Greer Relief is a nonprofit human service organization where every neighbor matters. Our mission statement is to provide services to eliminate poverty and help neighbors overcome barriers for success. We are dedicated to providing stability & empowerment to our neighbors. Greer Relief has been serving the community over 85 years by keeping food on the table and families in their homes. Neighbors in need have difficulty getting or retaining a job, furthering their education, or nurturing their children. After years of just answering the crisis, but could not change the behaviors; then we expanded the mission to offer a next step, empowerment program. We seek to reflect the diversity of the community and are committed to partnerships that support healthy lifestyles and families. Our long term goal is to help our neighbors identify and treat/correct/improve barriers, not just the immediate need, leading to long-lasting success.

To transform neighbors in need to neighbors who thrive.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: Rebranding

Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).

Goal Two: Services Expansion

Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.

Goal Three: Relocating Expansion

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Describe an investment in leadership

After staff are settled into their role at Greer Relief we put them through the Leadership Development program at the Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the program is to provide highly motivated leaders a professional development program to enriching their lives and cultivate future leaders for the community. Leadership Greer is a 9-month commitment beginning in September with orientation and an overnight retreat and ending with graduation in May. Topics covered during the year include: History of Greer, Public Safety, Human Services, Local Government, Economic Development, Education, Quality of Life, Media, and State Government. They are also required to complete a unique class project, raising funding and providing the service, before graduating in May. Our Neighbor Advocate will be graduating in May 2022 from Leadership Greer. She is also the first recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship. This is just one of many leadership development investments.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

• Policy Advocacy

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Greer Relief has a robust social media campaign that not only promotes events within the organization but also raises awareness of other organizations and campaigns close to our mission. We celebrate successes, champion the effort of our mission to end poverty, and rally around failures to learn what we can do better.

COVID-19 presented new challenges and exacerbated old ones. For neighbors who were already struggling, it caused deeper stress and financial problems. For others, the pandemic threw them into a rapid, unexpected crisis. Though we're adept at doing a lot with a little, 2020 took a toll on our small team and made the need for greater capacity clear. Two specific needs are most evident. These include the need to expand next step services and increase partnerships, and the ability to have a full-time Volunteer Coordinator. With the addition of a Community Engagement Coordinator (CEC), Greer Relief will make connections with new community partners and strengthen current connections. In the first year, the CEC will host a meeting with the J. Verne Smith Center's onsite partners (DSS, DHEC, SC Works, and Greer Free Medical) and will participate in community outreach events to make new connections. The CEC will continue to improve RENEW. In the first year, this position will add new volunteer instructors, increase the number of classes available, and maintain a robust and diverse calendar of RENEW class options. The full-time Volunteer Coordinator will expand to add the following in the first year: conduct at least two Volunteer Orientations each month to recruit new volunteers, update the volunteer policies and procedures, and become the point of contact for all in-kind donations.