What We Fund
What We Do Fund
We aim to increase opportunities for health and well-being through strategic investments in the people and communities of Spartanburg County. The Foundation is interested in funding projects that will reduce health disparities.
- General Operating Support – to cover day-to-day activities and ongoing expenses.
- Programs & Services – activities directly targeting individuals to achieve specific results.
- Policies & Places – activities to change or modify policies or to create new or improved places that increase opportunities for the residents of Spartanburg County.
- Planning & Capacity Building – to plan for or study future projects or to implement efforts that improve the capacity of the organization to achieve results.
The Foundation does provide multi-year funding depending on the specific grant request. We encourage you to reach out to the Foundation for guidance on available grant funding.
The Mary Black Foundation has very limited funds to sponsor events. Read our Sponsorship Guidelines.
What We Don't Fund
Though we’d love to help everyone, the Mary Black Foundation does not fund:
- Activities that are discriminatory or organizations engaged in discriminatory practices, including, but not limited to, written or informal policies and procedures regarding staff and/or volunteer requirements, program content, or participant eligibility that are discriminatory.
- Direct grants or scholarships (including tuition assistance) for individuals.
- Grants that further political or religious activities.
- Medical, scientific, or academic research.
- Vans or buses used to transport people.
- Activities and/or programs that duplicate efforts that are, have been, or should be offered at local hospitals.
- Activities, projects, or programs that will have been completed before funding becomes available.
- Endowments or other reserve funds or the payment of debt.
- Fundraising events, celebrations, or dinners.
- Individual schools unless the project is district or county-wide and is supported by the superintendent(s).
Recent Grants
Angels Charge Ministries: $30,000 to support the expansion of their reentry program, operational support, and two new long-term transitional homes.
Benjamin E. Mays Family Resource Center: $30,000 to support counseling services for uninsured and under-insured individuals in Pacolet and surrounding communities.
BirthMatters: $30,000 for expansion of their doula program for mothers 25 years and older.
Bloom Upstate: $15,000 in general operating support and to provide evidence-based youth development programming.
CommunityWorks: $20,000 in general operating support and to provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.
EMERGE Family Therapy: $50,000 to strengthen organizational and community capacity to better meet behavioral health needs.
GoForth Recovery: $10,000 in general operating support and to track family outcomes as a result of their addiction recovery and treatment programs.
Habitat for Humanity: $20,000 to provide affordable housing, while addressing the increasing cost of construction and support services.
Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg: $15,000 to provide dental screenings, prevention, and restorative care to children without access to health insurance.
Institute for Child Success: $50,000 in general operating support, that leads to systems-level changes to improve early childhood development outcomes.
JUMPSTART: $20,000 to provide services that address the educational, employment, healthcare, housing, and family relationship needs of previously incarcerated residents.
Kids Upstate: $15,000 in general operating support and to provide evidence-based youth development programming.
Middle Tyger Community Center: $30,000 to provide free or low-cost services to children and families in Spartanburg School District 5.
Northside Development Group: $20,000 in general operating support that will improve health and wellbeing in a historically under-resourced neighborhood.
ReGenesis Health Care: $30,000 to support the work of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, focused on behavioral health needs of children.
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate: $15,000 for the expansion of early childhood programming in the Spartanburg County location.
United Way of the Piedmont: $25,000 to support the work of a Community Health and Resource Coordinator, focused on financial stability and health.
Upstate Family Resource Center: $30,000 in general operating support and to provide low-cost or free services to children and families in northern Spartanburg County.
The Roo Crew: $7,500 to increase organizational capacity to serve families with children experiencing medical or educational obstacles.