Palmetto Project

What Palmetto Project does

Palmetto Project is an independent South Carolina nonprofit social enterprise founded in 1984 that identifies strategies to address social and economic challenges across the state. The organization operates four programmatic pillars — Health, Family/Youth & Schools, Community Engagement, and Civic Participation — through offices in North Charleston and Columbia, supplemented by remote staff covering the Upstate and Pee Dee regions. Its core products include Insure SC (a nonprofit health insurance agency and the first in South Carolina, second in the nation, providing free enrollment assistance across Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and private insurance); Welvista (a spun-off independent nonprofit providing free pharmaceuticals valued at more than $50 million per year to uninsured South Carolinians); Children's Health SC; Heart & Soul (a cardiovascular health initiative launched in 1997); and the Carolina Hearing Aid Bank (delivering free hearing aids via a Starkey partnership to individuals earning no more than $15,000 annually).

The organization serves vulnerable South Carolina populations, with primary customer segments being low-income individuals and families earning at or below 200% of the Federal poverty level, seniors and individuals who have lost coverage, children eligible for Medicaid, families experiencing homelessness, low-income hard-of-hearing individuals, young children (under five) in six counties receiving books via Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and justice-involved youth via The Redirect Collective. Its technology stack centers on the Insure SC web portal (insure-sc.org), supplemented by Mailchimp newsletters, an SMS messaging service, and program-specific websites for Families Helping Families of the Midlands, Families Helping Families of the Lowcountry, and Begin With Books.

Palmetto Project's revenue model is a nonprofit donations-and-grants structure: funding derives from individual citizen donations, foundations, and 330+ public-private partnerships (including a State Medicaid Agency contract and major media partners such as WIS News 10, Fox Carolina, and Live 5 News). All services to beneficiaries are free at point of delivery. The organization is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors and led by President & CEO Aaron Polkey, with notable outcomes including the 50% reduction in Black-white cardiovascular mortality disparity driven by Heart & Soul, holiday assistance to more than 75,000 Midlands families since 1990, and twice-normal call volume during the 2026 health insurance enrollment period.

Name

Palmetto Project

Legal name

Palmetto Project

Website

https://palmettoproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Palmetto Project is a South Carolina nonprofit social enterprise founded in 1984 that addresses social and economic challenges through health insurance navigation (Insure SC), family assistance, early literacy, and youth mentorship. It operates 330+ public-private partnerships and serves low-income residents across the state.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Health and Social Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health & Prevention Program Funding (HLAJALAF), Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Health insurance navigation
• Nonprofit social services
• Medicaid enrollment assistance
• Community health programs
• Family assistance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

North Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individual Citizens: Primary funding source for Palmetto Project as an independent nonprofit. Citizens who believe in the potential of South Carolina provide donations to support the organization's operations and programs.
2. Public-Private Partnership Grants and Contracts: Funding from governments, businesses, civic groups, schools, and religious organizations through the organization's 330+ public-private partnerships. Partnerships with state Medicaid agency and other government bodies contribute to program delivery.
3. Welvista Pharmaceutical Partnership (Spun-off Entity): Welvista was founded as a startup venture of Palmetto Project and provides free pharmaceuticals valued at more than $50 million a year to South Carolinians in need. Welvista is now its own independent nonprofit.
4. Insure SC Health Insurance Agency Services: As a licensed health insurance agency, Palmetto Project provides free health insurance enrollment services through Insure SC. All services are free to consumers, suggesting the revenue model may involve carrier commissions or grants rather than direct consumer fees.
5. Government and Foundation Grants: The organization receives support enabling it to assist low-income consumers during enrollment periods affected by congressional inaction and government shutdowns, indicating reliance on grants to fund operational capacity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Palmetto Project is a South Carolina nonprofit that delivers free community programs across four areas: Health (Insure SC nonprofit health insurance agency providing free Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and private insurance enrollment assistance), Family/Youth & Schools (Families Helping Families holiday and school supply drives, Begin With Books early literacy, The Redirect Collective youth mentorship), Community Engagement, and Civic Participation. It also partners to operate Welvista (free pharmaceuticals), Heart & Soul (cardiovascular health), and Carolina Hearing Aid Bank.

