WIP Grants

Investing in Women and Children in Our Community

Women in Philanthropy releases funds to programs that help women and children in our community through a competitive process. These programs are monitored for progress and long-term success.

2020-2021 WIP Grant

Homeless No More & ABLE SC - $50,000

Women in Philanthropy has awarded more than $50,000 in grants to Homeless No More and Able SC as their 2020 grantees to help fund programs to provide personal coaching and mentorship for disabled women. 

Homeless No More will receive $38,000 for its Ready, Willing and Able personal coaching program that provides life skills, professional development and personal coaching for single parents in crisis. Able SC will receive $15,000 for Empowering Women to Independence, a one-on-one counseling and mentoring program for disabled women who are trying to reach positions of financial stability and live independently. 

“We are excited to partner with Homeless No More and Able SC to help women along the path of personal self-sufficiency and economic mobility,” said Erin McCaskill, 2020-2021 WIP Chair. “WIP is glad to be able to support and encourage women in our community with additional resources as they move forward.” 

WIP was founded in 2002 by a group of 16 businesswomen and community activists in the Columbia area. WIP, the Midlands’ first women’s leadership initiative, was established as a giving circle focused on leadership development, education, advocacy and networking. The group has grown to its current membership of more than 1,000 women. WIP operates as an affinity group of United Way and oversees an annual investment of $50,000 into programs supporting women’s and children’s issues

2018-2020 WIP GRant - Homeless No More - $50,000

Women in Philanthropy announced Homeless No More as its 2018 grantee of $50,000 to help fund the agency’s program that provides life skills, professional development and personal coaching for women in crisis.

“We are excited that our investment will allow us to partner with Homeless No More and other local organizations,” said Danielle Boysen, WIP Grant Chair and Credit Products Officer for Bank of America. “It is Women in Philanthropy’s ongoing desire to have greater impact through our investment by ensuring women emerging from crisis situations have the social, professional and financial supports to succeed.”

“While WIP is bringing important financial resources to the table, United Way is also providing important volunteer and professional resources,” said Lila Anna Sauls, President/CEO of Homeless No More. “Those mentoring opportunities for our homeless families are incredibly valuable as we work together to give these courageous women the opportunities needed to achieve independence for themselves and their families.”

For the 2018 Investment Plan, WIP selected United Way’s area of economic mobility for its signature focus. This includes ensuring an adequate safety net for people in crisis while creating ladders needed to achieve long-term self-sufficiency and economic independence. Homeless No More’s personal coaching success program perfectly complements their already outstanding continuum of services for families with children.

Lee Patterson, 2018-2019 WIP Chair and Richland Library’s Social Work Manager, said, “Our members decided to dig deep with one organization and we truly believe that our partnership with Homeless No More will provide us with the opportunity to unite and tackle homelessness experienced by women, children and families in our community.”

Learn more about Homeless No More.

Grants through United Way of the Midlands 2016-2018

In addition to the CCCF grants, WIP awarded grants totaling $125,000 through United Way of the Midlands. Grant cycles begin in the Spring.

Family Shelter - $70,000
Family Shelter provides emergency shelter, case management, counseling services and enrichment programs for homeless families in the Midlands.

The Cooperative Ministry - $55,000
Funding for the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. The program offers free assistance to complete federal and state income tax returns for households that meet the IRS income criteria. Tax assistance includes educating taxpayers about special tax credits for which they may qualify, such as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Education Tax Credits, and Advance Premium Tax Credits (health insurance). FYF coordinates the local coalition of VITA tax preparation programs. The coalition prepared 5,479 returns during the 2015 tax season. FYF also hosts a monthly series of financial literacy classes and workshops to provide clients with financial knowledge and resources. Topics include budgeting, couponing, credit, financial markets, buying a home, starting a small business, and saving for college. The programming’s primary purpose is to increase participants’ behaviors in the areas of building assets and accumulating wealth.

2017-2018 Women in Philanthropy Grants

Grant cycles through the Central Carolina Community Foundation (CCCF) begin in the Fall.

