Waccamaw Community Foundation

What Waccamaw Community Foundation does

Waccamaw Community Foundation (WCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation founded in 1999 and headquartered in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. It is the only community foundation serving both Horry and Georgetown Counties, with Williamsburg County added during federally declared disasters. WCF operates a suite of philanthropic services: annual competitive grantmaking to local nonprofits, a mini-grant program, a multi-fund scholarship program for students, a Disaster Relief Fund coordinated with VOAD/COAD networks, a permanent Waccamaw Community Trust endowment, and a Life & Legacy Planning Hub connecting donors with estate attorneys and CPAs. Since 1999, the foundation has awarded over $41 million in grants and scholarships across the Waccamaw region.

WCF's technology surface is modest and operational rather than differentiated: a third-party Fundholder Portal (waccamawcf.fcsuite.com) for donors to manage charitable funds and submit grant recommendations, a separate online grant application interface for nonprofits, and a content/CRM-oriented website used for donations, news, and donor engagement. There is no proprietary AI or machine-learning capability disclosed; the platform is a standard community-foundation suite.

WCF's revenue model is donation-driven: it receives contributions to designated funds (WCF Endowment, Waccamaw Community Trust, Disaster Relief Fund, and field-of-interest funds) from individual donors, businesses, and institutional partners, supplemented by endowment investment returns that perpetually fund operations. The foundation is an affiliate of Coastal Community Foundation, was led by President & CEO Mike Mancuso from July 2021, and operates with 11-50 staff out of a single Murrells Inlet office. Recognized funder logos include Coastal Carolina National Bank, Elliott Realty, The Jackson Companies, HTC, Truist, Palmetto Infusion, and Brittain Resorts.

Name

Waccamaw Community Foundation

Legal name

Waccamaw Community Foundation

Website

https://waccamawcf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Waccamaw Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 that manages donor funds, grants, and scholarships to support nonprofits and students in Horry and Georgetown counties of South Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation & Philanthropic Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable grantmaking
• Endowment management
• Donor advised funds
• Regional philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Murrells Inlet

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation receives tax-deductible donations from individual donors, businesses, and institutional partners. Donors can contribute to various designated funds including the WCF Endowment, Waccamaw Community Trust, Disaster Relief Fund, and specific field-of-interest funds.
2. Endowment Investment Returns: The Waccamaw Community Foundation Endowment generates investment returns that support operations in perpetuity. Only the earnings from the endowment are used, ensuring income forever.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Waccamaw Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation that manages donor funds, administers competitive grants to local nonprofits, provides scholarships to students, and coordinates disaster relief in Horry and Georgetown counties of South Carolina. It operates as an intermediary connecting individual donors with nonprofit organizations, supported by a permanently-held endowment and a suite of online donor-services portals.

Product overview

Waccamaw Community Foundation operates as a community foundation offering a suite of philanthropic services including competitive grant programs, scholarship opportunities, disaster relief funding, and donor services. The organization provides an online Fundholder Portal for managing charitable funds, a Life & Legacy Planning Hub connecting donors with estate professionals, and a Nonprofit Directory for the region. The foundation's core offerings include annual competitive grants, seasonal mini-grants, various scholarship programs for students, and a Disaster Relief Fund for emergency response in Horry and Georgetown counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Competitive Grant Program

Quantifiable outcome

• $41 million awarded in grants and scholarships since 1999
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

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

• Sustain SCmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2022Sustain SC launched the Land and Water Action Fund, a conservation fund bringing private sector dollars toward protecting South Carolina's natural resources. WCF participates as a partner providing matching grants for conservation projects like Waites Island.
• Partnership Grand Strand FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2022WCF is a Silver investor in Partnership Grand Strand, a $3 million campaign for economic and community development led by Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. Focus areas include prosperity, talent, place, and infrastructure.
• Coastal Community FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2020Lead partner in the COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund collaborative effort. WCF is an affiliate of Coastal Community Foundation. The partnership enables regional grantmaking across nine coastal South Carolina counties.
• Black River United WaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2020Regional partner in COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund, supporting communities in Georgetown County during the pandemic response.
• United Way of Horry CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2020Partner in COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund supporting Horry County communities during the pandemic.
• Habitat for Humanity of Horry and Georgetown CountiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHabitat for Humanity serves as storage location for disaster relief supplies (tarps and muck-out suits) purchased with $10,000 WCF grant. Part of VOAD/COAD disaster preparedness network.
• VOAD/COAD (Voluntary/Community Organizations Active in Disasters)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of disaster response organizations that WCF coordinates with for hurricane preparedness and disaster relief distribution in Horry, Georgetown, and Williamsburg counties.
• Open Space Institute (OSI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead land conservation organization that purchased 108+ acres of Waites Island. First recipient of Sustain SC's Land and Water Action Fund. Will transfer property to S.C. Department of Natural Resources for Heritage Trust Reserve status.
• Trident United WayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner in COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund collaborative effort.
• United Way of the LowcountryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner in COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund supporting coastal South Carolina communities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• North Carolina Community Foundation: Statewide network of affiliate community foundations across North Carolina providing competitive grants, scholarships and disaster recovery — the closest structural analog to WCF's affiliation-with-Coastal model.
• Community Foundation of Greenville: Upstate South Carolina community foundation offering donor-advised funds, competitive grants and scholarships with National Standards accreditation — comparable structure and accreditation standing.
• United Way of Horry County: Regional nonprofit partner of WCF in the COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund and broader Horry County human-services ecosystem — comparable regional fundraising, grantmaking and disaster-response scope.
• Central Carolina Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the Columbia, SC area with competitive grant cycles, scholarships, donor funds and disaster-response coordination — closely aligned operating model and scale to WCF.
• Spartanburg County Foundation: South Carolina county-level community foundation administering competitive grants, scholarships and donor funds — comparable single-region community foundation model to WCF.
• Coastal Community Foundation: WCF's parent affiliate and the lead foundation across coastal South Carolina; directly comparable community foundation serving a multi-county region with competitive grants, scholarships, and disaster response — WCF operates as an affiliate within this larger footprint.

Regional players

• Black River United Way: Georgetown County-based United Way affiliate that partnered with WCF on the COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund — comparable community resource mobilization role in an adjacent sub-region of WCF's service area.

Broad incumbents

• Foundation For The Carolinas: The largest community foundation in the Carolinas, operating across Charlotte and the broader region with competitive grants, donor-advised funds, and disaster initiatives — directly comparable operating model at meaningfully larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mywcf
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCg5nZrMkcjMDnF2cgCC6y0g
• Facebookfacebook.com/WaccamawCommunityFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/waccamaw-community-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/waccamawcf/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

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 Waccamaw Community Foundation