OUR FUNDING AREAS
Through our grantmaking, the Mary Black Foundation seeks to partner with organizations that will help us improve the health and wellness of the people and communities of Spartanburg County, SC. Specifically, the Foundation has three funding areas:

Active Living

Active Living refers to a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines. In addition to recreational exercise, active living includes moderate forms of activity such as walking or bicycling for transportation, taking the stairs, or working in the yard. More…

Early Childhood Development

Early childhood development is defined by the Foundation as the process of growth that occurs prenatally through the first five years of life. Improving the health and wellness of Spartanburg County through a focus on early childhood development will require efforts that address adolescent pregnancy, children's physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development, and children's relationships with families and other caregivers. More…

Community Health Fund

The Community Health Fund is a smaller resource of funding that allows the Foundation to invest in projects that will improve health and wellness in Spartanburg County but fall outside the Active Living and Early Childhood Development priority areas. More…

OUR INVESTMENT APPROACH

At the Mary Black Foundation, we continually ask ourselves if we are making a difference – whether our investments in the community are contributing to improved health and wellness in Spartanburg County. As an investor, our success is dependent upon the success of our partners (i.e. the organizations in which we invest). Therefore, when making funding decisions, the Foundation focuses on the results that we can achieve with our partners. We review applications with the following questions in mind:

1. What is the result to be achieved if we make this investment?
2. What are the chances that the result will be achieved?
3. Is this a good investment considering cost relative to gain when we compare it to all other opportunities before us?

We seek to invest in organizations that are clear about what results will be achieved and how those results will be verified.

BEFORE YOU APPLY

1. Read about the Foundation’s three funding areas – Active Living, Early Childhood Development, and the Community Health Fund – to determine if your project is a good fit with the Foundation’s targeted outcomes and results.

2. Potential applicants must meet with the Foundation’s program staff prior to submitting a grant application. Contact Amy Page at apage@maryblackfoundation.org or 864-573-9500 to schedule a grant consultation.

3. Make sure you have your organization’s taxpayer identification number; you will be asked to enter it before you can access the online grant application. If you have not applied to the Foundation using its online application before, you will be prompted to create a new account, which will allow you to work on your application, save it, and come back to it at another time. Write down and save your password for future reference.

APPLY ONLINE

Once you are ready to apply to the Mary Black Foundation, determine which of the three types of investments (described below) is most appropriate for your project. Then, click on the appropriate link to access the grant application.  Clicking on the links below will take you to a log in page and will create a NEW application.  If you have already started an application, please refer to the Welcome email you received with your log in name and password to access the application you have already started.

Programs & Services

Use this application when applying for funds to implement programs or direct services, including the provision of resources, information, direct assistance, social support, or skills to others in the community.

Policies & Places

Use this application when applying for funds to create new or enhanced existing policies, places, or environmental conditions that, when created or improved, will affect programs and people.

Planning & Capacity Building

Use this application when applying for funds to strengthen your organization so it can achieve and sustain stronger results.

Applying online is easy. In fact, we prefer to receive grant applications through our Web site as it accelerates the processing time. If you are unable to complete an online application, please contact Amy Page at (864) 573-9500 or apage@maryblackfoundation.org to make alternative arrangements.

PROPOSAL DEADLINES

The Foundation will accept applications for Active Living and Early Childhood Development no later than 5 p.m. ET on March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1.

Applications for the Community Health Fund will only be accepted no later than 5 p.m. ET. on September 1.

If the application deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the applications will be accepted on the next business day by 5 p.m. All applicants will be notified of our receipt of their grant application via email. Please make sure the email information is correct on your application. If you do not receive an email confirmation, please contact Amy Page at apage@maryblackfoundation.org.

Please do not mail a duplicate copy or any additional attachments or information. The Foundation’s staff will contact you if they have any questions or need additional information.

The review process takes approximately 90 days. You will be contacted as soon as a decision is reached. At any point in the process, please do not hesitate to contact the Foundation with your questions or concerns.