The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation (CCGF) has several important deadlines approaching:

Correll Scholars Program – Deadline February 1
The Correll Scholars Program of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation has a deadline approaching on February 1. Applicants must be Glynn County high school graduates pursuing a two- or four-year degree at one of Georgia’s public universities, and who are also members of the Elizabeth F. Correll Teen Center of the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Georgia.

The Correll Scholars Program provides an annual scholarship of $5,000 to students enrolled in four-year academic degree programs and an annual scholarship/stipend of up to $4,000 to students enrolled in a two-year academic/technical degree program.

For application criteria and information, please visit www.coastalgeorgiafoundation.org’s Scholarship section, or email Emma Austin, ectc@apositiveplace.net.

Coastal Georgia Foundation’s 2020 Community Impact Fund – Deadline February 28

The Foundation’s 2020 Community Impact Fund grant cycle deadline is February 28. Awards will be announced in early June. The Foundation will continue to focus on a two-generational approach, considering proposals from agencies that serve at-risk youth and/or the parents, guardians and caregivers of at-risk youth.

The Foundation will accept proposals for up to $5,000 from agencies with:

1) Programs serving at-risk youth and which specifically address one of these areas: Early Childhood Literacy and/or Quality-Rated Child Care; Teen pregnancy and births to unwed young mothers; Juvenile Crime and Gang Activity; High School Graduation and Workforce Readiness; Youth Development and Innovative Education Strategies; or Risk Reduction, including child protective, substance abuse, and/or mental health services.

2) Services that concentrate on parenting, job skills and financial security for adults.

With any questions about the Community Impact Fund, the process for applications, or the Foundation, please call Ellen Post, Grants and Operations Director: 912-268-4442.

The Christ Church, Frederica Episcopal Church Women’s Fund – Deadline April 20
A scholarship fund created in 2017 by the Christ Church Frederica Episcopal Church Women is open to applications. Annually, the scholarship will provide $2,500 to a female high school graduate pursuing a degree through an academic or technical college or university. The student must be of the Episcopal faith and hale from Glynn or McIntosh County.

The Glynn Academy Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund – Deadline April 20
The Glynn Academy Class of 1969, a member of Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, will award a $2,500 academic scholarship to a graduating Glynn Academy senior who has been accepted to attend a Georgia academic college or university. There will be no restriction regarding race, ethnicity, creed or gender. The senior must meet the following criteria:

1. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average between 2.70 and 2.99 HOPE grade point average.
2. Applicants must supply family background and demonstrate financial need.
3. Applicants must be a good school citizen with no demerits, excellent attendance and no failures.
4. Applicants must demonstrate active involvement in extracurricular school and community activities.

Halsey Family Scholarship – Deadline April 21

The Halsey Family Scholarship was established by John F. (Jack) Halsey, PhD, and Sandra M. (Sandy) Halsey in recognition of the significant influence that both science and music education and research have had on their lives. The Halsey Family Scholarship awards up to four (4) academic semesters of support to undergraduate students studying science or music, beginning in their freshman year in college, based on continued progress and academic achievement.

The scholarship provides up to $2,000 per semester (maximum, $4,000 per year) and applicants must be graduates of or graduating from Camden County high schools.

For more information, visit www.coastalgeorgiafoundation.org’s Scholarship section.

The Eugenia Price/Joyce K. Blackburn Charitable Fund of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation made grants totaling $9,200 in December 2019 to area nonprofits. The Fund’s purpose is to permanently carry on the artistic influence and philanthropic legacy of both authors, and to benefit Coastal Georgians.

“Eugenia Price and Joyce Blackburn were both compassionate and philanthropic individuals,” says Eileen Humphlett, fund advisor and Eugenia Price’s trusted friend and colleague. “I am proud that their hard work can continue in perpetuity through the fund and its resources.”

Grants were awarded to: Coastal Georgia Historical Society, Coastal Symphony of Georgia, Glynn Visual Arts Scholarship Fund, Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, Golden Isles Youth Orchestra, Island Concert Association, Island Players Scholarship Fund, Marshes of Glynn Libraries, Mozart Society Scholarship Fund, and Star Foundation.

The Fund holds the copyrights for over 50 book titles, including the popular St. Simons Trilogy: Lighthouse, New Moon Rising, and The Beloved Invader. Other assets include publishing contracts with Turner Publishing Company, including movie rights, and other investments.

The Price/Blackburn Fund is supported by royalties derived from book sales.

“Golden Isles Arts & Humanities is grateful to the Eugenia Price/Joyce Blackburn Fund of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation for their continued support of literary programs for young people with this most recent grant,” says Heather Heath, executive director of Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association. “We have partnered with Price/Blackburn since its inception to bring the Young Playwrights and Young Poets awards to middle and high school students and to support the annual Roberta Born Scholarship. We are proud to offer these creative writing opportunities to our local students.”

“The Coastal Georgia Foundation is here to promote and strengthen philanthropy in our region in partnership with our fund holders,” says Paul White, President and CEO of the Foundation. “We are honored to have the Price/Blackburn Fund as one of our partners.”

