Commentary: SC community development tax credit helps investors help communities

Metanoia CEO Bill Stanfield

Reprinted from The Post & Courier

The recently unveiled Charleston County Housing Our Future plan provided the sobering statistic that only 15% of households in Charleston County can afford the current median home sale price of $538,000 in the county. That’s bad news for 85% of us. The statistic underscores how even as our region is booming, many are being left behind.

What if there were a tool that would incentivize those who are doing well to create opportunities for others to do better in their own backyard?

The great news for residents of South Carolina is that there is such a tool. The S.C. community development tax credit provides an opportunity for those who are doing well  to reduce their state tax liability by providing gifts and investments to certified community development organizations across our state.

Deborah McKetty inducted into Greenville Business Magazine's Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Greenville Business Magazine
Deborah McKetty, President of South Carolina Community Loan Fund (SCCLF), was recently inducted into Greenville Business Magazine's Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

McKetty has more than 30 years’ experience working in the community economic development field as a banker and nonprofit leader. She has served in leadership roles in several local, state, and regional organizations, including United Way of Greenville County, Greenville Chamber Board of Advisors, CommunityWorks Carolina, Greenville Housing Fund, SCACED, SC Community Capital Alliance, Richmond FED Community Investment Community, and the Self-Help Credit Union Board. 

Metanoia SC: Jefferson Award recipient generates positive change in North Charleston

ABC News 4

CHARLESTON S.C. (WCIV) — Wonderful things can happen when a community comes together.

Lowcountry non-profit, Metanoia SC, is listening to the people who live in North Charleston's Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood.

Over the past 20 years, Metanoia has been implementing programs to meet residents' needs to generate positive changes.

Shawn Saulsberry is the Board Chair of Metanoia.

"It's a huge responsibility because Metanoia is literally serving the area that I grew up in," Saulsberry said.

Saulsberry remembers growing up in what's known as "Charleston Heights," or the "Heights" in North Charleston.

Greenville picked up the pace on affordable housing in 2022. What’s next?

The Post & Courier

GREENVILLE — In 2022, the Greenville Housing Fund helped add and preserve more affordable units in Greenville than in the previous four years combined. 

Since January, the nonprofit has contributed to projects providing a total of 486 affordable residences throughout the city, compared to 481 between the fund’s launch in 2018 and 2021. 

Housing Fund Advocacy and Community Engagement Manager Tina Belge said the spike in activity over the past 12 months marks a major step forward for her organization.

Lowcountry cities honor Gullah Geechee Group founder and child advocate

Live 5 News

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - A pillar in the community was honored by community members in Charleston and North Charleston on Monday. They proclaimed Monday, Nov. 7 as Johanna Carrington Day.

Carrington founded the Gullah Geechee Group, hosting events and teaching about the heritage of the Geechee people across the Southeast.

The Jenkins Institute for Children, on Azalea Road in North Charleston, is known for educating black orphans during segregation and continues to be a source of community programs.

Carrington organized educational opportunities for students to participate in music, math and reading as the executive director at the institute for children for 14 years. She was instrumental in launching similar programs at Mary Ford Early Learning Center and Septima Clark Academy.

Reclaiming lives through woodwork, a second chance for former inmates

Fox Carolina News

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) - Second chances are hard to come by if you've been incarcerated, according to Jerry Blassingame. A former inmate himself, Blassingame founded Soteria At Work, a place where people could find resources and skills to better re-enter society. Located on Shaw Street in Greenville, the 301C non-profit teaches skills like woodworking, provides a 16-bed transitional home for up to a year, job placement assistance, education, legal aid, and financial literacy.

"We all deserve second chances so there are some people who made a dumb mistake or didn't have the resources, and so we need to give people the tools and resources to better themselves," Blassingame says. "We've helped over 5,000 men and women in the last 20 years."

The Founder and CEO of Soteria At Work says they work with the Department Of Corrections to get referrals from prison. Bryan Stirling, the Director for the SCDC, says, "We know programming works, we know education works. We know if someone has a job, stable income, a place to stay when they leave, ID, they're much less likely to come back into prison."

VisionGreenwood: Focused on Advancing Greenwood as a Community of Choice

MidlandsBiz Who’s on the Move

The lack of reliable broadband service in parts of Greenwood became more apparent than ever this past year when schools and businesses quickly migrated to remote platforms with minimal time for in-depth planning, let alone infrastructure upgrades. Fortunately, help is on the horizon from VisionGreenwood, an established community partner dedicated to making Greenwood the best place in which to live, work and raise a family.

Kay Self, Executive Director for VisionGreenwood, explained that the recently launched “Closing the Gap” Speed Test, which was developed by the nonprofit through a public-private collaboration, will be used to collect real-time internet speed data from Greenwood residents over the next four to six weeks. With data in hand, VisionGreenwood will be able to apply for state and federal grants to help fund local internet infrastructure improvements.

“High-speed internet is no longer optional. It is critical for expanding educational and economic opportunities, especially for those in remote locations. By ensuring every Greenwood resident and business has access to broadband, we are positioning our community for success,” said Self.

City of Charleston rolling out grant program to help with affordable housing

Live 5 WCSC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The city of Charleston is rolling out a new grant program that could offer more affordable housing.

City officials are planning to use $200,000 to incentivize homeowners to build accessible dwelling units, or ADU’s, on their property. The unit is an independent living facility for no more than two adults, which acts like a tiny home in a person’s yard or a garage apartment.

The goal with the program is to facilitate additional workforce and affordable housing in single family neighborhoods throughout the city of Charleston. The money would go towards construction of ten units, which would be rented out as affordable housing.

“What we wanted to do in providing the $20,000 per house for the construction of the ADU’s. is use that as an incentive and use that as an opportunity to bring people to the table so that they would see this as an opportunity for themselves as well as a benefit for the community,” Charleston Housing & Community Development Director Geona Shaw Johnson said.