Advocacy and Policy Change in 2021 and beyond

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]The November election added three new members to Greenville County Council, gave the Republicans a supermajority in the state legislature, and flipped the […]

Local philanthropy’s response to the new COVID-19 crisis

Thirty members participated in the first GPP webinar on COVID-19.  As of the prior afternoon, there were 342 cases in South Carolina, seven deaths, and 39 cases in Greenville County.  Even though it is likely just the beginning of Greenville County’s experience of the crisis, the local economy has already taken a huge hit with the ordered closing of restaurants and advisement against three or more people gathering outside of the home.

Payday Lending

You’ve heard the catchy jingles on television for title loans.  You’ve seen storefronts for payday loans and pawn shops on every corner in certain parts of town.  But if you’re […]

Comprehensive plans and why funders should care

Zoning and land use may seem to be outside of the scope of GPP members’ interests.  But it is land use that undergirds affordable housing, transit, access to healthy food, and so much of what is fundamental to many funders’ and nonprofits’ work.  The December 2019 GPP meeting focused on Greenville County and the City of Greenville’s comprehensive planning processes (currently underway) that lay the groundwork for these important activities.

Financing Dreams: CDFI 101

More than one in four households in Greenville County have zero or negative net worth.  Almost 20% of households are underbanked (using pawn shops, payday loans, or non-bank money orders to get by).  It would take 228 years for black families to accumulate the same amount of wealth as whites.  If our community is serious about promoting economic mobility, addressing this wealth disparity is fundamental.

Successful reentry after incarceration

Jerry Blassingame’s story is now familiar to many people working in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector in Greenville County. He was studying to get his architecture degree from Greenville Tech […]

Growth in Greenville County

There’s no doubt that Greenville County, South Carolina is growing rapidly. Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the city of Greenville is the fourth fastest growing city in […]

Meeting with Greenville County Council Members

Some of the issues that are of interest to the philanthropic and nonprofit sector in Greenville County – workforce development, affordable housing, transportation, and growth – are ones best addressed […]

Housing and homelessness work reaches milestones

In the early days of Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy, we learned about how service providers to the homeless in Greenville County were collaborating in new ways and how they felt […]