Central Carolina Community Foundation

What Central Carolina Community Foundation does

Central Carolina Community Foundation is a Columbia, South Carolina-based 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1984 that operates as the regional community foundation for an 11-county swath of the South Carolina Midlands. The organization stewards more than $275 million in charitable assets across 500+ individual, family, corporate, and nonprofit donor-advised funds, and since inception has deployed $305 million+ in grants and $6.89 million+ in scholarships. It operates four wholly-owned regional affiliates — Kershaw County Community Foundation, Greater Chapin Community Foundation, Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties Community Foundation, and Sumter Community Foundation — which serve as localized endowment arms in their respective sub-regions.

The Foundation's product portfolio is built around three flagship initiatives. Midlands Gives is a year-round giving platform connecting 600+ nonprofits with donors, anchored by an annual 18-hour giving day that raised $4,954,690 from 11,108 donors in 2026. The One SC Fund is a statewide disaster-relief vehicle, created in 2015, that disburses $14M+ to 77+ nonprofits to date, including $6M+ for Hurricane Helene across 92 grants. A third arm, Connected Communities, channels $2.5M+ to livability-focused projects informed by Knight Foundation "Soul of the Community" research and engaging 100,000+ community members. Adjacent offerings include 200+ scholarships routed through a single-application portal, the African American Philanthropy Committee (founded 2019), the David W. Robinson Catalyst Award (1994), and the Fundraising School capacity-building program for nonprofits. Corporate-partner sponsors of Midlands Gives 2026 include BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Aflac, Dominion Energy, Truist, First Citizens Bank, Nelson Mullins, Walmart Foundation, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Verizon.

The Foundation is donor-supported rather than fee-driven; it does not publicly charge fees to donors or grantees for platform access. Its 17-person staff is organized into Advancement (led by VP Mimi Slade), Community Investment (led by VP Erin E. Johnson with Director Trimease K. Carter), Finance (CFO Kevin L. Patten), Operations (VP Dr. Chelsea Richard), and Communications (Director Kate Cherry), under President & CEO Georgia Mjartan. The Foundation is governed by an independent Board of Trustees and holds accreditation in the community-foundation sector. It carries no parent company, no institutional investors, and no private-equity involvement. Technology stack is minimal — comprising a WordPress content site, an online grant-application portal (Grant Interface), the Midlands Gives marketplace, and a scholarship login portal — with no proprietary AI or data platform of its own; the Community Assessment initiative (May 2026) outsources data visualization to Megascope Data rather than building internal capability.

Name

Central Carolina Community Foundation

Legal name

Central Carolina Community Foundation

Website

https://yourfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Central Carolina Community Foundation is a Columbia, SC-based 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1984 that stewards $275M+ in charitable assets across 500+ funds and serves 11 Midlands counties through grantmaking, Midlands Gives, One SC Fund disaster relief, and 200+ scholarship programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable grantmaking
• Donor-advised funds
• Disaster relief fund
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Giving and Grants: As a community foundation, the organization connects donors with charitable causes. It manages charitable funds and makes grants to nonprofits. Revenue comes from donor contributions, not direct revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Central Carolina Community Foundation is a nonprofit community foundation that connects donors with charitable causes across the South Carolina Midlands. It manages over $275 million in assets across more than 500 charitable funds, awards grants to nonprofits, administers 200+ scholarship opportunities, runs the Midlands Gives giving platform, and operates the One SC Fund for statewide disaster relief and recovery.

Product overview

Central Carolina Community Foundation operates as a comprehensive philanthropic services organization offering a unified portfolio of giving and grantmaking platforms and programs. The core offerings include the Midlands Gives giving platform (year-round donation portal plus annual giving day event), the One SC Fund disaster relief initiative, and traditional grantmaking services encompassing donor-directed, competitive, and community impact grants. Supporting services include 200+ scholarship opportunities, the African American Philanthropy Committee and Black Philanthropy Month initiatives, Connected Communities grant program, and affiliate Community Funds for regional endowments. Capacity building is supported through Fundraising School training and Capacity Building Grants. The organization stewards over $275 million in assets through more than 500 charitable funds, serving 11 counties in South Carolina's Midlands region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Midlands Gives: Year-round giving platform and annual 18-hour giving event for Midlands nonprofits
• One SC Fund
• African American Philanthropy Committee (AAPC)
• Connected Communities Grant Initiative