The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation (CCGF) is pleased to announce its 2020 Community Impact Fund grant cycle. The application period begins January 2 and proposals are due by February 28. Awards will be announced in May. 

Click here for an application.

The Foundation will continue to focus on agencies working with at-risk youth and demonstrating measurable results. Using a two-generational approach, the CCGF will also consider proposals from agencies that support the parents, guardians and caregivers of at-risk youth.

The Foundation will accept proposals for up to $5,000 from agencies with:

1) Programs serving at-risk youth and which specifically address one of these areas: Early Childhood Literacy and/or Quality-Rated Child Care; Teen pregnancy and births to unwed young mothers; Juvenile Crime and Gang Activity; High School Graduation and Workforce Readiness; Youth Development and Innovative Education Strategies; or Risk Reduction, including child protective, substance abuse, and/or mental health services.

2) Services that concentrate on parenting, job skills and financial security for adults.

With any questions about the Community Impact Fund, the process for applications, or the Foundation, please call Ellen Post, Grants and Operations Director: 912-268-2561 or email epost@coastalgeorgiafoundation.org.

About the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation
The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation (CCGF) was incorporated in 2005, as a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people of Glynn, McIntosh and Camden counties. The Foundation now has assets over $30 million and has awarded over $16 million in grants to community organizations in the three-county region and beyond. The Foundation serves ordinary citizens who have the extraordinary vision for a better life for their neighbors, friends, families, and fellow coastal Georgians - today and for future generations. The Foundation seeks to be the region’s trusted source for thoughtful philanthropic counsel, sound financial management and strategic community investment. www.coastalgeorgiafoundation.org

Downtown Brunswick could absorb at least 61 rental and for-sale housing units per year over the next five years, according to a new study of the city’s residential market potential.

The study, which was commissioned by the Coastal Georgia Foundation, found the annual potential for new downtown housing could be as high as 75 units. Prepared by the nationally respected firm Zimmerman/Volk Associates, the study also found that an additional 41 to 64 new housing units could be absorbed annually just outside Downtown in an area the study described as “In-Town Brunswick.”

Justin Callaway, the president of NewCIty Brunswick, said the study’s results are extremely encouraging. “We believe the key to revitalizing Brunswick is attracting new residents, so these findings couldn’t be much better news,” Callaway said. NewCIty Brunswick is the newly formed nonprofit that will support adding new housing units with creative, private sector funding.

The results of the study were shared on Nov. 13 at a meeting featuring Laurie Volk, a principal in the research firm. Interested to read the whole study? Contact Anna Hall for a copy.

The study was funded by individual stakeholders in collaboration with the foundation. Brad Piazza, of Port City Partners, said he was excited by the findings. “Zimmerman/Volk has provided, in granular detail, a meticulously constructed analysis of the future of housing downtown,” said Piazza. His firm is developing 12 loft apartment units to come online in 2021. “The appetite is there, now we need the inventory.”

Paul White, the foundation’s president, said the study more than confirmed what many Brunswick stakeholders had suspected after visiting Macon last summer. Zimmerman/Volk had estimated that Macon’s downtown housing demand was 200 units a year. “With all that Brunswick and the Golden Isles had to offer, we believed that Brunswick held rich potential for attracting new residents,” White said. “If people come, then businesses will follow.”

The research firm defined Downtown as generally encompassing the blocks between I Street to the north, George Street to the south and between Albany Street to the east and Bay Street to the west. In-Town Brunswick is bounded by L Street to the north, Glynn Avenue to the east, 1st Avenue to the south and Bay Street to the West.

Bert Roughton, who is leading the formation of Forward Brunswick, said he was encouraged by the study’s finding of substantial potential beyond Downtown. “For Brunswick to live up to its full potential, it must be about more than Downtown,” Roughton said. “While a lively regional Downtown is the lynchpin, this study provides a solid foundation to extend our vision beyond the central city.”

Other findings from the study include:
- Multi-family developments are the most appropriate form of housing for Downtown.
- Nearly half the potential new households live outside of Brunswick; the other half are households moving from one unit to another within the city.
- Most new households would comprise younger singles and childless couples, followed by empty nesters and retirees.

About Forward Brunswick
Forward Brunswick is an inclusive, broad-based collaboration of city stakeholders intended to foster economic vitality, engagement, communication and cooperation. Forward Brunswick supports the city’s residents, community leaders and business owners in the pursuit of a shared vision for prosperity.

About NewCity Brunswick
NewCity Brunswick, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded this September, uses private capital to support residential development and redevelopment projects with creative financing tools and a revolving loan program. It also fills the gap in conventional approaches to financing such projects and provide support to local businesses and startups through training and some financial assistance. NewCity works in partnership with existing agencies, such as the Downtown Development Authority, and city and county economic development departments. www.newcitybrunswick.com

About the Coastal Georgia Foundation
The Coastal Georgia Foundation was incorporated in 2005, as a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people of Glynn, McIntosh and Camden counties. The Foundation now has assets of approximately $20 million and has awarded over $14 million in grants, the majority to community organizations in the three-county region and beyond. The Foundation serves ordinary citizens who have the extraordinary vision for a better life for their neighbors, friends, families, and fellow coastal Georgians - today and for future generations. The Foundation seeks to be the region’s trusted source for thoughtful philanthropic counsel, sound financial management and strategic community investment. www.coastalgeorgiafoundation.org

Bryan Clontz wowed a group of over 25 professional advisors with case studies and examples of complex non cash charitable gifts he's worked on throughout his career. According to Clontz, the average American's balance sheet assets are less than 3% cash, the rest non cash. When it comes to giving, he says, "cash bad, non cash good." Charitably inclined individuals can increase their giving impact if they start to think beyond simply giving cash.

