together a board that celebrated the diversity in our region.” In addition to the exhibit, the museum hosted a safe space for individuals to discuss race freely, an initiative that has influenced The Richland County Library to adopt a similar race relation program. The Nickelodeon Theatre used their grant to offer free Indie Grits Festival admission to the public in 2016. Themed “Waterlines,” Indie Grits co-director Andy Smith and his team
stay connected 2711 middleburg drive, suite 213 columbia, sc 29204
803.254.5601 | 803.799.6663 (F) www.yourfoundation.org info@yourfoundation.org
commissioned art relevant to the recent flooding and initiated discussions about the Midlands’ relationships with South Carolina waterways. Smith and the Indie Grits team used the success of Waterlines to attract a number of new funders for future festivals including the Andy Warhol Foundation, the National Association for Latino Art and Culture, the Mexican Consulate, and the Surdna Foundation for sustainable communities. the nickelodeon theatre used their connected “With these grants we are able to provide communities grant to offer free indie grits for and support a creative community,” festival admission to the public in 2016. says Smith. “It’s unorthodox for a film will connect the Lake Murray dam to the Vista. theater to do that with artists, but we are taking work outside of our own building and Executive Director of Saluda Shoals bringing it into the Midlands.” Foundation Dolly Patton explains that there was a need for green space within the To create a Superb Public Space, the Saluda community. Shoals Foundation in partnership with the Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission converted an abandoned industrial site on St. Andrews Road into a 126-acre recreational park complete with a tennis complex, boat launch, and six-field multi-use athletic complex. The new Saluda Shoals Park area has attracted over 177,000 youth and adults since its inception, resulting in a $80 million economic impact. Saluda Shoals Foundation has also established several new partnerships to begin funding new projects like a universally inclusive playground, an interactive wetland preserve exhibit, and the Lower Saluda River Greenway Trail, which
we are a nonprofit organization serving 11 counties in the
“Beautifying public spaces improves and facilitates social interaction,” says Patton. “It creates a source of pride for residents. In our case, once we landscaped the entrance to the park, neighboring businesses did the same... Improvement has a rippling effect.” By Juliette LaFerlita
For more information about the Connected Communities grant, visit www.yourfoundation.org under the Community Impact section.
expanding the giving paradigm | 2
midlands by distributing grants
news brief | 2
and scholarships and linking the
at a glance | 3
resources of donors, nonprofits and community leaders to areas of need.
legacy society | 3 giving for the future | 3 midlands gives | 4