Employee committee selects 2009 Blackbaud Fund grant recipients

About a month ago, I introduced you to The Blackbaud Fund, a long-standing philanthropic program that relies on an employee committee to determine which applicants will receive grants.

Established in the 1990s, The Blackbaud Fund is near and dear to my heart.  It's such a fabulous way to learn more about what nonprofits are doing in the Lowcountry of South Carolina to help address the educational needs of disadvantaged youth.  Although serving on the committee is an honor, it's also a tough job.  Who knew that giving away money could be so hard?

At first blush, every application seems worthy.  How can you choose between them?  How can you tell what the potential outcome will be?  To help our committee sort through those answers, we rely on Edie Blakeslee of the Coastal Community Foundation (that's where our fund is held).  Edie had fabulous things to say about the committee this year, particularly about the focus and passion they brought to the site visits.  There's nothing like seeing a program in action to help committee members bring what they read on paper to life. 

Edie has the fun job of bringing the committee back together after the site visits to discuss how the funding will be apportioned.  Today, I have the happy task of announcing the 2009 grant recipients.

• Communities in Schools of Charleston - For "Wise Guys," a stay-in-school teen pregnancy prevention, healthy choices and character development program for 75 boys ages 11-17.
  
• Creative Spark Center for the Arts - For the "Perspective Project," which brings rich arts education into public schools through artist residences.
  
• Family Services - For the "Freedom School" summer program for 50 underprivileged students in the Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood of North Charleston.
  
• Florence Crittenton - For the organization's educational program, which serves 75 resident and day clients each year.
  
• Lowcountry Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy - Challenge grant to provide scholarships for equine-assisted therapy to 20 students whose academic success has been negatively affected by mental health difficulties or abuse/neglect.
  
• Mary Ford Elementary School - To purchase manipulative kits for math to be used, each year, by 360 students.
  
• McClellanville Arts Council - To purchase six keyboards, which will allow the organization to double the number of children who can participate in the music program.
  
• SEWEE Association - For the "Earth Stewards" program for students in four underserved schools and for one-day visits to the SEWEE Center for 7,000 students.
  
• Sidewalk Chalk - For the "Writes the Future" program, which provides mentoring and seeks to improve the writing skills of 300 underprivileged students in six schools.
  
• Windwood Farm Home for Children - To fund clinical personnel for the on-campus school designed for children with severe emotional problems.
  

A quick thank you to the employee committee for its hard work this year.  And to Edie Blakeslee, who teaches all of us so much.