The SC American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission (SC250) is proud to provide a small organizing grant to each official County 250 Committee. But, we know that additional funding will be needed to plan events and showcase each county's American Revolution assets. Below are some funding tips and fiscal reminders for your County 250 Committee.
Decide on a Fiscal Agent
SC250 encourages county or city governments (or one of their departments such as PRT or a County Museum) to take on this role. While there are some advantages to using a political subdivision, your committee can choose a fiscal agent that is a local non-profit, Chamber of Commerce, or other entity. You will know best how to structure this in your community. Remember for many of the SC250 Grants county governments may designate grant funds to another entity like a non-profit as long as the top elected official and county administrator signs the grant agreement.
- Roles of the Fiscal Agent:
- Manage all County 250 funds.
- Provide Fiscal Agent Documents for all SC250 grants including:
- Contact Information
- W-9
- The adopted budget for the current year
- Most recent operating financial statement
- If the Fiscal Agent has just been established, some documentation to that fact
- If the applicant or fiscal agent is a Non-Profit, we also need the following documentation:
- IRS 501c3 letter
- Secretary of State Registration letter
- List of Board members
- Mission of Non-profit
- Officially sign any grant agreement as the fiscal agent.
- Oversee that local procurement policies will be followed. (Best Practices are listed below.)
- Provide all receipts for final closeout grant paperwork.
- Agrees to an audit of funds if deemed necessary.
Apply for a County 250 Organizing Grant
These $3,000 grants are non-competitive and only require submission of the completed application ( with clearly defined deliverables and timeline) by the official County 250 Committee (and their fiscal agent). For the details on all SC250 Grants visit: https://southcarolina250.com/sc250grants/
- Register for the Discover SC Web Grants Program. https://www.scprtgrants.com/index.do All SC250 grants must be applied for through this online application program. Even if you are not ready to apply, you are encouraged to register as you must be approved by an admin before starting an application. Click Here for a step by step on how to register.
- Grant Requirements:
- Be the “officially recognized” County 250 Committee for your county – Yeah! You completed that by registering with SC250.
- Be about the business of celebrating the American Revolution in your County.
- Decide on a Project from the Approved List:
- Strategic Planning for your Committee’s Education, Commemoration, and/or Tourism Activities
- Survey of American Revolution Era People, Places, & Stories
- Historic Research and/or Archeology of an American Revolution Era Site in Your County
- Historic Research to help rediscover the often lost voices of African Americans, Native Americans, Women, and Children
- Designing a Revolutionary Era Trail/Tour in your County (or with Surrounding Counties)
- Memorialize your hero/heroines’ American Revolution actions with statues, markers, art, etc.
- Mark your 18th-century roads, trails, forts, muster grounds, churches, buildings, and other points of interest.
- Other – If you choose Other, please describe your proposed project.
- Grant Award Date: Grants will be issued upon receipt of approved documentation.
- Match or Cost Share Required: No
- Grant Distribution: The grant award is 100% upfront when a county or city is your fiscal agent. For all other fiscal agents the award is 80% upfront and 20% at completion of report paperwork. Money will be disbursed once the grant agreement is completed and approved by SC250 and SCDAH staff.
- A final report with financial receipts and update on deliverables will be required. One of those deliverables, however, could be a report from a consultant who helped with the strategic planning for your group for example.
Apply for Other Grants
SC250 Has Eight Other Grant Programs
From County Asset Assessment & Tourism Plan Grants to Local Activities Grants to Museum Style Panel Grants. Learn more about all of SC250 grant programs at https://southcarolina250.com/sc250grants/
Look for Grants Outside of SC250
The South Carolina State Library's Grants Research Assistance https://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/grants-research-assistance includes general grants and funding information as well as the SC Foundation Directory
Other Funding Sources
It is always great to have buy-in from multiple sources when taking on a big event or site development. This looks great on grants!
- Make a direct request from County Council or City Councils.
- Best Practices:
- Be specific about how the funds would be used.
- Work with a champion on the council who knows how to explain the requests to all council members.
- Pick a project that has an impact beyond the 250 anniversary such as adding a new historic tourism site or creating an American Revolution tour that can be used for years to come. Some Bicentennial tours are still in use today!
- Find out when your City and/or County A-Tax Committee accepts requests for tourism funding. A portion of the sales tax collected from hotels and other temporary accommodations is required by law to go towards tourism and most counties/cities have a committee to decide on the distribution of the funds.
- Business Sponsorships
- Best Practices:
- Emphasize how improving historic tourism infrastructure is economic development.
- Ask them to sponsor specific events and give them sponsor visibility on your website, program materials, banners.
- Fundraising
- Best Practices:
- Make sure to thank all donors no matter the size of the donation.
Fiscal Best Practices
- Final Reports & Status Updates on Grants – a reminder that all grants will require status updates and a final report including financial receipts. Call SC250 with questions before applying. Per regulations, all grants will require at least a status update before June 13 each year and/or a final report at the end of the project. When awarded a grant, SC250 will let you know deadlines for these reports.
- Matching Funds – County Asset Assessment and Tourism Grants (50% match), Local Activities Grants (20% match), and Site Grants (20% match) require matching funds. Make sure to include details about those matching funds in your grant application budget. Other grants (such as the County 250 Organizing Grant) do not require a match. However, it is always great to show collaboration and buy-in from multiple entities on your grant application. This is especially true if your grant request is part of a larger project. Please note that other state funds and in-kind funds cannot be used for the match.
- Procurement – While grants do not fall under state procurement, grantees should follow their local procurement policies. If the fiscal agent does not have written procurement policies, best practice is to look to state procurement rules for guidance. For more, visit https://procurement.sc.gov/ Below are some state procurement paperwork basics:
- Zero to $10,000.00
- Invoice (must show correct amount charged and payee)
- Proof of Payment
- $10,000.01 to $25,000.00
- Three (3) Written Quotes
- Invoice
- Proof of Payment
- $25,000.01 & Up
- SC Business Opportunity Ad or Copy of Public Advertisement (i.e., Local Newspaper Ad)
- Bid Specifications (relevant pages only, doesn’t have to be the entire package unless specifically requested)
- Register as a "State Vendor" to be eligible to receive any grant funds. Visit https://procurement.sc.gov/ and check out the Doing Business with Us section.
- Register with the State Treasurer's Office for ACH Direct Deposit. This greatly speeds up any grant distribution. Visit https://treasurer.sc.gov/what-we-do/for-businesses/electronic-payment-information/.
