One SC Fund receives $1.5 million for coronavirus relief

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A $1.5 million gift from The Duke Endowment to the One SC Fund: COVID-19 Response will help South Carolinians affected by the coronavirus health crisis.

The gift, the largest single contribution the fund has received, is the second from the Charlotte-based endowment and brings the organization’s total contribution to $2.75 million. The One SC Fund, which has distributed more than $5.5 million to S.C. nonprofits after being established in 2015 in as a statewide disaster relief fund, is housed at the Central Carolina Community Foundation.

The money will be used to support S.C. residents in the state’s most vulnerable communities with needs including food, education and mental health support, and rent and/or utility assistance. Funds will also be used to help with vaccine distribution efforts.  

“Through the One SC Fund, this grant will support organizations that are well-positioned to identify community needs and provide critical services for people disproportionately affected by the pandemic,” Minor Shaw, Duke Endowment board chair, said in a news release.

The fund has directed donations to relief efforts after the historic flooding of 2015 as well as hurricanes Matthew and Florence and was activated last March in response to COVID-19. By July 2020, more than $2.9 million was raised and distributed to 93 nonprofits serving every S.C. county, aiding more than 700,000 residents, according to the release.

“We are extremely grateful to The Duke Endowment for their continued support of the One SC Fund: COVID-19 Response,” JoAnn Turnquist, Central Carolina Community Foundation president and CEO, said. “Their financial support will allow us to strategically focus on the counties and populations in our state that have been hardest hit by the pandemic.”

One SC Fund grant applications are open for high-priority counties through March 31. More information is available online at www.yourfoundation.org/onescgrants.

The Duke Endowment was established in 1924 with $40 million from industrialist and philanthropist James Buchanan Duke. In 1925, Duke’s estate contributed another $67 million. The organization has awarded more than $4 billion in grants, including more than $1.5 billion to Duke University, and had assets of $3.8 billion in 2019, according to its website.