Communities of Coastal Georgia

The Southeastern Council of Foundations represents over 350 grant making foundations ranging from small family foundations to corporate and community foundations in eleven southeastern states.  In August, SECF named Lee Owen, executive director of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation as the Georgia delegate to its community foundation committee.  The committee is charged with recommending policy and programs pertinent to community foundations to the SECF board of directors.

“This is a great honor for me, being so new to the community foundation field,” explained our director. 

The board of directors of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation recently selected the winners of the community foundation’s 2008 competitive grant cycle.  Ten local nonprofit groups in Coastal Georgia received grants ranging from $1,700 to $5,000.  The grants will be used for a variety of purposes, all of which will ultimately benefit the clients who use the nonprofits’ services.

The needs ranged from upgrading computer hardware and software in order to provide better information tracking, communication, and public access, to staff training and board development.  “We are pleased that the recipients ranged from food banks to environmental groups, and that 40% of the organizations selected served all three counties on which we focus,” explained the foundation chair, Dennie McCrary.  “A community foundation exists to improve the quality of life in a region by making grants and connecting donors to various types of charities.  We like to say that we give to causes from A to Z… the arts to zoology.”

Connect with Classroom teachers and students and provide funding for critical needs directly to the classroom!  Search for a subject area, age group, or specific region, state, or school system for the project of your choice and then either fund it completely or partially and challenge other donors to give as well.