Spartanburg, S.C. – The Mary Black Foundation announced today that it awarded $1,037,920 in grants to 11 nonprofit organizations serving Spartanburg County.

• BirthMatters was awarded $116,500 to support a community-based home visitation program for young moms.
• Children’s Museum of the Upstate was awarded $77,500 over two years to fund programming and instructional signage at the downtown Spartanburg location.
• Eat Smart Move More SC was awarded $7,800 to train young people in the City of Spartanburg’s Parks and Recreation program to implement healthy eating and active living campaigns.
• EMERGE (formerly know as Westgate Training & Consultation Network) was awarded $55,960 to provide mental health services to families with preschool age children.
• Hub City Farmers’ Market was awarded $92,100 to support efforts to increase access to affordable, healthy foods through a local market, a mobile market, and SNAP outreach.
• Impact America was awarded $84,375 over three years to provide high quality vision screening to preschool of children living in households with low-incomes.
• Institute for Child Success was awarded $95,000 to support core operating expenses leading to systems level change and policies to improve early childhood development.
• Partners for Active Living was awarded $157,250 to support general operating expenses leading to improved places, programs, policies, and partnerships that encourage active living.
• Spartanburg Community College Foundation was awarded up to $76,860 to implement infrastructure changes on campus to support the new Sustainable Agriculture program.
• Spartanburg County First Steps was awarded $124,500 to support the implementation of Quality Counts, a continuous quality improvement initiative for child care programs.
• Town of Lyman was awarded $100,000 to build an all-inclusive playground accessible to children with and without disabilities.
• Upstate Forever was awarded $50,075 to build the capacity of community members and elected officials to transform built-environments in Spartanburg County.

Molly Talbot-Metz, Vice President of Programs for the Mary Black Foundation said, “The Foundation is excited to support these organizations as they work to make Spartanburg a healthier and more vibrant community.”  The next opportunity to submit grant applications to the Mary Black Foundation will be in February 2018.  To learn more about how to apply for a grant, visit www.maryblackfoundation.org.

The Mary Black Foundation is an independent, private foundation. Since 1996, it has paid more than $50 million to improve the health and wellness of the people and communities of Spartanburg County. Additional information about the Foundation is available at www.maryblackfoundation.org.