United Voices: Meet Ginny Stroud

Chairperson of SCACED’s Board of Directors Ginny Stroud was recognized by United Bank in honor of National Volunteer Month. Check out the excerpt below and click the button to read the full tribute!

Excerpt

Meet Ginny Stroud

Can you tell me about your role at United?

I am the community development officer based in Greenville, SC. My work revolves around supporting the Bank with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) initiatives.

What does that entail?

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted in 1977 to encourage financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they do business, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. I work closely with market presidents, loan officers, commercial lenders, and other folks at the Bank to identify community development loans that meet the definition of CRA. These are loans that might support affordable housing development, may aid in the development of a homeless shelter or a shelter for victims of domestic violence, or a loan that provides a line of credit for a nonprofit organization. I also manage United’s CRA investments.

Activities that support community development also qualify as CRA activities. This is where volunteering comes into play. I help teams in the Carolinas, and now Georgia, identify opportunities for volunteer work.

Commentary: SC Legislature needs to reauthorize community development tax credits

Reprinted from The Post & Courier

In uncertain times, people look for stability — something they can count on. For one North Charleston neighborhood, that sense of certainty came in the form of eight new affordable homes.

The Golden Dream Townhomes, completed in 2023, brought much-needed housing to the historic Liberty Hill community, one of the Charleston area’s fastest gentrifying neighborhoods. The homes were built on family owned land at Lecque and Lester streets by the descendants of William Lecque, who helped found Liberty Hill just years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

This project didn’t just help build workforce-accessible houses in a high-cost housing market. It honored the legacy of black landownership, preserved generational wealth and protected residents from displacement. Thanks to durable, energy-efficient construction and Energy Star appliances, it also reduced long-term costs for the families who now call it home.

Behind the scenes, a powerful but often-overlooked tool made this project possible: South Carolina community development tax credits. With support from this state-sponsored program, the local community development corporation Metanoia was able to attract private investment to bring the project to life and ensure the townhomes remained financially within reach for working families. In a world full of economic uncertainty, this was a rare moment of clarity: public policy creating real, lasting stability for South Carolinians.

Charleston County creates $8 million loan fund to help developers build affordable housing

Reprinted from The Post & Courier

Charleston County has set aside more than $8 million of its tourism taxes to create a loan fund to bring more affordable housing to the area.

The Local Housing Trust Fund, announced March 27 by county leaders and its partner, South Carolina Community Loan Fund, will provide below-market loans to developers and organizations that build affordable housing. These projects are costly and won't happen without subsidies like this, according to Christine Durant, deputy county administrator for community services.

A change in state law made the fund possible. Until 2023, state and local tourism taxes could only be used to advertise or support local venues, events or projects that attract overnight visitors. Now, local governments can use taxes collected on hotel or short-term rental stays toward housing that individuals who work at hotels, restaurants and other tourism-centered jobs can afford.

The bipartisan legislation does not provide any new funding, but rather allows localities to earmark up to 15 percent of their accommodations tax revenue for housing.

Better Housing, Better Life - Homes Of Hope Offers Paths To Stable, Affordable Future

Don Oglesby can run a nonprofit organization. But he can’t tread water.

So, he almost drowned.

“When I was 10 years old, I got sucked into this hole in the creek. It started pulling me down, and I couldn't tread water to yell for help,” he says.

Oglesby struggled to push his head up through the water to the surface. That’s all he could manage.

“I went up for the fourth time, and I thought I was probably not coming back up again. A boy named Travis Fitz ... a kid at camp with me … he saw that I was struggling, and he reached out his hand and pulled me out. Then, he just walked away.

“I guess he thought I fell and that all he did was pick me up. I looked for him years later to tell him that he saved my life, but I never found him.”

Now, Oglesby reaches out and pulls people up. So they don’t drown.

The organization he leads, Homes of Hope, helps people rewrite their stories:

• Men previously addicted to drugs and alcohol learn skills that prepare them for good jobs.

• People who can’t afford a safe, clean place to live can purchase or rent a house built by Homes of Hope.

S.C. training program aims to keep inmates on straight path

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Department of Corrections has the lowest recidivism rate in the country, but they want to make it even lower by teaching inmates job skills they can use immediately after incarceration.

The Lieber Correctional Institute in Ridgeville is in its third week of a pilot program that has master welders teaching inmates how to weld hands-on and learn other skills in the classroom, like how to develop a blueprint.

“We’re setting them up for success and not failure,” South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said.

Four CSRA county school districts will be impacted by the $2.1 million in grants awarded to rural school districts for projects designed to increase workforce readiness.

The inmates in this all-male prison have volunteered to take part, and it does not matter what their offenses are. They just have to have consistently good behavior and have already served a decent amount of their sentence.

The Grace Impact Development Center is a nonprofit that has helped bring this program to life. Its co-executive director, Tory Liferidge, says one of their main missions is workforce development.

“They’re not just gaining welding skills, but through our master welders, they’re gaining life skills,” Liferidge said. “And having different types of conversations, it’s making it a holistic program for them. "

CommunityWorks guides entrepreneurs in achieving financial wellness

Reprinted from Upstate Business Journal

People looking to successfully start or grow a small business must strive to maintain financial wellness. 

This concept refers to a person’s ability to effectively manage their personal and business finances to meet their short- and long-term goals. 