Some examples of good non cash gifts are appreciated stock, real estate, privately held company stock - and, donors could give interests in the aforementioned items, keeping the majority of their holdings. All of these creative solutions offer maximum tax advantages to the individual, and maximum charitable impact to the agency receiving the gift. 

"Your local community foundation is often better suited to receive and manage complex non cash gifts," he said. "The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation can do just about anything your clients and prospective donors need."

For professional advisors or donors looking to learn more about this, take a look at Bryan Clontz's free Noncash Assets book at this link. 

Watch this video for a version of Bryan's full presentation on this important topic (from the Greater New Orleans Foundation):

Bryan Clontz Full Presentation

To attend the presentation on November 13, click here to register. This event is open to public and anyone interested in learning about downtown redevelopment efforts should attend.

The results of the residential market potential study of downtown Brunswick will be presented on Wednesday, November 13, 6pm at the College of Coastal Georgia. Laurie Volk of Zimmerman Volk Associates will lead the presentation. The presentation will be hosted by NewCity Brunswick and is sponsored by Forward Brunswick, the College of Coastal Georgia, and the Coastal Georgia Foundation.

“We learned about this type of data-driven housing study on our May 30 trip to Macon,” says Justin Callaway, President & CEO of NewCity Brunswick. “There, the housing study said downtown Macon could absorb ‘200 residential units per year.’ This number became a shared goal for developers, entrepreneurs, lenders and other investors in downtown Macon. We are excited to hear the results from Laurie on the thirteenth.”

Over the summer, the Coastal Georgia Foundation led discussions with business, community and local government leaders to build on efforts to improve downtown’s economy and quality of life. Together stakeholders identified housing downtown as a key element in strengthening Brunswick’s economic vitality. “Through discussions among stakeholders, it became clear that if we focus on attracting residents, businesses will follow,” Paul White, President & CEO of the Foundation, said.

Zimmerman/Volk Associates uses a proprietary target market methodology to determine the depth and breadth of the potential market derived from the housing preferences and socio-economic characteristics of households in the defined draw area, even in locations where no close comparables exist.

“The study’s findings could provide a cornerstone in the movement to reinvigorate Brunswick,” said Bert Roughton, who is helping to organize Forward Brunswick. “Understanding the demand and pace for creating new housing downtown is essential to setting priorities for the future.”

To attend the presentation on November 13, click here to register. This event is open to public and anyone interested in learning about downtown redevelopment efforts should attend.

About Forward Brunswick
Forward Brunswick is an inclusive, broad-based alliance of the city’s stakeholders intended to foster continued engagement, communication and collaboration. Forward Brunswick supports the city’s residents, community leaders and business owners in the pursuit of a shared vision for prosperity.

About NewCity Brunswick
NewCity Brunswick, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded this September, uses private capital to support residential development and redevelopment projects with creative financing tools and a revolving loan program. It also fills the gap in conventional approaches to financing such projects and provide support to local businesses and startups through training and some financial assistance. NewCity works in partnership with existing agencies, such as the Downtown Development Authority, and city and county economic development departments. www.newcitybrunswick.com

About the Coastal Georgia Foundation
The Coastal Georgia Foundation was incorporated in 2005, as a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people of Glynn, McIntosh and Camden counties. The Foundation now has assets nearing $20 million and has awarded over $14 million in grants, the majority to community organizations in the three-county region and beyond. The Foundation serves ordinary citizens who have the extraordinary vision for a better life for their neighbors, friends, families, and fellow coastal Georgians - today and for future generations. The Foundation seeks to be the region’s trusted source for thoughtful philanthropic counsel, sound financial management and strategic community investment. www.coastalgeorgiafoundation.org

Over 45 conservation funders and leaders gathered at Musgrove September 26 to hear a moving presentation from Ed McMahon, the Charles E. Fraser Chair on Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy, Urban Land Institute. Ed’s presentation focused on preserving our country’s special places and leveraging them effectively for economic development. In his presentation, he discussed home buyers seeking real estate on golf courses, not because they are golfers, but because they want the expansive natural views. He also cited that today’s workforce first looks for a quality place to live, and only then seeks employment in those places. Natural areas, trees, shade, community, walkability and outdoor amenities are all variables that people are searching for in the places they call home.

What’s the difference between opening a community foundation fund versus a commercial gift fund?

The simple answer is donor-advised funds at community foundations, like the Coastal Georgia Foundation, provide philanthropists with opportunities to strengthen your community and maximize the impact of your charitable giving in ways that commercial gift funds at firms cannot.