Lowcountry foundation’s coronavirus relief fund awards nearly $160k to nonprofits

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry awarded nearly $160,000 from its COVID-19 relief fund this week to 11 area nonprofits, most focused on providing food and housing assistance to residents suffering the economic impacts of the pandemic.

Over the last three weeks, at least 5,500 people in Beaufort County filed for unemployment insurance as statewide claims rose 3,149.3% from the beginning of March to the end of the month, according to figures from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

The foundation gave $158,050 to community organizations in Beaufort and Jasper Counties, many food banks and housing relief nonprofits, it said in a news release. The COVID-19 fund, established on March 20, is targeted at organizations that support residents without access to healthcare, or who are food or housing insecure, the foundation said.

The Community Foundation has previously established relief funds after major disasters, such Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

The organizations receiving grants include the Sandalwood Community Food Pantry on Hilton Head, St. Stephens Outreach Food Bank in Jasper County and Second Helpings, a food-distribution nonprofit with offices in Beaufort and on Hilton Head.

Bluffton Self Help, HELP of Beaufort and Lowcountry Food Bank also received funds.

Several organizations were awarded grants to provide housing and rental assistance to residents. Neighborhood Outreach Connection will use the money to pay landlords on behalf of low-income tenant families at risk of eviction because of coronavirus-related unemployment, the foundation said in a statement.

S.C. Chief Justice Don Beatty halted most evictions statewide in mid-March, but many tenants have still fallen behind on rent. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has continued to collect rent checks at roughly 20 rental properties he owns in Columbia, reported the Charleston Post & Courier.

With money from the Community Foundation, the Hilton Head Island Deep Well Project will also fund mortgage and rental assistance for its clients, including food and beverage employees who lost employment because of the outbreak.

At the end of March, Southeastern Entertainment Restaurant Group (SERG), the largest restaurant group on the island, furloughed 800 workers and The Beach House Resort on Coligny Beach laid off 57 employees, as many hotels and resorts closed.

Community Foundation funds will also go to Hopeful Horizons, which works with victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault. The organization previously told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette it was bracing for a rise in calls.

Some of the relief money will also go to nonprofits working with area students. The Antioch Education Center will purchase food to be distributed to Jasper County families through food banks and the Jasper County School District during spring break. The Beaufort-Jasper YMCA of the Lowcountry will use foundation funds to purchase “grab-and-go” meals for students in Northern Beaufort County over the next two months.

The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette have assembled a list of local nonprofits and resources offering help to those who need it during the coronavirus outbreak. Read it here.

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry is accepting donations for its COVID-19 Response Fund by check and online at https://cflowcountry.civicore.com/covid

This story was originally published April 11, 2020 at 10:39 AM.

Lucas Smolcic Larson

The Island Packet

843-560-9612

Lucas Smolcic Larson joined The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette as a projects reporter in 2019, after graduating from Brown University. His work has won Rhode Island and South Carolina Press Association awards for education and investigative reporting. He previously worked as an intern at The Washington Post and the Investigative Reporting Workshop in Washington D.C. Lucas hails from central Pennsylvania and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.