About Southcoast Community Foundation
Uniting people, organizations, and resources to strengthen communities.
Focus Areas
Humanitarian servicesEducationScholarshipsArts and cultureCreative expressionYouth developmentWorkforce developmentAdult basic educationLiteracyNonprofit capacity buildingCommunity developmentEnvironmental conservationHealth and human services
Who They Fund
K-12 students and scholarship recipients (including apprenticeships)
About Southcoast Community Foundation
Southcoast Community Foundation Inc. channels most of its grantmaking into southeastern Massachusetts through a mix of competitive programs, scholarships, and discretionary funds. A defining piece of that work is its scholarship operation: the foundation manages 70+ scholarship funds and awards more than $800K annually to local students, with awards tied to a universal application and some separate scholarship applications. In the recent grants list, that education focus shows up in large awards to Northstar Learning Centers for the Charles J. Lewin Interfaith Scholarship Fund and to UMass Dartmouth Foundation for the Albert F. Carr Scholarship Fund. Beyond scholarships, the foundation supports community infrastructure and public-serving nonprofits through operating support, emergency response funding, and place-based program grants. Recent grantmaking also includes awards to New Bedford Public Schools, Old Dartmouth Historical Society, Pace Inc, and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, showing a blend of school support, neighborhood development, and arts and culture. The foundation’s portfolio also includes administered programs tied to food security, workforce development, literacy, and immigrant support, reflecting a broad local mandate rather than a single-issue approach.
What Southcoast Community Foundation Funds
Education is a core lane for the foundation, especially through scholarships and school-based support. It gave $137,500 to UMass Dartmouth Foundation for education and youth development, and $134,000 to New Bedford Public Schools for the same broad area. In earlier grantmaking, it also supported Global Learning Charter Public School for technology programming and Old Dartmouth Historical Society for education and youth development. Workforce development and literacy appear in both program design and recent awards. The Polaroid Fund program is tied to ESOL, ABE, GED, family and early literacy, and capacity building in New Bedford. That pattern aligns with a $97,500 grant to CEDC - Community Economic Development Center of Se MA for emergency funds for essential immigrant workers and neighborhood-based ESOL. Arts and culture are another recurring theme. The foundation awarded $109,330 to New Bedford Symphony Orchestra for arts, culture, and humanities, and $90,000 to Southcoast Chamber Foundation for the same general area. It also backed a public-art and mural effort through Bristol County Chamber Foundation.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.5M
Total Assets
$62M
Total Revenue
$11.7M
Total Expenses
$7.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $40K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$40K
Geographic Reach
Local6 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
DR MELANIE EDWARDS-TAVAR
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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