Best Marlboro County Grants for Nonprofits in South Carolina

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5430 - Unlocking Value and Opportunities from Carbon Flows in Water Utilities

Grant Information

• Identify carbon flows across drinking water, stormwater, wastewater, and advanced treatment systems. Carbon flows may include source water, stormwater, process emissions, process inputs, residuals, and biogas.
• Identify the most relevant carbon recovery, capture, conversion, storage, and avoidance opportunities.
• Evaluate value creation pathways, including products, avoided costs, and environmental attributes, and mechanisms and partnerships needed to put them into practice.
• Assess how opportunities vary across system types and local contexts by focusing on more common scenarios for utilities.
• Provide practical, research-based insights to support identification, prioritization, evaluation, and advancement of carbon management opportunities under site-specific conditions and constraints.
• Evaluate implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, environmental attribute claims, and other potential benefits across pathways.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5411 - Practical Playbook for Adaptive Utility Capital Improvement Planning Under Deep Uncertainty

Grant Information

• Assess current utility practices for incorporating adaptive or flexible decision making into capital improvement planning (CIP) at the portfolio or programmatic level.
• Identify where deep uncertainty most affects CIP decision points, including investment areas prone to lock-in or points of no return.
• Document the institutional processes, frameworks, and governance structures that have enabled utilities to embed adaptive and flexible investment strategies.
• Quantify how adaptive capital strategies compare to traditional CIP approaches in terms of lifecycle costs, rate stability, financial risk exposure, and avoided or deferred capital investments across a range of plausible future conditions.
• Establish practical criteria to help utilities determine which types of capital investments are well suited for adaptive approaches.
• Develop a practitioner-focused playbook that equips utilities to apply adaptive CIP in practice, including case studies, decision trees, trigger points, vulnerability assessment tools, financial and risk insights, and governance guidance.
• Produce tiered recommendations that allow utilities to adopt adaptive CIP practices incrementally.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5418 - Optimizing PFAS Treatment Systems for Multi-contaminant Removal and Operational Benefits

Project Objectives

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5426 - Investigation of Non-Point Sources of PFAS in Sewersheds and Potential Mitigation Strategies

Grant Information

Evaluate the impact of non-point or dispersed sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the sewershed (including PFAS-contaminated groundwater infiltration) on PFAS mass loading to wastewater treatment plants.

Assess how PFAS loading from non-point or dispersed sources of PFAS in the sewershed may affect treatment efficiency and reuse water quality.

Improve understanding of PFAS precursor contributions.

Identify potential strategies to mitigate PFAS loading from non-point or disbursed sources of PFAS in the sewershed.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5416 - Innovative Approaches to Extend Lifetime and Minimize O&M for Nature-based Installations

Grant Information

• Identify and evaluate innovative design, construction, and management approaches that extend the functional lifetime of nature-based installations and reduce ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M) requirements.
• Develop practical guidance on key factors affecting nature-based solution (NbS) longevity, including hydraulic optimization, engineered media selection and replacement, plant selection, sediment management, and construction-phase best practices.
• Survey utilities and other NbS owners to document current maintenance practices, costs, and hours, and establish benchmarks to inform targets for improvement.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5415 - Guidelines to Develop Best-In-Class Maintenance Strategies for Vertical Assets

Grant Information

• Develop a clear understanding of the background and benefits associated with implementing well-rounded maintenance strategies for vertical assets.
• Develop a structured approach to identify and implement best-in-class maintenance strategies for vertical assets that improve reliability, increase asset availability, reduce unplanned work and emergency shutdowns, support the transition from reactive to proactive maintenance, and minimize total lifecycle cost.
• Apply leading practices such as Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) and cutting-edge technologies and analytics to vertical assets.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5429 - Bioavailability and Transformation of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen and Phosphorus Across WRRFs

Project Objectives

• Survey and characterize dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus (DON/DOP) concentrations and speciation across North American wastewater facilities, including but not limited to influent, secondary effluent, tertiary effluent, digester supernatant, thermal hydrolysis process (THP) centrate, autothermal thermophilic digestion (ATAD) sidestreams, and dewatering recycle streams.
• Understand the dynamics of DON/DOP in effluent, including quantifying the bioavailable fraction of DON/DOP in different relevant process streams, evaluating their transformation into nitrogenous disinfection by-product (N-DBP) precursors, determining bio-uptake rates representative of receiving water conditions, and measuring the timescale for biodegradation in receiving waters.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5427 - Advancing Actionable Climate Resilience Metrics for Water Supply Planning