Products and services

• Midlands Gives A year-round giving platform and nonprofit directory for the Midlands region, featuring an annual 18-hour giving day event that unites the community to support over 600 local nonprofits across 11 counties. Has raised more than $37.3 million since 2014, including $4,954,690 from 11,108 donors on Midlands Gives Day 2026.
• One SC Fund A coordinated statewide philanthropic response fund for natural disasters and emergencies in South Carolina, led by the foundation to support nonprofits providing emergency relief and long-term recovery. Has provided more than $14 million for disaster recovery since 2015.
• Grantmaking Services Comprehensive grantmaking including donor-directed grants, competitive grants, and community impact grants focused on increasing livability, building nonprofit capacity, funder collaborations, and regional philanthropy. Awarded $305 million+ in total grants since 1984, with 3,227 grants awarded between July 2024 and June 2025.
• Scholarship Programs Over 200 scholarship award opportunities accessible through a single application, administered to high school seniors and college students. More than $6.89 million in scholarships awarded since 1994.
• Connected Communities Grant Initiative A grant program inspired by the Knight Foundation's Soul of the Community research, funding innovative projects that connect residents to the Midlands community and increase livability through welcoming spaces, vibrant social offerings, and superb public spaces. Has awarded more than $2.5 million to local nonprofits and engaged over 100,000 community members.
• Community Funds (Regional Affiliates) Regional endowment funds including Kershaw County Community Foundation, Greater Chapin Community Foundation, Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties Community Foundation, and Sumter Community Foundation, each improving quality of life and addressing local needs in their respective communities.
• Fundraising School A six-week virtual capacity-building program that helps nonprofit leaders reduce fundraising fears, increase board engagement, and develop fundraising vision, strategies, and systems.
• Capacity Building Grants Grants of up to $10,000 to assist nonprofits with organizational and financial stability, improved governance, and growth, supporting strategic planning, board development, technology planning, and evaluation efforts.
• Corporate Competitive Grant Programs Administered competitive grant programs including Aflac (health, well-being, education), Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation (Area of Need grants), Mary Seibert Charitable Trust (animal welfare), and Lynches River Conservation (land conservation).

Quantifiable outcome

• $305 Million+ in total grants since 1984
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GOODSTOCK ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to facilitate focus groups for the Community Assessment process.
• Robin Waites ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to facilitate internal reflections with staff for the Community Assessment.
• Megascope DatacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to build public facing data visualizations for the Community Assessment.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Foundation For The Carolinas: Major community foundation based in Charlotte serving the Carolinas with extensive donor-advised funds, scholarship administration, and disaster response. Highly comparable operating model with regional scope across the Carolinas, but at materially larger scale.
• The Dayton Foundation: Mid-sized community foundation of comparable scale and structure providing donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and scholarship programs in a single metropolitan/regional area. Operates with similar community foundation operating model and asset range.
• Community Foundation of Greenville: Upstate South Carolina community foundation offering donor-advised funds, competitive grants, and scholarships. Direct peer sharing the same community foundation structure serving a SC region with similar donor base profile.
• Coastal Community Foundation: South Carolina community foundation serving the Lowcountry region with comparable donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and disaster response programs. Direct peer because it operates the same community foundation model in an adjacent SC region with similar donor and nonprofit ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Greater Houston Community Foundation: Larger community foundation serving the Houston region with similar donor-advised funds, competitive grants, disaster response, and scholarship programs. Comparable operating model but materially larger AUM and broader geographic scope.
• Chicago Community Trust: Large legacy community foundation providing donor services, grantmaking, and disaster response across the Chicago region. Comparable mission and product set but at substantially greater scale and institutional maturity.
• Fidelity Charitable: Largest national donor-advised fund sponsor offering an online platform for charitable giving. Indirect competitor for donor-advised fund dollars and a substitute channel for HNW and mass-affluent donors who might otherwise give through a regional community foundation.
• Schwab Charitable: Major national donor-advised fund sponsor providing online charitable giving accounts. Functions as an alternative channel for donors considering community foundation DAFs, with potential to capture donors from regional community foundations including CCCF.

Others

• Center for Disaster Philanthropy: National intermediary that mobilizes philanthropic resources for disaster recovery and provided a $300K match grant to CCCF's One SC Fund. Adjacent partner rather than direct competitor, but operates in the same disaster-recovery philanthropic coordination space.

Regional players

• Spartanburg County Foundation: County-level community foundation in South Carolina administering donor-advised funds, scholarships, and competitive grants. Comparable in mission and structure but serving a different geography within SC rather than overlapping with the Midlands.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CentralCarolinaCommunityFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4m-industries-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/cccf_midlands
• Xx.com/CCCFtweets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Central Carolina Community Foundation