Coastal Community Foundation

Darrin Goss serves as President and CEO and is the key executive overseeing both philanthropic and investment functions. The foundation's Place-Based Impact Investing portfolio operates under board-level oversight, and day-to-day investment committee decisions are made in consultation with external advisors and banking partners such as Truist and JPMorganChase, which have co-funded specific affordable housing initiatives.

The foundation sources opportunities through its nine-county geographic footprint in coastal South Carolina, working with community advisory boards in each region. Its Place-Based Impact Investing program identifies mission-aligned real estate and small-business deals via local partnerships, while its donor-advised funds allow individuals and families to recommend grants to IRS-qualified nonprofits within the foundation's tax-exempt umbrella.

It is a public charity and community foundation — not a single-family office. While major donors like Anita Zucker and the InterTech Group have shaped its endowment, the foundation pools contributions from numerous individuals, families, and corporations across its service area. Its governance and grantmaking follow IRS community-foundation rules, with donor-advised funds functioning as component parts of a single 501(c)(3) entity.

The PBII program directs a portion of Coastal Community Foundation's endowment corpus into mission-aligned investments — primarily affordable housing and local economic development projects — within South Carolina. Unlike traditional endowment allocations that seek only financial returns, PBII investments accept concessionary terms where the social return justifies below-market yield. Truist and JPMorganChase have partnered as grant co-funders alongside the foundation's own PBII deployment.

Yes. The foundation administers donor-advised funds, designated funds, field-of-interest funds, and scholarship funds alongside its unrestricted community endowment. Donor-advised fund holders recommend grants to qualifying nonprofits; the foundation handles due diligence, distribution, and tax receipting. Supporting organizations such as the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation and Saul Alexander Foundation operate under the Coastal Community Foundation umbrella.

Its mandate spans nine counties along the South Carolina coast: Charleston, Beaufort, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, and Williamsburg. The foundation runs its main office in North Charleston and a satellite office in Beaufort. Grantmaking and PBII investments focus entirely within this service area, though donor-advised fund holders may recommend grants to nonprofits elsewhere.

The Rotary Club of Charleston founded the foundation in 1974 with an initial gift of $9,000. While the foundation operates independently as a 501(c)(3) public charity with its own board and staff, the founding relationship remains a historical anchor. The foundation now serves a donor base far broader than Rotary membership alone.