Product overview

Palmetto Project is a statewide South Carolina nonprofit that operates multiple community programs organized into four core areas: Health, Family/Youth & Schools, Community Engagement, and Civic Participation. Its flagship health product is Insure SC, the only nonprofit health insurance brokerage in South Carolina (and second in the nation), providing free guidance on Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and private insurance. The organization also operates several standalone programs including Welvista (a spun-off nonprofit providing free pharmaceuticals), Children's Health SC, Heart & Soul, Carolina Hearing Aid Bank, Families Helping Families (Midlands and Lowcountry branches), Begin With Books, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library affiliate work, and The Redirect Collective. These programs collectively serve thousands of vulnerable families, children, seniors, and individuals across South Carolina.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Welvista: Statewide partnership providing free pharmaceuticals to South Carolinians without health coverage. Now its own independent nonprofit providing medications valued at more than $50 million a year.
• Begin With Books
• Insure SC
• Families Helping Families of the Midlands
• Families Helping Families of the Lowcountry
• The Redirect Collective

Quantifiable outcome

• Welvista provides medications valued at more than $50 million a year to South Carolinians in need
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• WelvistamajorOthersWelvista was founded as a startup venture of Palmetto Project and has become its own independent nonprofit organization. It provides free pharmaceuticals to hundreds of thousands of uninsured South Carolinians, with medications valued at more than $50 million a year.
• Starkey (hearing aid manufacturer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough a special partnership with Starkey, a national hearing aid manufacturer, Palmetto Project is able to provide low-income South Carolinians with free hearing aids acquired at a fraction of their retail value. Starkey supplies hearing aids to the Carolina Hearing Aid Bank program.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalmetto Project is the affiliate for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in several South Carolina counties. In Charleston County, the program is called Begin With Books. The partnership provides thousands of SC children under age five with a free, developmentally-appropriate book each month. Palmetto Project delivers books to 13,000 children.
• South Carolina State Medicaid AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalmetto Project has formed partnerships with the State's Medicaid agency to more aggressively identify children who have fallen through the cracks and get them enrolled and re-enrolled in Medicaid and into a medical home.
• WIS News 10majorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with WIS News 10 for the Families Helping Families of the Midlands holiday assistance program. Since 1990, this partnership has provided holiday assistance to over 75,000 families in the Midlands, including children, senior citizens, and adults with disabilities. Extended in 2024 to include back-to-school supply drives.
• Charleston County School DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Charleston County School District for Families Helping Families of the Lowcountry, providing holiday assistance to children from families experiencing homelessness.
• Midland Park Primary SchoolminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaunched Families Helping Families of the Lowcountry with Back-to-School Supply Drive partnership with Midland Park Primary School, providing backpacks and school supplies for Pre-K and K5 children in need.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• South Carolina Association of Community Action Partnerships (SCACAP): Statewide network of South Carolina community action agencies delivering antipoverty, health-navigation, and family-support programs to low-income residents. Shares Palmetto Project's nonprofit, partnership-driven, community-services model in the same geography.
• Welvista: South Carolina nonprofit spun off from Palmetto Project that provides free prescription medications ($50M+/year) to uninsured residents. Closely comparable nonprofit health-access mission and SC footprint, though now operating independently.
• Covering Kids & Families (MCH): National initiative focused on enrollment of eligible children and families in Medicaid and CHIP through community-based navigators. Highly comparable to Palmetto Project's Children's Health SC Medicaid enrollment program in approach and target population.
• East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO): Charleston-area nonprofit providing direct services—food, clothing, financial assistance, hearing-aid and healthcare access—to low-income families. Directly comparable in mission, regional footprint, and free-service delivery model.
• SC Thrive: South Carolina nonprofit offering benefits screening, financial counseling, and health-coverage navigation to low-income residents across the state. Most direct peer to Insure SC for benefits-navigation services in the same SC geography.

Broad incumbents

• Get Covered America / Enroll America: National nonprofit coordinating ACA marketplace enrollment through state-level navigator networks. Operates at larger scale than Palmetto Project but with the same health-insurance navigation mission and free-assister model.
• Patient Advocate Foundation: National nonprofit providing case-management and patient navigation for individuals facing healthcare access and affordability barriers. Comparable patient-navigation and chronic-care support services, though at national scale.
• United Way of the Lowcountry: Regional United Way affiliate in coastal South Carolina funding and convening human-services nonprofits. Comparable community-foundations role distributing resources to vulnerable populations in overlapping geography.

Emerging players

• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: National early-literacy book-gifting program to which Palmetto Project is a SC affiliate (Begin With Books). Operates the same content-distribution model for children under five across thousands of US communities.

Regional players

• Free Medical Clinic of Greater Charleston: Charleston-area nonprofit providing free healthcare and pharmacy access to uninsured and underinsured adults. Comparable free-service health-access model for low-income populations in shared SC geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/palmettoproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/PalmettoProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palmetto-project-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Palmetto Project