Aiken philanthropist pledges $1 million to the Community Foundation for the CSRA's grants endowment if the region raises $1 million first
Rob Johnston's challenge, reported Sept. 3, would add $1 million to the endowment behind the foundation's Community Grants in six Georgia and South Carolina counties. The foundation's campaign seeks $1 million for grants to be awarded in January.
Augusta. A philanthropist from Aiken, S.C., has promised $1 million to the endowment behind the Community Foundation for the CSRA's Community Grants, on one condition: the community must first raise $1 million for the grants themselves. The foundation announced the challenge from Rob Johnston in a media release that WRDW and the Post and Courier reported on Sept. 3.
If both halves come in, the foundation said, the program would gain $2 million: $1 million to be granted to nonprofits in the coming cycle, and $1 million added to the Community Grants endowment, which pays for grants in later years.
A campaign that opened in August
The Augusta foundation opened the campaign, which it calls "One Million Threads. One Shared Mission.", on Aug. 12. In the 2026 cycle it awarded $735,800 through Community Grants to 59 nonprofits, while nonprofits asked for more than $2.1 million, the foundation said.
At the opening, Shell K. Berry, the foundation's president and chief executive, told WRDW that the endowment was expected to supply $700,000 to $750,000 of the grant pool and that gifts from the community would be needed to reach $1 million. The reports of Mr. Johnston's challenge do not say whether the endowment's share counts toward the $1 million that releases his gift, and none of them gives a deadline for it.
Mr. Johnston told WRDW that the foundation had once supported his own initiatives in Aiken, and he described the match as letting each dollar given generate another.
Who the grants reach
Community Grants go to 501(c)(3) organizations whose programs directly benefit people living in Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina and in Burke, Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties in Georgia. The foundation funds work in four areas: arts, culture and heritage; education, opportunity and workforce readiness; health, wellness and resilience; and basic needs and stability.
Applications for the 2027 grants closed on Aug. 14. Organizations could ask for up to $15,000, WRDW reported, and the grants will be awarded in January; the foundation celebrated its 2026 recipients on Jan. 15. First-time applicants, and organizations that had not received a Community Grant in 2024, 2025 or 2026, had to attend one of the foundation's grant seeker sessions in June to be eligible.
“Reaching $1 million will allow us to say 'yes' to more worthy nonprofits doing incredible work across our region. Now, reaching that goal also means unlocking a $1 million investment that will strengthen Community Grants for generations.”
About this story
501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Sept. 29, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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