Grant Information

• Catalog existing performance metrics that consistently drive water utility operational and capital decisions, assess their applicability to support future resilience-based decision making under nonstationary climate conditions, and identify adjustments or alternative metrics needed to support forward-looking, resilience-based decision making for water utilities.
• Determine the appropriate level of climate resilience analysis needed to evaluate and apply climate resilience metrics, with requirements scaled based on metric sensitivity to climate change, decision context, and utility characteristics.
• Develop guidance to integrate climate resilience metrics into planning and decision processes.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5409 - Smarter Water Governance with AMI: Conservation, Affordability, and Rate Design

Grant Information

• Evaluate how utilities are currently leveraging advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data to inform pricing, conservation programs (including emergency curtailment practices), affordability programs, and plans for future implementation.
• Analyze AMI data and assess how the data can be leveraged to develop and/or enhance conservation programs, policies, rates, and affordability programs.
• Investigate the potential for advanced analytics, including machine learning, of AMIdatasets to support adaptive or dynamic rate structures, early detection of hardship or atrisk households, categorization of customer classes, dynamic tiering based on household size, and better targeting of affordability and conservation interventions.
• Identify the obstacles utilities and regulators face when balancing conservation, equity, and revenue stability, and how improved AMI data can clarify tradeoffs.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5428 - Establish Standardized Guidelines for Embedding O&M Considerations into the Design Process

Grant Information

• To provide provisions that address common, recurring design issues that drive operations and maintenance (O&M) time and material, including but not limited to standardization of spare parts and consumables, support for condition based and predictive and preventive maintenance, and maintain-in-place design strategies.
• To develop standardized design guidance to measurably reduce lifecycle O&M labor hours for municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities, pumping stations, etc., once required process performance and regulatory compliance are achieved.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5412 - Determinants of Workforce Retention in Public-Sector Water Utilities

Grant Information

• Quantify the relative influence of compensation, pension stability, mission alignment, schedule flexibility, leadership support, career development opportunities, and other factors on employee retention in public-sector water utilities.
• Identify and analyze key impediments to retaining talent, including structural, cultural, compensation-related, and organizational barriers.
• Identify and benchmark retention best practices from sectors outside the water industry to assess transferability and develop case studies of high-retention organizations to distill replicable strategies and measurable success factors.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5419 - Crossing the Divide – Best Practices for Addressing Local and Privately-Owned Lateral Sewer Issues

Grant Information

To provide water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) and collection system operators with an interactive manual of practice for implementing inflow and infiltration (I&I) and obstruction management programs with a focus on municipal and privately owned lateral sewers in complex legal, regulatory, and multi-jurisdictional environments.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5413 - Comparison of PFAS Contributions to Agricultural Systems

Grant Information

• Report per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) concentrations from a variety of agricultural inputs, including animal manures, fertilizers, pesticides, composts, soil amendments, seed coatings, and biosolids-based products.
• Compare the impact of the various agricultural inputs on PFAS concentration in the soil profile over varying timeframes.
• Evaluate the fate and transport of different inputs to PFAS contributions in agricultural systems at field-scale.
• Determine the relative contributions from biosolids-based products and other inputs to help develop and prioritize risk management strategies.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5424 - Adaptive Control Frameworks to Unlock Full-Scale BNR Potential

Grant Information

• Identify and categorize the dominant failure modes of current aeration and process control implementations under real-world operating conditions.
• Develop guidance on data and instrumentation requirements for utilities to support adaptive control, including the characterization of existing sensor infrastructure and the use of soft sensors where hard sensors are limited.
• Develop practical adaptive control frameworks and implementation guidance that utilities can deploy without dependence on proprietary black-box tools or specialized data science expertise, including hybrid approaches that augment conventional controls with data-driven models (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), digital twins) for variable flow and concentration conditions.
• Benchmark control performance against biological capacity indicators across multiple full-scale facilities to quantify the gap between achievable and realized biological nutrient removal (BNR) performance.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5432 - Validating Reverse Osmosis Conductivity Profiling for Pathogen Log Reduction Value Credit

Grant Information

• Validate conductivity profiling against pathogen removal by establishing the relationship between conductivity-profile response and MS2 bacteriophage removal under intact and controlled membrane integrity-defect conditions.
• Demonstrate the robustness and applicability of conductivity profiling across representative reverse osmosis conditions, including new and aged membranes, different defect types and severities, operating conditions, variations in feedwater quality/composition/salinity, and temperature.
• Develop a validation implementation framework that defines testing procedures, log removal value calculation methods, sensitivity and performance criteria, continuous monitoring, alarm/response thresholds, and operational requirements needed to support regulatory pathogen log removal values credit for reverse osmosis.

