| Location and Context
While South Carolina is predominantly rural, it has a history of grassroots leadership and cooperation within the social network of the counties, which will serve to strengthen the local resources available to this initiative. The state of South Carolina has only a recent history of resources being available to low-wealth communities and the resources that are available for the most part are fragmented and inadequate. With very little in the way of private philanthropy or public support for community development efforts [more in the way of demographics and poverty levels].
Collaborative Structure and Strategy
Working to build capacity, infrastructure, expertise and resources while building individual wealth through IDAs and developing community assets through a growing number of CDCs, these three collaborative efforts also seek to bring about lasting change - through indigenous leadership development and by advancing public policy reform - in a state where traditional barriers of race and class remain intact. NRFC has agreed to fund the work of two statewide collaboratives managed by the South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations (SCACDC). These collaboratives are the SC Community Economic Development Public Policy Collaborative (SCCEDPPC) and the SC Statewide Individual Development Account Collaborative (SCIDAC). The SCCEDPPC is composed of representatives from several organizations who help understand community and economic development needs from various perspectives. It is the responsibility of the SCCEDPPC to review the policy recommendations of its member organizations, resolve any conflicts and adopt the legislative policy positions for the SCCEDPPC. Once the formal policy statement has been approved, it is the responsibility of the membership of the SCCEDPPC, of which SCACDC is a member, to advocate for its implementation. In addition to legislative policies, both of the collaboratives will work to changing policies of state agencies and grant making policies of the state's community foundations.
Leverage and Impact
Achieving significant gains in affordable housing, community-directed businesses and family services. Even with few public and private dollars to support this work in the past, the state association of CDCs has been successful in establishing statewide programs of Individual Development Accounts and capacity-building for CDCs, while also developing a statewide community-based policy agenda. With support from Wachovia Bank and area community foundations, this collaboration can possibly leverage another $500,000 per year in debt and equity from state housing and development agencies and as much as $5 million over a five-year period in funding authorized by the state legislature under the recently passed state CED Act .
Main Contact
Bernie Mazyck
President & Chief Executive Officer
South Carolina Association of
Community Development Corporations
Ph: (843) 579-9855
bmscacdc@bellsouth.net |
South Carolina Community Economic Collaborative