Applications for the Municipal Association of SC IMPACT Fund grants will open on Monday, July 20.
The IMPACT Fund, an acronym for “Innovative Municipal Projects for Advancing Change and Transformation,” is supported by VC3, the Association’s strategic partner for technology services.
Two types of IMPACT grant funds are available to cities and towns, each with a requirement for a 5% funding match.
Big Idea Grants – Two grants of up to $100,000 each
The program awards two of these each year. Designed to fund bold, creative and forward-thinking ideas, Big Idea Grant projects might include technology-driven service improvements, innovative uses of public space, community-wide initiatives or any other big idea that results in long-term impact.
In 2025, the first year of the IMPACT Fund, Big Idea Grant recipients included the City of Greenville, which would transform the Nicholtown Community Center into the state’s first Resiliency Hub, a dual-purpose facility that supports daily community life and emergency preparedness.
The City of North Augusta, meanwhile, used its Big Idea Grant funds to partner with automated external defibrillator manufacturer Avive Solutions to become Avive’s first 4-Minute Community Program in South Carolina, placing 50 AEDs with CPR-trained volunteers.
North Augusta Assistant City Manager J.D. McCauley noted that the effort integrated the volunteers with the city’s 911 Emergency Communications Center. The city’s Public Safety Department collaborated across jurisdictional lines with regional emergency response partners within Aiken and Edgefield counties to implement the program.
“By reducing the time between cardiac arrest and lifesaving intervention, the program empowers trained community members to respond before emergency crews arrive,” McCauley said.
North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams also praised the program’s impact.
“As a city, we often talk about providing a great quality of life for our citizens,” he said. “By placing AEDs throughout the city and empowering residents to assist those in need, we are truly enhancing quality of life in a way never before seen in North Augusta.”
Problem Solver Grants – Eight grants of up to $25,000 each
The Problem Solver Grants are designed to fund smaller, more routine municipal projects and practical fixes for common problems facing South Carolina municipalities. Grant judging criteria includes need to the municipality, and is generally focused on small-to-medium size cities and towns with financial challenges.
Some of projects to receive grants in 2025 included Campobello’s municipal facilities master plan, park upgrades in Chesnee and Heath Springs, pedestrian improvements in Manning and a town hall preservation effort in Salley.
Applications
Applications for both the Big Idea and Problem Solver grants are due Friday, September 25, at 5 p.m. For both grant applications, the city or town council must pass a resolution supporting the application.
Once the grant opens, find the application, as well as sample resolutions for both grant types. For information, contact Sara Whitaker at 803.933.1259 or swhitaker@masc.sc.