MINISTRY GUIDELINES

Thank you for your interest in South Carolina Christian Foundation and our grant opportunities. These guidelines are meant to provide insight into our process and provide information you might need prior to applying.

To be eligible for any of the grant’s processes at South Carolina Christian Foundation, a prospective ministry recipient must first complete the Ministry Introduction Form. Email admin@SCChristianFoundation for more information.

SCCF offers two grant opportunities for ministries:

Community Trust Grants

South Carolina Christian Foundation established Community Trusts to better serve the current and emerging needs of ministries across the state. Opportunities for Community Trust grants are available in Spartanburg, Greenville, and York Counties, and along the Grand Strand in Horry and Georgetown Counties. Invitations to apply are sent in July with awards announced in October.

If your organization has an emergency need for resources due to unforeseen or unexpected events, please contact us. These funds may or may not be applicable to your ministry's situation. Unfortunately, SCCF is not able to fund every request or meet every need. However, we encourage you to contact us allowing us to serve you as best as we can.

Circle 555 Grants

Circle 555, the Women's Giving Circle of South Carolina Christian Foundation, offers annual grants to ministries specifically addressing women, children, and families. Opportunities for Circle 555 grants are available in Spartanburg, Greenville, and York Counties, and along the Grand Strand in Horry and Georgetown Counties. Invitations to apply are sent in November of each year and awards are granted in the Spring.

Guidelines

The guidelines below are meant to guide ministry leaders as they consider applying for one of these two processes.

• SCCF relies on Community Leadership Councils (CLC) (for Community Trusts) and Circle 555 Grants Committee members for support to review and evaluate applications. Members are hand-selected due to evidence of God’s redemptive work in their lives. We ask our members to provide discernment through prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

• Community Trust grant requests are open to any demographic. Circle 555 grant requests support women, children, and families only.

• Ministries must be registered with SCCF before applying for a grant. An invitation to apply will be sent by email each year.

• Ministries will be required to agree to SCCF’s Statement of Faith with each grant application submitted. This is part of the online grant process.

• Sharing the Gospel is paramount to receiving a grant. We advocate for ministries where the Gospel and mercy meet.

• In some instances, sharing the Gospel might be a detriment to the counsel of a person in a ministry’s care. It is the responsibility of SCCF staff to know the ministry and ministry leaders and to provide information to the CLC and grant committees to ensure they are informed of how the Gospel is shared.

• Requests must be for programs within a ministry. Operations-based grants are available for discipleship ministries with no programs and an operating budget of $100K or less, but only for Community Trust grant requests.

• The typical range for a Community Trust request is $2,500 to $15,000. The typical range for a Circle 555 request is $1,000 to $10,000.

• SCCF cannot guarantee funding year-over-year or that an entire request will be funded. Additionally, we are unable to accept multi-year requests (a request spread out over multiple years in a row).

• Preference will be given to ministries who have not received a grant. Community Leadership Council members and Circle 555 grants committee members have been asked to give additional consideration to applications when ministries have received a grant for three or more consecutive years.

• SCCF accepts applications from ministries with a Letter of Determination (501c3). We are unable to accept requests from individuals, businesses, or other foundations.

• SCCF is unable to fulfill requests for capital campaigns, funds directed to debt reduction, fundraising events, scholarships, or sponsorships.  

• Documents required during the application process include:

  • Letter of Determination (501c3)

  • Current registration with the SC Secretary of State. This is an annual requirement of South Carolina – more information can be found here: https://sos.sc.gov/online-filings/charities-pfrs-and-raffles/charities

  • P&L Statement

  • Balance Sheet

  • Operating Budget (for ministries applying for an operations grant via the Community Trust process)

• Each CLC Chair shares results with the Board of Directors. Circle 555 Coordinators share the results with the Circle 555 State Coordinator, who forward them to the President of SCCF for Board approval. 

• A final grant report will be required at the end of the grant cycle. Results may be shared with the SCCF President, Board of Trustees, CLC members, and Circle 555 members.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Corie Culp at Corie@SCCFonline.org or Hope Houchins at hhouchins@SCCFonline.org or call 864.949.5800 for additional assistance.

These guidelines will be reviewed annually and are subject to change. Ministries will be notified of any changes to the documentation prior to the application process.