Upstate health foundation awards first round of billionaire’s gift

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Mary Black Foundation is a grant-making organization which works to fund health initiatives in Spartanburg County.

The Foundation received an $8 million donation in November from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, and is now announcing where it will go.

Based on a needs assessment and input from community members and organizational partners, the Foundation says it will use the money to positively impact behavioral health outcomes.

The Foundation says “In the United States, more than one in five individuals live with a mental illness and one in ten meet the criteria for drug use disorder at some point in their lives. The scope of the problem is evident in Spartanburg County where rates of suicide, depression, drug overdose death, and emergency department visits for self-harm are higher than state averages.”

In response to this heartbreaking issue, representatives say the Foundation will grant “a small first cycle of funding to eleven organizations that are effectively integrating behavioral health care into their missions in ways that make it accessible, affordable, and culturally relevant.”

The Mary Black Foundation says these organizations will receive funding from the first phase of grants: