South Carolina Humanities Awards $490,000 to 103 Cultural Organizations through Bridge Emergency Relief Grants

South Carolina Humanities has awarded $490,000 in emergency relief funds to 103 cultural organizations in South Carolina. The awards reach 34 counties and all seven Congressional Districts. Funding for Bridge Emergency Relief Grants was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan.

South Carolina Humanities Bridge Emergency Relief Grants were designed to offer unrestricted operating and/or humanities program support to cultural organizations throughout the state that are facing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19. These grants provide immediate funds to help stabilize humanities organizations and allow them to maintain essential functions and retain core personnel, ensuring their future success.

Dr. Tom Mack, Board Chair of South Carolina Humanities, said, “The current pandemic has severely impacted our state’s economy; and among those most adversely affected by closure and event cancellation are museums, libraries, and other cultural centers offering humanities-based programming.  SC Humanities is pleased and honored to be able to offer emergency funding to a host of cultural organizations that enrich the lives of our state’s citizens each and every day.  We wish we could do more.  For additional information on our ongoing grant opportunities, please visit our website at schumanities.org.”

Dr. Randy Akers, Executive Director of South Carolina Humanities, said: “South Carolina has an annual $24 billion dollar tourism industry that includes hundreds of arts and cultural organizations that bolster that important economic sector. Closed since mid-March, these organizations and their personnel have suffered dramatically. We are very fortunate to be able to offer relief during these difficult times.”

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 350,000 citizens annually.

SC Humanities Bridge Emergency Relief Grants have been awarded to:

701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia
Actors Theatre of South Carolina, Folly Beach
Aiken-Bamberg-Barnwell-Edgefield Regional Library System, Aiken
Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta, North Augusta
Arts Council of Chester County, Chester
Arts Council of Greenwood County, Greenwood
Arts Council of York County, Rock Hill
Ballet Spartanburg, Spartanburg
Barnwell County Museum, Barnwell
Beaufort History Museum, Beaufort
Belle W. Baruch Foundation/Hobcaw Barony, Georgetown
Belton Area Museum Association, Belton
Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum, Seneca
Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, Bluffton
Blythewood Historical Society and Museum, Blythewood
Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet
Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum, Orangeburg
Center for Creative Partnerships, Orangeburg
Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg
Charleston Friends of the Library, Charleston
Charleston to Charleston Inc., Charleston
The Charleston Museum, Charleston
Cherokee Historical and Preservation Society, Inc., Gaffney
Chester County Historical Society, Chester
Chesterfield County Library System, Chesterfield
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, Greenville
Claflin University School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Orangeburg
Coastal Carolina University – Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Conway
Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island
Colleton County Historical and Preservation Society, Walterboro
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia
Culture and Heritage Museums, Rock Hill
Dillon County Theatre Association, Dillon
Dorchester Heritage Center, St. George
Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, Charleston
Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society, Edisto Island
The Foothills Farmstead, Westminster
Fort Mill History Museum, Fort Mill
Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach
The Friends of the Aiken County Historical Museum, Aiken
Friends of Lexington Main Library, Lexington
Furman Humanities Center, Greenville
Georgetown County Historical Society, Georgetown
Georgetown County Library, Georgetown
Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston
Greenville Chautauqua, Greenville
Greenville Light Opera Works/Glow Lyric Theatre, Greenville
Greenville Theatre, Greenville
Greenwood Community Theatre, Greenwood
Hagood Mill Foundation, Pickens
Historic Camden Foundation, Camden
Historic Charleston Foundation, Charleston
Historic Columbia, Columbia
The Historic Winyah Auditorium, Georgetown
Hub City Writers Project, Spartanburg
Jamestown Foundation, Florence
The Jasper Project, Columbia
Lancaster County Council of the Arts, Lancaster
Lancaster County Society for Historical Preservation, Lancaster
Laurens County Museum Association, Laurens
McClellanville Arts Council, McClellanville
McCormick County Historical Society, McCormick
Middleton Place Foundation, Charleston
Military History Center of the Carolinas, Greenville
Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, Ridgeland
The Museum and Railroad Historical Center, Greenwood
The Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina, Walhalla
Newberry Community Players, Newberry
The Newberry Museum, Newberry
Newberry Opera House Foundation, Newberry
Nickelodeon Theatre, Columbia
Oconee History Museum, Walhalla
Olympia Mill Village Museum, Columbia
Pat Conroy Literary Center, Beaufort
Patriots Hall Association, Walhalla
Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, Mt. Pleasant
Pendleton District Commission/Lake Hartwell County, Pendleton
Penn Center, St. Helena Island
Preservation Society of Charleston, Charleston
The Rice Museum, Georgetown
Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra, Rock Hill
Roper Mountain Science Center Association, Greenville
S.L. Finley Restoration Association, Chester
Santa Elena Project Foundation, Beaufort
Sigal Museum Museum, Greenville
South Carolina African American Heritage Foundation, Hartsville
South Carolina Archives and History Foundation, Columbia
South Carolina Collaborative on Race and Reconciliation, Columbia
South Carolina Confederate Relic Room, Columbia
South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston
South Carolina Railroad Museum, Winnsboro
South Carolina State Museum Foundation, Columbia
South Carolina Writers Association, Columbia
Spartanburg County Historical Society, Spartanburg
Spartanburg Philharmonic, Spartanburg
Speaking Down Barriers, Spartanburg
Timrod Literary and Library Association, Summerville
Trustus, Inc., Columbia
Union County Library System, Union
Upcountry History Museum, Greenville
USC Aiken’s Etherredge Center for the Fine Arts, Aiken
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, Beaufort
Willington on the Way, McCormick