Emphasis on Exit Strategies | The Women’s Shelter ($10,000)
The Women’s Shelter helps women build stronger lives. In order to provide residents with the tools and skills needed to become healthy, safe, and self-sufficient, The Women’s Shelter offers a variety of educational and support programs for women who are currently homeless to help stabilize them emotionally and mentally while in recovery. The Women’s Shelter will use the WIP investment to assist homeless women with overcoming obstacles that keep them from accessing higher education, skilled jobs, and affordable housing through an experiential training program.
Contact: Cynthia Ellis | cynthia@womenshelter.org | (803) 779-4706
Website: The Women's Shelter

Employ Me | Fast Forward ($9,500)
Fast Forward is a community-focused, non-profit corporation providing technology education and computer access to those who have been under-served through traditional programs in the Midlands. Fast Forward will partner with Family Shelter for this program. Fast Forward has worked with veteran residents of Family Shelter for seven years through United States Department of Labor grants. Fast Forward will use the WIP investment to assist women from Family Shelter on a path to financial stability through training and employment related services.
Contact: Ms. Dee Albritton | dee@fastforwardctc.com | (803) 343-2577
Website: Fast Forward

Know Money Better | Midlands Housing Alliance (Transitions) ($9,000)
The primary goal of Transitions is to move people from homelessness to permanent housing. Various strategies and types of housing are used to help stabilize individuals living on the street and enroll them in services designed to stabilize their lives, increase their income, and help them secure permanent housing.  Transitions will use the WIP investment to improve the financial stability of female and youth clients (aged 18-24) by providing opportunity, resources, and case management to facilitate understanding financial planning in order to help them increase their income and obtain permanent housing. To accomplish this goal, Transitions will partner with Know Money, Inc. to provide bi-weekly workshops in financial management and stability.
Contact: Cecilia Newman | cnewman@transitionssc.org | (803) 708-4861
Website: Midlands Housing Alliance (Transitions)

Junior Achievement Programs for all Fairfield County K and 1st Graders | Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina ($7,500)
Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina is South Carolina's largest organization dedicated to educating students about issues relating to work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy through the use of experiential, hands-on programs.  In partnership with South Carolina business and education communities, and through the use of community volunteers, Junior Achievement brings the real world into focus for students- opening their minds to their full potential.  Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina will use the WIP investment to expand financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs for K-12 students in Fairfield County.
Contact: Ms. Casey Pash | casey.pash@ja.org | (803) 252-1974
Website: Junior Achievement of Greater SC

Fighting for Women and Children’s Financial Stability through Affordable Preprimary Education | My Amigos Bilingual Education Center ($4,000)
My Amigos Bilingual Education Center provides a high quality dual-language, Christian, immersion education to children and provides them with tools that enable them to confidently participate in a global community. This goal is achieved through implementation of a bilingual curriculum, which teaches students to become open-minded, model citizens from an early age. My Amigos Bilingual Education Center will use the WIP investment to further the immediate and future financial stability of low-income female guardians and to improve the likelihood of low-income children’s readiness for future public school success and ultimately their future financial stability as adults in the workforce.
Contact: Shannon Cochran | shannon.cochran@myamigosbec.org | (803) 917-1977
Website: My Amigos Bilingual Education Center

2015-2016 Women in Philanthropy Grants

Grant cycles through the Central Carolina Community Foundation (CCCF) begin in the Fall.

Stepping Stones Ministry, Inc. ($7,500)
The primary focus of Stepping Stones Ministry, Inc. is to assist men and women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction by providing sober living homes once they complete treatment programs or detox centers.  As part of these efforts, Stepping Stones Ministry, Inc. provides housing and work training for male and female adults who are in the recovery phase of addiction.  Stepping Stones Ministry, Inc. will use the WIP funds to replace the roof on their house serving women in recovery.  The funds will be used for materials only as Stepping Stones Ministry, Inc. has identified a general contractor and volunteers who will provide in-kind services.
Contact: Ms. Susan Beebe | sbebee@ssmrecovery.org | (803) 542-2721
Website: Stepping Stones Ministry, Inc.

Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina ($7,500)
Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina is South Carolina's largest organization dedicated to educating students about issues relating to work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy through the use of experiential, hands-on programs.  In partnership with South Carolina business and education communities, and through the use of community volunteers, Junior Achievement brings the real world into focus for students, opening their minds to their full potential.  Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina will use the WIP funds to expand financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs for K-12 students in Fairfield County.
Contact: Ms. Casey Pash | casey.pash@ja.org | (803) 252-1974
Website: Junior Achievement of Greater SC

McNair Center for Entrepreneurism at Columbia College ($5,000)
The McNair Center’s mission is to create and sustain an entrepreneurial ecosystem within the College that provides education, apprenticeships, mentoring, capital access and professional skills development to students.  The McNair Center for Entrepreneurism at Columbia College will use the WIP funds to support a new day camp program (called Step Beyond) for 10th-12th grade girls to support scholarships, including transportation assistance, to enhance the diversity of participants in Step Beyond.
Contact: Dr. Christine LaCola | clacola@columbiasc.edu | (803) 786-3729
Website: McNair Center for Entrepreneurism at Columbia College

Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas, Lutheran Services Carolinas ($5,000)
Lutheran Services Carolinas provides refuge to people from across the world who have suffered persecution in their homelands. Working closely with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and local faith organizations, Lutheran Services Carolinas offers welcome to vulnerable refugees and helps them transition into a new life and a new culture.  Lutheran Services Carolinas will use the WIP funds to support the costs of childcare that prohibit refugee single mothers from participating in English language courses and the workforce, which limit the ability of the women to be financially independent and secure.
Contact: Ms. Bedrija Jazic | bjazic@lscarolinas.net | (803) 461-2637
Website: Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas

FoodShare Columbia ($5,000)
FoodShare Columbia is a produce box program that includes cooking skills and literacy components.  The focus of FoodShare Columbia is on providing good, healthy food for all.  FoodShare Columbia will use the WIP funds to increase the organization’s web presence and marketing to promote food security programs as well as a novel program for women interested in starting food-based businesses to participate in a business development program.
Contact: Ms. Beverly Wilson | beverly.wilson@uscmed.sc.edu | (803) 665-7800
Facebook: FoodShare Columbia

Sowing Seeds into the Midlands ($5,000)
Sowing Seeds into the Midlands is an organization offering support programs to Midlands teens (13-18) and their families when facing difficulties at home, school and in the community. Sowing Seeds into the Midlands is committed to helping teens identify and build upon their strengths, while embracing their weaknesses and developing skills to overcome them. Sowing Seeds into the Midlands will use the WIP funds to support a mentoring program and life skills development program, including financial literacy, for youth who are in the juvenile justice system and who are on probation.
Contact: Ms. Zakiya Esper | zdesper@sowingseedsmidlands.org | (803) 712-3837
Website: Sowing Seeds into the Midlands

Grants through United Way of the Midlands 2013-2015

In addition to the CCCF grants, WIP awarded grants totaling $125,000 through United Way of the Midlands. Grant cycles begin in the Spring.

Family Shelter - $70,000

Family Shelter provides emergency shelter, case management, counseling services and enrichment programs for homeless families in the Midlands.

Girl Scouts Mountains to Midlands - $43,000

The Daisy Power Project prepares girls in grades K5 and 1st for reading success using the Girl Scout Leadership Model, volunteer coaching and parent engagement.

Reach Out and Read Carolinas - $12,000

Through the Literacy in the Medical Setting program, Reach Out and Read works with medical providers in Newberry, Fairfield, Orangeburg, Richland and Lexington counties to reach 5,000 children. Children and families will, through the program model, leave each well-visit with a new book and parental education on how to use the information in the books to teach their children better reading habits.

2014-2015 Women in Philanthropy Grants through CCCF

Columbia College – Girls Empowered Program:  $7,500

My Amigos Bilingual Education Center: $7,500

Tutor Eau Claire:  $7,500

Healing Families Foundation:  $6,750

Youth Corps – Leadership Training:  $5,750

Other organizations/programs that have received WIP funding in the past:

Alcorn Middle School
Alliance for Women
Bluff Road Shalom Zone CDC
Carolina School for Inquiry
Christ Central Ministries
College Summit SC
Columbia College   
Columbia Museum of Art
Communities in Schools
Community Mediation Center
Crayton Middle School
Family CDC Seeds of Hope
Family Service Center of South Carolina
Family Shelter
Fast Forward                   
Free Medical Clinic
Friends of DJJ
Girl Scouts Mountains to Midlands
Girls Empowered, Columbia College Center for Leadership
Girls, Inc.
Healing Families
Keep the Midlands Beautiful
Lexington Improvement League                            
Lutheran Family Services
Mental Health Association
Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc.
Midlands Marine Middle College High School   
My Amigos Bilingual Education Center
Nurturing Center
Orangeburg County Library
Palmetto Center for Women
Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter
Partners in Compassion
Prevent Child Abuse - Children's Trust of South Carolina
Reach Out and Read Carolinas
Red Cross
Richland Library
Riverbanks Society
Rolling Readers of the Midlands
Samaritan’s Well
SC Philharmonic
SC Youth Advocate Program
Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics   
The Boys & Girls Club of the Midlands
The Leadership Institute at Columbia College    
The Nurturing Center
The Salvation Army
Trinity Housing Corporation  
Trustus Theater
Tutor Eau Claire
USC School of Information and Library Science
Youth Corps