A better world, built with better teamwork

We bring Atlassian's funding, tools and teamwork expertise to help nonprofits drive greater impact.

Our mission

Atlassian's mission is to unleash the potential of every team. The Atlassian Foundation extends that mission to teams solving the world's hardest problems.

Atlassian Foundation – Open Call for Proposals

The Atlassian Foundation is deploying US$8 million over the next two years to help disadvantaged learners thrive in the AI era. If you're driving collective action in this space, we want to hear from you.

Reshaping education for the AI era will take teamwork

The Atlassian Foundation focuses on education because it's the most empowering force in the world – it's the key to breaking cycles of poverty and disadvantage.

But that key is slipping out of reach for far too many. UNESCO estimates that more than 250 million children are out of school. And for those in the classroom, learning isn't guaranteed: 57% of children worldwide (nearly one billion) lack the basic skills they need for the era they're growing up in. AI can expand access and accelerate learning. It can also widen inequality where it lands unevenly.

No single organisation can tackle a challenge this complex. That's why the Atlassian Foundation is backing collective action: coordinated efforts by multiple players to solve shared problems at scale. Atlassian's mission is to unleash the potential of every team, so we're uniquely positioned to power these efforts. We've spent 20+ years learning what makes teams work well together, and we're offering that expertise – plus our funding, tools and hands-on support – to help collective action initiatives drive greater impact.

We believe a better world is built with better teamwork, and collective action is teamwork at its most ambitious. Together, we want to shape a future where emerging technology closes gaps for learners the current system leaves behind, rather than widening them.

About this open call

In this open call, we're seeking partnerships with collective action initiatives that are working to improve education for disadvantaged learners in the AI era.

What our partners will receive

Each partnership will include:

About

Founded in 1971, the Mensa Foundation was established by members of American Mensa to extend the organization’s impact. While connected by a shared purpose, the Foundation operates independently, guided by its own Board of Trustees, strategic plan, and initiatives.

Grants & Fellowships

Early Career Mini-Grant

The Mensa Foundation empowers emerging researchers through its Early Career Mini-Grant program.

Designed to support post-doctoral researchers and early career faculty, this grant funds innovative studies that advance our understanding of intelligence, creativity, gifted education, and related fields.

Details

The Early Career Mini-Grant provides $2,500 to support post-doctoral researchers and faculty within five years of completing their doctoral degree. This grant is intended to promote groundbreaking studies that advance our understanding of intelligence and its applications in education and beyond.

Grant Components

About

Founded in 1971, the Mensa Foundation was established by members of American Mensa to extend the organization’s impact. While connected by a shared purpose, the Foundation operates independently, guided by its own Board of Trustees, strategic plan, and initiatives.

Awards

Cooper Black Award for Creativity

The Copper Black Award for Creative Achievement honors Mensa members whose innovative solutions and practical creativity have brought meaningful benefits to the world.

Details

The Copper Black Award annually recognizes Mensa International members who have demonstrated a specific creative achievement with practical value. This award honors innovations that have been implemented, at least in part, to benefit others.

Award Components

The FY 2027 Continuation of Solicitation invites applications to support various program areas, including Advanced Scientific Computing, Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences, and more. This annual open solicitation from the Department of Energy (DOE) allows research proposals throughout the fiscal year. Applications must align with SC's mission and can be submitted until September 30, 2027, or until a new solicitation is issued. Detailed submission processes are outlined in 10 C.F.R. part 605.

The Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives Program (DBI) for Fiscal Year 2026, administered by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, invites applications from existing initiatives to support the dairy industry. With approximately $12.65 million available, the program aims to diversify dairy markets, enhance farmer income, and promote regional milk production. Funding will prioritize equipment and infrastructure projects, which are vital for strengthening the capacity of dairy businesses and fostering innovation in processing and marketing.

