We realize that achieving your mission will require multiple resources. To help you navigate some of the other grant opportunities in the community, we offer this community funders resource.
Augusta Bar Foundation
The Augusta Bar Foundation, Inc. was organized and founded for the primary purpose of improving and promoting the administration of justice. Consistent with this purpose, the Board of Directors has adopted a policy of using the Foundation’s resources to provide funding and support for programs and organizations designed to enhance the lives of and improve opportunities for at-risk, disadvantaged, and underserved youth within the Augusta Judicial Circuit. The goal of this effort will be to give these youth alternatives to crime, violence, substance abuse, and illiteracy with a corresponding reduction in the burden on our courts and system of justice.
Application Opens: June 1
Application Closes: July 12 at 4:00 p.m.
Checks Distributed: December
Grant Cap: $5,000
Request Restrictions: If funded for two years in a row you must take a year off
Counties That May Apply: Burke, Columbia and Richmond
Grant Usage: Requests must address a community need, and emerging community need, and/or provide a new, creative approach to a community need that positively affects at-risk, disadvantaged, and underserved youth.
Priority areas: Education, Mentoring, Health and safety, Self-sufficiency, and Family issues
Questions: Contact Rebecca Wallace
Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund
In response to the significant impact of Hurricane Helene on our community, the Community Foundation for the CSRA established the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, we were able to make rapid relief grants to dozens of nonprofits who were on the front lines of administering critical aid.
We have now begin the second phase of our granting process which will focus on the longer-term recovery and stabilization of our community. We ask that all applicants think strategically about your needs both now and, as best you can, the foreseeable future. In this phase of funding, each organization will have UP TO TWO opportunities to submit a grant request. You may either submit two separate funding requests now, or you may apply once now and then reapply for an additional grant during the life of the fund.
For more details regarding applying for a grant click on the more information tab below.
Application Opens: Applications will be reviewed and approved on a monthly basis. Applications must be submitted by the first Friday of each month by 5:00 p.m. Requests submitted after this deadline will go in the next round of reviews.
Request restrictions:
- Applicants must not have policies that exclude individuals from receiving assistance or participating in activities due to their race, religion, gender, or sexual preference/identification.
- Grant awards may not be redistributed through a regranting process.
Checks Distributed: Monthly
Grant Cap: Varies by grant type (see below)
Counties That May Apply: All CSRA counties
Priority Areas: Nonprofits in the CSRA who are serving Helene impacted individuals.
Grant Usage: These grants may be used for the following categories:
- Relief Reimbursement: (Maximum award $15,000) This grant is for emergency relief efforts provided from September – December of 2024.
- Lost Revenue: (Maximum Award $10,000) This grant is for lost revenue due to cancelled events/fundraisers or lost earned income. Impact must have occurred during the months of September – December of 2024.
- Increased Operating Costs: (Maximum Award $50,000) This is a dollar-for-dollar match grant that will be paid once other funds have been raised. Funds can be used for additional program costs that have occurred due to Helene services, loan repayments, and/or interest fees due to Helene loans.
- Infrastructure Needs: (Maximum Award $50,000) This grant is for public access spaces who can show damages have had a negative economic impact on both their organization and their community. Grant may assist in covering costs associated with insurance deductibles, repairs, and mitigation activities.
- Recovery Programming: (Maximum Award: $50,000 for organizations with an annual operating budget up to $750,000, $100,000 for organizations with an annual operating budget over $750,000)
This grant is for programming and/or activities that have been created or expanded due to the impact of Hurricane Helene. Examples of allowable programming are mental health care, housing, utility assistance, assistance with clothing and/or household goods, etc. These services may be related to ongoing programming that is now serving Helene impacted individuals in addition to regular clientele or may be new programming that is being provided due to needs from Hurricane Helene.
Questions: Contact a member of the program team of the Community Foundation:
Contact Rebecca Wallace
Contact Lasima Turmon
Contact Erin Starnes
J.B. White Fund
The Community Foundation for the CSRA understands that capacity building is critical when developing and sustaining a strong nonprofit organization. With this in mind, we are working with the J.B. White Fund to allow nonprofits in our six-county service area to apply for small capacity-building grants. Successful applications will help tell the story of how having a J.B. White Fund grant will help them strengthen or expand their mission in the community.
Application Opens: April 1
Application Closes: May 10 at 4:00 PM
Checks Distributed: Mid-June
Grant Cap: $2,500 – It is anticipated that the average grant awards will be around $2,000
Counties That May Apply: Aiken and Edgefield in South Carolina; Burke, Columbia, McDuffie, and Richmond in Georgia
Grant Usage: These are capacity-building grants and may be used for one or more of the following:
- Advertising/Marketing
- Consulting Services Around Organizational Planning
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
- Staff Development/Training
- Web or IT Enhancements or Updates
Questions: Contact Rebecca Wallace
Mary Warren Foundation
As in the early days of the Mary Warren Home for widowers and indigent women, the mission of the Mary Warren fund is still to support women, children, and the elderly who are in need of assistance in our community.
Application Opens: November 15th
Application Closes: January 15th
Checks Distributed: Mid-March
Grant Cap: $7,500 – It is anticipated that the average grant awards will be between $5,000 and $7,500
Counties That May Apply: Burke, Columbia, McDuffie, and Richmond
Grant Usage: Educational programs that benefit women, children, and the elderly. The Marry Warren Fund has had the same grant funding exclusions as the Community Foundation’s Community Grants process.
