Hollingsworth Funds honors 25 years of momentous impact on the Greenville Community

GREENVILLE,SC – From reshaping the I-85 corridor through its real estate to spearheading the next generation of affordable housing and economic mobility, HollingsworthFunds has spent the past quarter century creating a better community.

To start this celebration, they have launched an updated website that details the key moment sand milestones it has reached over the decades. Created by Greenville-based Engenius, the new site can be found here.(www.hollingsworthfunds.org/25-anniversary).

“We are proud of what we have accomplished in the past 25 years, but the real excitement is to see what we will be doing in the next 25 years,” said Gage Weekes, President& CEO of Hollingsworth Funds.

Hollingsworth Funds was created by the late John D. Hollingsworth Jr., who led a5,000-employee textile machinery company that spanned 18 countries from a headquarters off of Laurens Road just south of Interstate 85. Although Hollingsworth Funds was originally established in 1976, it was not until shortly after Mr. Hollingsworth’s passing on December 30, 2000, that the bulk of his self-made textile and real estate fortune, valued at $275 million, passed to the organization.

Hollingsworth Funds was charged with allocating that estate in three ways: 45% of its annual distributions was designated to Furman University, 10% to the YMCA of Greenville County, and the remaining 45% to a class of organizations defined asa ny nonprofit organization benefitting Greenville County.  Most of the value of Mr. Hollingsworth’s gift consisted of 42,000 acres of predominantly raw, undeveloped land, meaning the organization did not have readily available cash to distribute grants at the outset, unlike most traditional foundations.

In the early years, the board of Hollingsworth Funds was tasked with divesting key parcels of land to raise capital for the endowment to then generate grants for its beneficiaries. Large tracts of timber and hunting land that he accumulated in the Lowcountry were sold, much of which has conservation easements on it today. Key parcels in and around Greenville were sold that also contributed to Greenville’s economic growth with the development of the Shops at Greenridge, the Millennium Campus, Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), and ZFTransmissions. 

Other key parcels contributed to Greenville’s education system with land that ultimately became Kearns Elementary, Beck & Fisher Middle Schools, Camperdown Academy, and Greenville Tech’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation. But perhaps the most important decision was to initiate the 1,100-acre master-planned community of Verdae and to establish Verdae Development, Inc., a real estate subsidiary to Funds, to oversee and manage this transformative project. Since the original masterplan was announced, Verdae has grown over time into a vibrant community with 8000 plus residents and more than 160 businesses. 

Because of its unique nature, Hollingsworth Funds has evolved steadily over the years in the ways it supports the community. 

“We tend to do a lot of things that fly under the radar, but our goal is to be more than just a grantmaker,” Weekes said. “We want to be there to help create change that lasts for Greenville.”

Some highlights:

Furman University established the Hollingsworth Scholars, a scholarship program which recognizes outstanding South Carolina students who combine academic achievement with a demonstrated commitment to community service and civic engagement. It also supports the Departments of Economics and Business & Accounting, something close to Mr. Hollingsworth’s heart. To date Furman University has received over $64 million, making post-secondary education financially achievable for hundreds of students.

Grant support for the YMCA was established to support the capital needs and expansion of its eight branches throughout Greenville County and also helped provide operating support to ensure no one is turned away from the YMCA due the inability to pay. To date the YMCA has received over $15 million. 

Early on, the board supported a wide range of health and human service organizations as well as investments in key cultural organizations such as The Peace Center, The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, SC Children’s Theatre, and Roper Mountain Science Center. 

It also made long-term investments to organizations that would ultimately become critical anchors in the pathways of getting ahead in our community. 

Core support for Public Education Partners, advocating for important education reform in partnership with Greenville County Schools. United Ministries – providing a pathway to financial stability for Greenville’s most vulnerable. Urban League of the Upstate – providing economic empowerment for the Black community and underserved individuals and families.

Founding funder of what would become Greenville’s first community development finance institution (CDFI), Community Works Carolina, providing loans and other financial tools for housing and small businesses.

Initial funder of the Institute for Child Success focused on early learning policy efforts for our youngest children. With that strategic framework in place, Hollingsworth Funds has made an impact on increasing economic mobility for those most in need by setting the conditions for success across a range of initiatives and policy efforts.

Founded the Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy, which eventually merged with the Nonprofit Alliance to become Greater Good Greenville – a hub for research, best practice, and partnership in our sector.

Helped grow OnTrack Greenville – a community initiative that has helped hundreds of students from Title 1 middle schools stay on track toward high school graduation through solutions to attendance, behavior and course performance. Partnered with the City and a multi-stakeholder coalition of community leaders to identify Greenville’s housing affordability gap which eventually led to the creation of the Greenville Housing Fund – generating a pipeline of more than 1,000 plus affordable homes in Greenville. Advocated for expungement legislation at the state level that has put hundreds of people back into the workforce, contributing to our economy.

Helped launch Greenville Connects, a partnership of local businesses and nonprofits committed to expanding ridership on Greenlink.  Invested more than $140 million in grants to the community in the past 25 years.

“Looking to the future we’re excited to continue to focus on increasing economic mobility for those most in need and strengthening the pathways to a living wage work,” Weekes said.