The Water Resources Research Act Program National Competitive Grants FY2026, administered by the U.S. Geological Survey, aims to support innovative research initiatives at Water Resources Research Institutes across the U.S. and its territories. These grants facilitate essential studies on water management, addressing critical water resource challenges while promoting collaboration among states. This program seeks to enhance the understanding of water issues, ultimately contributing to sustainable management practices and informed decision-making in water resource policy.

The Fiscal Year 2026 Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program aims to enhance public safety by reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and improving habitat connectivity for various species. With approximately $80 million available through cost reimbursable grants, this initiative supports eligible projects that address these critical environmental and safety concerns. The program may also distribute leftover funds from previous years, contingent on availability, fostering innovative solutions in wildlife management and transportation safety.

The SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program, managed by the Department of War, aims to enhance the U.S. military's technical workforce by offering competitive scholarships for STEM degrees. With a funding cap of $1.3 billion over ten years, the program prepares scholars for critical roles in national defense, ensuring a pipeline of skilled professionals. Since its inception in 2005, over 8,000 scholarships have been awarded, fostering a strong connection between education and service in defense-related fields.

The Prioritization Process Pilot Program (PPPP) Competitive Grant Program, funded by the DOT Federal Highway Administration, offers up to $26 million for innovative transportation planning in FYs 2024-2026. Grants of up to $2 million will support the development of transparent, data-driven prioritization processes for project selection in transportation plans, ensuring that funded projects deliver public benefits and meet community needs.

South Carolina Department of Agriculture

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture was established in 1879 to oversee and promote agriculture in the Palmetto State. With services as diverse as food safety inspections, entrepreneurship development, and the Certified South Carolina branding program, we help the state’s farmers and agribusinesses grow and prosper.

The mission of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture is to promote and nurture the growth and development of South Carolina’s agriculture industry and its related businesses while assuring the safety and security of the buying public.

GAP Audit Reimbursement Cost Share

Through funding from the USDA AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (#25SCBPSC1280), South Carolina growers can now get reimbursed for 90% of the costs associated with a GAP audit completed while funds are available. To help growers receive reimbursements faster, they may choose to receive two separate payments. A grower may submit Part I of the application as soon as they have paid the SCDA portion of the audit without having to wait on the USDA invoice. Then, once the grower has paid the USDA portion, they may submit Part II of the application to receive 90% of that amount as well. However, a grower may choose instead to submit both parts together to receive one larger payment. See examples below:

Example 1

Smith Farm submits a paid receipt from SCDA Fruit & Vegetable Inspections for $575 with Part I of the application and receives a check for $517.50 approximately four weeks later. ($575 × 90%)

Next, the Smiths receive the USDA invoice, pay $345 to USDA, then submit the paid receipt with Part II of the application to USDA. About four weeks later the Smiths receive a second check for $310.50. ($345 × 90%)

Example 2

Jones Farm is charged the same as the Smiths above but chooses to wait until they have paid both invoices to submit the application. In this case, they may submit both Parts I and II of the application at the same time. The Jones’ will receive one check approximately four weeks later for $828.

($575 + $345 = $920 × 90%)

Applicants must submit a complete application package including all of the following:

• Completed application with correct information
• A state vendor registration number
• Complete, detailed answers to the questionnaire included in the application (Note: This information impacts our ability to seek continued funding for this program).
• Your agreement to provide follow-up information regarding the impact of GAP certification (Note: This information impacts our ability to seek continued funding for this program).
• A copy of the paid receipt or other proof of payment for the reimbursement you are requesting. We will not send checks unless we have this.

South Carolina Department of Agriculture

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture was established in 1879 to oversee and promote agriculture in the Palmetto State. With services as diverse as food safety inspections, entrepreneurship development, and the Certified South Carolina branding program, we help the state’s farmers and agribusinesses grow and prosper.

The mission of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture is to promote and nurture the growth and development of South Carolina’s agriculture industry and its related businesses while assuring the safety and security of the buying public.

Cold Storage Cost Share Program

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture and South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association are pleased to announce continued funding for the Cold Storage Cost Share Program. Through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, farmers who are members of the South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association may receive reimbursement up to $750 for the purchasing and installing up to two (2) Cool Bot cooler systems. Nonmembers may receive reimbursement up to $325, for installing one (1) Cool Bot cooler system. The Cool-Bot utilizes a traditional window-unit air conditioner, multiple sensors, a heating element, and a programmed micro-controller to direct your air conditioner’s compressor to cool the room to 36° F, without ever freezing up.