About South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees
Works collaboratively to ensure that all children start school ready to reach their highest potential by partnering with parents, caregivers, early educators, and communities and by delivering programs from birth to age five.
Focus Areas
Early Care & EducationParentingSchool TransitionHealthFour-year-old Kindergarten (First Steps 4K)Grantmaking to local partnerships
Funding Style
unrestricted/general operating supportcore/operational fundingorganizational sustainability
Topics
general operating support (no program restriction)organizational capacity and administration
About South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees
South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees centers its giving on school readiness from birth to age five, with the largest recent grant flowing to Private 4K Child Care Centers across South Carolina. That statewide preschool support sits alongside a dense pattern of general support for local First Steps partnerships, showing a funder that combines statewide program funding with county-level operating grants. The organization works collaboratively with parents, caregivers, early educators, and communities to help children start school ready to reach their highest potential, and its grantmaking reflects that structure. Among the recent awards, Richland County First Steps Partner in Columbia received both 2023 and 2024 general support grants, while Greenville County First Steps Partnership in Greenville also appeared in consecutive years. Similar recurring support shows up for Lexington, Charleston, York, Spartanburg, Berkeley, Horry, and Beaufort county partnerships, indicating sustained backing for local delivery organizations rather than isolated project-only awards. The board’s focus areas include early care and education, parenting, school transition, health, First Steps 4K, and grantmaking to local partnerships, which together point to a system designed to support children, families, and providers across the early childhood pipeline.
What South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees Funds
In preschool funding, the board directed $23,730,357 in 2024 to Private 4K Child Care Centers across South Carolina through approved authorization, tying its largest recent award to the First Steps 4K system. It also supports direct provider funding and recruitment through First Steps 4K Provider Funding & New Provider Recruitment, which includes tuition payments, transportation reimbursement, and one-time grants for materials and supplies. For family support, Connected Families serves prenatal through age five households with home visiting and group support, including voluntary, coordinated services and in-home coaching from trained parent educators. On the care-provider side, Supporting Care Providers Through Visits offers site visits for home child care providers, with at least twice-monthly parent educator visits and materials to support developmentally appropriate practice. School transition is another clear theme. Countdown to Kindergarten Grant Application funds local First Steps partnerships to run summer sessions that connect incoming kindergarten students and their families with teachers before the first day of school.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$55.6M
Total Assets
$34.7M
Total Revenue
$72.4M
Total Expenses
$72.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $229K and $435K, with a median of $296K.
25th Percentile
$229K
Median
$296K
75th Percentile
$435K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
GEORGIA MJARTAN
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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