Questions: Contact Rebecca Wallace
The Porter Fleming Foundation
In 1963 Berry Fleming, a noted Augusta author and artist, who had also served as a Trustee of the Academy of Richmond County, created the Porter Fleming Foundation in honor of his father. The Foundation directs the Trustees of the Academy to contribute annually to the educational, literary, artistic, scientific, historical, musical, and cultural enrichment of the lives of the residents of the Greater Augusta area. Grants are given on an annual basis to 501(c)3 organizations.
Application Opens: November 1
Application Closes: February 1st
Checks Distributed: April
Grant Cap: No Cap
Restrictions:
- Organizational operating expenses, to include ongoing programming costs that are not directly tied to the project
- Projects that are geared to secondary or higher education
- Projects/artistic work already in process
- Deficit financing and debt retirement
- Endowments
- Political organizations or campaigns
- Lobbying legislators or influencing elections
- Special fundraising events/celebration functions
- Marketing endeavors unless the marketing is directly connected to the program in your grant application
- Core operating expenses for public and private elementary and secondary schools and public and private colleges and universities
- Projects that are typically the funding responsibility of federal, state or local governments
- Educational scholarships
Counties That May Apply: Aiken, Burke, Columbia, Edgefield, Jefferson, Richmond
Grant Usage: Grants are given to programs that are working in the following priority areas: Educational, Literary, Artistic, Scientific, Historical, Musical, and Cultural Enrichment
Grant Guidelines: View Guidelines
Questions: Direct any questions by e-mail to Billy Badger at bbadger@howardlumber.com
Sand Hills Garden Club
Sand Hills Garden Club is a gardening and community organization dedicated to the beautification and betterment of Augusta, Georgia. Sand Hills Garden Club provides grants to organizations in Columbia and Richmond counties in Georgia.
Application Opens: March 1st
Application Closes: March 31st
Checks Distributed: End of April/Early May
Grant Cap: $2,250. The average grant award will be between $500 and $1,000.
Counties That May Apply: Columbia and Richmond
Grant Usage: Any project considered must be compatible with the interests of Sand Hills Garden Club in at least one of the following ways:
- Stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening.
- Restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment.
- Support existing land and native specimens whenever possible.
Priority Areas: Ecology, Horticulture, Conservation, or Education
Questions: Erin Starnes
The St. Joseph Foundation
The St. Joseph Foundation is comprised of gifts made by individuals, companies, foundations, and charitable organizations. These gifts are used to provide resources to nonprofits who are making a positive impact on the health outcomes of the greater CSRA. Unrestricted gifts from donors are distributed through the annual competitive grants process designed to help nonprofit organizations meet changing needs in the CSRA Region.
Application Opens: November 1st
Application Closes: December 31st
Checks Distributed: Mid-March
Grant Cap: $15,000
Request Restrictions: Applicants must have an existing relationship with and be in good standing with the Community Foundation
Counties That May Apply: All Counties in the CSRA
Grant Usage: Fund nonprofit organizations that are meeting the changing healthcare needs of individuals living in the CSRA. Our motto is “would the nuns have rolled up their sleeves and done this work.”
Priority Areas: Health Service Education, Medical Uninsured, Hospice and Homeless Around Health Care
Questions: Contact Rebecca Wallace
The Vinea Foundation
The Vinea Foundation was created by Vinea Capital in 2022 as a way to get more involved and hands-on by helping new non-profit organizations get started, existing non-profits execute projects, and overall help the people within the community who have so generously supported their various businesses over the years. In addition to providing yearly anchor funding of $150,000, The Vinea Foundation will be awarding $100,000 in new grants each year to various non-profits and charities around the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA.) Their three key areas of focus are: individuals with special needs, ending generational poverty, and underserved youth.”
Grant Application Windows: The Vinea Foundation will host two application windows. Organizations may apply once per window. For 2024, the windows are:
January 1 – March 31, Announced April 22
August 1 – October 31, Announced November 21
Grant Request: It is anticipated that the average grant awards will range from $1,000 – $10,000.
Request Restrictions: If funded in one window, a nonprofit must take the next window off.
Grant Usage: Applicants may apply for general operating or program-specific costs
Counties That May Apply: All Counties in the CSRA
Priority Areas: Nonprofits who work with underserved children, adults with developmental disabilities, and those with initiatives to end generational poverty
Questions: Contact Olivia Wamack at olivia.wamack@vineacapital.com
Women in Philanthropy
Women in Philanthropy is a charitable organization of over 200 women in the Central Savannah River Area of Georgia and South Carolina who are committed to a philanthropic effort focused on the unique needs of women and children within the local communities.
More Information
Application Opens: September 4
Application Closes: October 23
Checks Distributed: Mid-March
Grant Cap: No cap
Request Restrictions: Grant Seekers are REQUIRED to listen to the audio recording found on the Women in Philanthropy website. If your organization was funded in the last granting cycle, you must take a year off.
Counties That May Apply: Burke, Columbia, McDuffie, and Richmond in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield in South Carolina
Grant Usage: Projects that have the potential for high impact, resulting in significant positive change in the lives of women and children. WIP follows the same funding restrictions as the Community Foundation’s Community Grants Process.
Focus Areas: Arts, Education, Health, and Social-Well Being
Questions: Contact Erin Starnes
Other Funding Opportunities
There are many other opportunities held outside of the Community Foundation. Please click below to learn more.
Augusta Richmond County Housing and Community Development
Contact: Jean Callaway
Destination Augusta – Augusta Tourism Grant
Contact: Karen Lee Davis
Greater Augusta Arts Council
Contact: Pax Bobrow
Knox Foundation
Contact: Kelley Hopkins
Knox Foundation
3133 Washington Road
Thomson, Ga 30824
(706) 595-1907
We welcome your questions and comments. Please contact Rebecca Wallace, Vice President of Programs here or 706-724-1314.
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