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Support The Poston Foundation
Two initiatives. One South Carolina nonprofit. Select a campaign to give securely through Fundraise Up.
Campaign visualization
Practical essentials · Direct aid
Help supply, prepare, and distribute Essentials Kits for South Carolinians facing hardship and immediate gaps in basic necessities.
Give through the Carolina Cares campaign page
Learn about Carolina Cares
Phase One campaign artwork
Local history · Community
Support historical documentation, preservation planning, and community development through the Restore Poston campaign in South Carolina.
Give through the Poston Preserve campaign page
Learn about Poston PreserveYour selected campaign opens its secure donation form. Choose your gift amount and the giving frequency offered at checkout.
Other ways to help
For business sponsorships, in-kind contributions, checks, ACH, matching gifts, or donor-advised funds, contact the Foundation to coordinate your support.
Your contribution at work
The Poston Foundation connects practical help with the planning and records needed to deliver it responsibly. Your support can strengthen direct aid across South Carolina or the first stage of community preservation work in historic Poston.
Carolina Cares focuses on immediate gaps in basic necessities. Poston Preserve brings together public history, resident engagement, modest local projects, and early planning. Both are charitable initiatives of the same Columbia-based organization, founded in 2020.
Choose the campaign that reflects your interest. For a grant, a proposed restriction, a larger commitment, or general organizational support, contact the Foundation so the purpose, timing, and documentation can be discussed before funds are sent.
Carolina Cares Initiative
A gift supports more than the items inside a bag. It helps turn supplies into prepared, documented assistance that can reach people through direct distribution and appropriate community connections.
Kits may contain soap, oral-care products, deodorant, wipes, clean socks, basic first-aid supplies, water, shelf-stable snacks, seasonal items, and useful local resource information. Contents depend on community need, season, sourcing, and funding.
These are immediate forms of support for people facing hardship, instability, homelessness, displacement, or other resource gaps. Kits complement other services; they do not resolve housing or financial insecurity by themselves.
Contributions help purchase approved supplies, organize inventory, prepare kits, coordinate volunteers, arrange local transport, and document what was distributed. A reliable supply base helps the program prepare for opportunities to serve without starting from zero each time.
Give to Carolina Cares or explore the full program, budgets, and operating model.
| Scope | Planning amount | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Launch campaign | $5,000 | An initial distribution plan of approximately 200 kits at an estimated $25 all-in cost per kit, including launch logistics and administration. |
| Twelve-month program plan | $30,000 | $25,000 for supplies, $3,000 for distribution and other direct costs, and $2,000 for administrative support; a planning target of approximately 1,000 kits. |
The launch and annual figures describe different planning scopes. The annual plan’s estimated $25 per kit covers direct supplies; its full budget also includes distribution and administration. These figures are estimates, not guaranteed kit counts or reports of completed distributions. Funding targets are not statements of money already raised or still needed.
Poston Preserve Initiative
The $25,000 Phase One launch target supports the Restore Poston founding pilot in Florence County. The proposed work begins with listening to residents and property owners, organizing historical sources, identifying practical needs, and preparing a modest community project.
Public history and education sit alongside community development: archive organization, photographs and maps, oral-history preparation, outreach, appropriate direct assistance, and early conservation and civic research. Physical work depends on local input, available funds, and permissions.
The proposed budget is organized into eight categories and a twelve-month sequence beginning after an authorized start. It does not assume a land acquisition, conservation easement, or municipal incorporation outcome. Unrelated commercial publishing and private landholding costs are outside the charitable scope described in the brief.
Choose your approach
A one-time contribution can help meet current supply, preparation, research, or project needs within your selected campaign. Gifts of different sizes can work together toward a larger distribution or launch-stage objective.
Review the amount, campaign, and payment details shown by the secure checkout before submitting your gift.
Recurring support can make supply planning and replenishment more dependable. If recurring giving is offered for your selected campaign, review the frequency and terms shown at checkout.
For help with an existing gift or recurring arrangement, use the information in your donation confirmation or contact the Foundation.
Businesses, churches, civic organizations, and groups can consider a Carolina Cares Essentials Kit Sponsorship from $250 to $5,000. Product donations and organized supply drives can also be useful when coordinated against actual needs.
Explore sponsorship levels and recognition. Contact the Foundation before purchasing or delivering products.
For checks, ACH, matching-gift inquiries, donor-advised funds, or a proposed grant, contact the Foundation to confirm the appropriate process and records. Please do not send bank or payment-card details through the general inquiry form.
Identify your intended program, amount or type of support, deadline, and any reporting or use restrictions so the Foundation can assess the request.
Stewardship
The Carolina Cares stewardship plan calls for recording the source, amount, date, restrictions, and acknowledgment status of contributions.
Purchases should connect to receipts and budget categories. Preparation and distribution records distinguish supplies, assembled kits, and kits actually delivered.
Budget-to-actual review and concise narrative summaries help explain spending, activity, remaining needs, and changes to the plan.
The Foundation is developing a lean, volunteer-supported program model. Responsible administration includes the ordinary work of tracking donations, keeping records, communicating with supporters, and coordinating activities. The annual Carolina Cares plan allocates approximately 93% to supplies and other direct program costs and 7% to administrative support. These are planned allocations for that project, not audited organization-wide spending ratios.
See how impact will be measured and read the donation policy.
Read before giving
Launch funding brief, sponsorship information, organizational overview, and the twelve-month stewardship plan.
Read or download the funding package (PDF, 4 pages)The $25,000 launch case, proposed line-item budget, delivery sequence, and reporting approach.
Read the launch brief (PDF, 1 page)For the organization’s program framework and documentation approach, read the Stewardship, Capacity & Program Plan (PDF, 2 pages). Additional governance and organizational materials are available in the transparency library.
Open the accessible-text PDF directly if the reader is unavailable.
Common giving questions
No. The funding materials use approximate planning costs. Actual kit contents, purchasing prices, donated supplies, and distribution expenses may change. Sponsorship supports charitable program activity and does not guarantee a specific quantity or recipient outcome.
No. Preparation, distribution, recordkeeping, and reporting are part of delivering practical aid. Poston Preserve also includes research, outreach, education, coordination, and a proposed community pilot. Each program page explains its proposed uses of funds.
Use the selected campaign’s secure donation page for the information shown by the giving provider. Printed campaign totals are snapshots. The Foundation can address questions about reconciled receipts, commitments, and funding needs.
Choose the relevant campaign for program-specific giving. Discuss any narrower restriction, custom project, grant condition, or reporting requirement with the Foundation before sending support.
Contact the Foundation with the date, approximate amount, and issue. Do not send full payment-card numbers, bank details, or sensitive identity documents through the website form. The donation policy explains requests for receipts, corrections, and other gift questions.
Consider approved in-kind supplies, volunteer preparation, local distribution connections, historical materials, community knowledge, or a professional skill suited to a defined need. Start with the volunteer or contact page so the contribution can be coordinated.