Member Login
Search

Exchange Club Grants

Current Activities

Johns and Wadmalaw Islands Hunger Project

The Exchange Club of Kiawah-Seabrook launched the Johns and Wadmalaw Islands Hunger Project to support our local communities with increased needs in this vital area.  Some of our local neighbors are challenged to obtain enough good food to stay active and healthy in the best of times, and, with the advent of the Coronavirus, that challenge has become even greater.

Through its grants programs, the Exchange Club of Kiawah-Seabrook has been actively involved in supporting the hunger needs on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands for over a two decades.  Grants have been made to twelve different organizations providing food to the island residents over the past two years.  With the arrival of the COVID-19 virus and the resultant lockdown of our community, access to good food has become even more difficult for the most vulnerable island households. Several organizations serving the islands have had to cancel their annual fundraising events due to the quarantine, and funding is becoming a critical need.  In addition to raising additional funds to help these organizations, the Exchange Club is also gathering a list of volunteers who are willing to help these organizations when people are needed to support this important mission.

In response to the greater community need, the Exchange Club has taken several immediate steps. In addition to the grants that the club provides to island non-profit organizations in its annual process, the Exchange Club Foundation is dedicating their funds to help meet the immediate needs of island residents.  The club is also reaching out to its membership and beyond to solicit both funds and volunteers to help make sure that the residents of Johns and Wadmalaw island don’t go hungry in this critical time of need.  Our Foundation is determined to support as many food support organizations as possible and has set a goal of $50,000 to support this mission.

Contributions can be made to the Exchange Club Emergency Hunger Fund by check or through PayPal (details to be finalized).  Also, individuals that wish to contribute time to help prepare/package and deliver food and other needed supplies can register by contacting our Food Project Committee Chair John Carpenter at [email protected].

Club Grants Background

The Exchange Club of Kiawah Seabrook, which was chartered on April 16, 1982, has been raising funds and disbursing them to local charities since its inception.  In the last 27 years of the club’s history, over $2,000,000 has been provided to agencies that have significantly improved the quality of life for the residents of Johns and Wadmalaw Islands. In 2019 the club provided $ 150,000 for 39 charitable activities through a thorough an annual grant application process.  Applications are received late in the summer and the grants are provided to the charities in the fall.  

Community Service – Hunger

  • Backpack Buddies of Seabrook Islands to provide nutritious food for low-income students for the weekend when they are not attending school.
  • Sea Islands Blessing Basket providing monthly food distribution to those who struggle to provide for themselves
  • Bridges for End-of-Life supporting grieving children with school-based counseling
  • Fields to Families providing access to fresh foods and vegetables to those in need
  • Hebron Zion Presbyterian Church Emergency Food Pantry with multiple scheduled pantry access times
  • Kiawah Women’s Foundation
  • Meals on Monday’s
  • Meals on Wheels
  • Next Steps Johns Island
  • Sea Island Cares

Below are some details on the requirements and criteria for grant applications:

  • In order to receive a grant from the Exchange Club, the application must be sponsored by a Club member.
  • Grant application projects must be able to be categorized into one of the four program of service areas.
  • Grants are intended for provision of  services to the residents and/or students of Johns and Wadmalaw Islands
  • Proof of not-for-profit status is required.
  • Non-school agencies must be a South Carolina recognized not-for-profit agency with an auditable and accurate accounting system.
  • Non School agencies that are not 501(c)3 agencies may qualify for funding as an affiliated agency with a related not-for-profit agency.
  • All previous grant recipients must submit a description of use of their last grant and provide an accounting of how the funds were used.
  • Schools that apply for grants must be an officially sanctioned educational intuition recognized by the state of South Carolina.
  • Scholarships are awarded to students after graduation from a Johns Island high school.
  • Applicants are to use the application form and follow the filing instructions found on the “Grant Request Form” tab on this website.
  • Allocation of grant funds is determined by the total funding available and a balancing of the needs of the requesting charities and how the requests match to the Exchange Club grant strategy.
  • Neither past recipients or new applicants are guaranteed funding.
  • Final annual grant information is expected to be released by early November of each year.