CommunityWorks, a statewide nonprofit lending institution, offers a free program to entrepreneurs who wish to improve their financial wellness. The program aims to help clients follow a clear action plan to earn, save and spend money that aligns with their values and future vision. 

The program targets minority business owners at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey. For example, someone in the ideation stage of starting a new business can seek coaching to receive guidance on how to get their finances in check. Established entrepreneurs can also request coaching if they don’t have the tools to scale their business.

Senior affordable housing breaks ground along Woodruff Road in Greenville

Reprinted from Greenville Journal

Construction for Southpointe Senior Residences, a $23 million affordable housing project, kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 21. 

The new apartment community off Woodruff Road in Greenville will be reserved for low- and moderate-income renters over the age of 55. Specifically, the units will target seniors earning 20% to 60% of the area median income. 

Ninety residential units with one- and two-bedroom floor plans will be available at Southpoint Senior at 30 Southpointe Drive. Pre-leasing will begin in December 2025 and construction is expected to take 18 months to complete. The apartment community will also include a community center, business center and fitness center for residents. 

Southpoint Senior will be created in partnership with the Greenville Housing Fund and Lowcountry Housing Communities, a new developer in the Greenville market. South Carolina Housing Authority awarded the project the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit award in 2021.

SC Association for Community Economic Development announces voter engagement mini-grants & outreach

CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development (SCACED), in partnership with Mary Reynolds Babcock Fund and SC Counts, announced today forty-four (44) grantees of the 2024 Voter Engagement Mini-Grants who received a total of $35,500.   

The grant awards, made possible through funding from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and SC Counts, offered a new funding opportunity for South Carolina organizations and community groups to participate in voter engagement initiatives to educate, register, and mobilize voters for the 2024 election. Distributed in September 2024 to give awardees time to educate and register voters before the October deadline, the grant awards assisted organizations with the costs associated with voter engagement education and outreach.

Awardees span across the state and a variety of industries, ranging from community development organizations, nonprofits, fraternity and sorority organizations, community associations, and churches. Grantees used the funds to support voter registration drives, candidate forums, voter transportation to polls, canvassing, voter education and resource sessions, and meals and compensation for volunteers and poll workers. Grant funds were used to provide each of these resources, such as voter registration, education, and transportation, to approximately 4,200 people across South Carolina. This year’s awardees, listed alphabetically, include:

• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Tau Eta Chapter

• Beta Pi Zeta Chapter

• Build and Transform Inc.

• Carolina for All Education Foundation

• Carriage Oaks Homeowner's Association, Inc.

• Centenary United Methodist Church

• Columbia (SC) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated

• Columbia NOW

• Community Uplifting Alliance Project formerly Blackville CDC

• Distinguished, Empowered, Ladies Taking Action, Inc.

• Dorchester Manor Neighborhood Association

• EveryBlackGirl Inc

• First Impression of SC (FISC)

• Florence Section National Council of Negro Women

• Fountain Inn Chamber Foundation

• Francis Burns United Methodist Church

• Gospel in the Park Concert Series

• Grace Impact Development Center

• Grace Impact Development Center (Fiscal Agent Delta Sigma Theta Sorority – Berkeley County Alumnae Chapter)

• Greenbrier Resources Community Development Center

• Habitat for Humanity of York County

• Homes of Hope

• Latino Community Development (LCD)

• LifeWorks SC

• Little Africa Community

• LiveWell Greenville

• Lydia's Bowels of Mercy Home, Inc.

• Mary's Angels Independent Living for Young Women

• Necessary Actions

• Nicholtown Neighborhood Association

• Pee Dee Healthy Start Inc.

• Richland County Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

• SC Energy Justice Coalition

• SC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

• SC Housing Justice Network

• Southern Carolina Regional CDC

• Trinity Transitional Housing, Inc

• Trinity U. M. C.

• Urban League of the Upstate

• Williamsburg Enterprise Community Commission

• Xi Phi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority

• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Gamma Zeta Chapter

• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated the Phi Phi Zeta Chapter

To aid the grantees and further their voter engagement outreach efforts, SCACED hosted a training covering effective outreach strategies and the legal guidelines and best practices for voter engagement by nonprofit organizations. As SCACED and the grantee organizations engaged their communities to register and mobilize voters, SCACED developed a resource guide for the upcoming 2024 election providing deadlines, resources, and reminders as voters go to the polls.

SCACED encourages you to make sure you are ready to vote this year. After a 13.5% voter participation rate in the June primaries in South Carolina, and considering every South Carolina State Representative and Senator is up for re-election this year, it is imperative to exercise your civic duty and cast your vote. For those interested in learning how nonprofits can engage voters or what you need to be ready to vote this year, contact SCACED here.

About SCACED (www.scaced.org)

SCACED is a coalition of over 200 individuals and organizations who support the development of healthy and economically sustainable communities throughout South Carolina. For 30 years, SCACED and its members have worked collaboratively to build wealth and create economic opportunity for all SC residents including a focus on minority communities and other groups who have been left out of the economic mainstream. Learn more about SCACED here.

About SC Counts (www.sccounts.com)

SC Counts partners works to empower, educate, and engage local communities around civic activities like census completion and redistricting. These federally mandated activities impact the most basic parts of every person’s life ranging from school zoning to where emergency services are placed to who represents the community in every elected office. Strengthening avenues for participation ensures all voices are heard at the decision-making table.

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