Grants

Fact Forwards helps local communities succeed…

We address adolescent reproductive health using a variety of approaches across South Carolina and beyond. This wouldn't be possible without the grants Fact Forward has been awarded. Through these grants, Fact Forward engages with partners across the state like community-based organizations, school districts, health centers, college campuses, and social service agencies, among youth-serving entities. These partners across the state are a vital component in reaching high-risk youth in South Carolina. On this page you'll find details and information about the grants our organization has received, and what you can expect to see from them. 

Want to know more about how we work in your community? Email our Director of Community Investment & Impact for more information.

Active Grants 

Tier 1 – Project I.M.P.A.C.T (Implementing Meaningful Program Across Communities Together) 

Funder: US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs 

Grant Time Period: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2028 

Project Overview: Project I.M.P.A.C.T (Implementing Meaningful Programs Across Communities Together) is designed to implement medically accurate, evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs and provide a network of support services to advance equity for adolescents, their families, and communities through addressing sexual reproductive health outcomes in Richland and Darlington counties in South Carolina. Black and Hispanic youth and young adults residing in Darlington and Richland counties have been selected as the population of focus due to the evident disparities in teen births and STIs.  Throughout this five-year project, Project I.M.P.A.C.T. will collaborate with school districts, community-based organizations, houses of worship, colleges, and the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice to serve a minimum of 48,000 youth and young adults. 

Community(ies) Served: Richland, SC, Barnwell, SC, and Darlington, SC 

Target Population: Black and Hispanic youth and young adults ages 13-24 

Average Anticipated Number of Youth Served: a minimum of 48,000 youth and young adults.

Department of Social Services – Accelerating Progress Reimaged

Funder: South Carolina Department of Social Services  

Grant Time Period:  July 2023- June 2024  

Project Overview: This project provides a statewide initiative on adolescent reproductive health focused on professional development and training of youth serving professionals, community convening, and comprehensive education for South Carolina adolescents aimed at reducing teen birth and STI rates in South Carolina. 

Community(ies) Served: Health: Statewide

Target Population: South Carolina youth serving professionals and the young people they serve.  

NC Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Public Education Program

Funder: NC Department of Health and Human Services - Division of Public Health - Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section/Reproductive Health Branch

Grant Time Period:  October 1, 2023 – June 30, 2026  

Project Overview: Fact Forward will collaborate with local partners, including school districts, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers to ensure the delivery of culturally responsive and inclusive health education that meets the unique needs of North Carolina's diverse youth population. The organization will also prioritize reaching underserved communities and areas with limited access to adolescent reproductive health education. 

Community(ies) Served: The state of North Carolina

Scope of Work: 

  • Programmatic Technical Assistance 
  • Trainings 
  • Youth Leadership Council 
  • Stakeholder Engagement 
  • Develop State of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Report 
  • Annual Conference

Point of Contact: Brittany Wearing (803) 960-1525

Previous Initiatives

Tier 1 - Expanding Opportunities for Teen Mothers and Families in South Carolina

Funder: US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs

Grant Time Period: July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2023

Project Overview: Fact Forward will use the Adult Identity Monitoring for Teen Moms (AIM4TM)  curriculum, developed by Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, with recent mothers aged 15-19 in targeted zip codes in Aiken and Anderson Counties, which have teen birth rates higher than the national average. AIM4TM aims to reduce rapid, repeat pregnancies and increase economic stability among teen mothers. Fact Forward will partner with the United Way of Anderson County and Helping Hands in Aiken County to facilitate the program at the local level. These local coordinating agencies (LCAs) will employ a Community Health Worker who will facilitate AIM4TM with teen mothers, administer health risk assessments with each participant, and train local providers on strategies to incorporate a positive youth development framework known as Think. Act. Grow. (TAG). A core state leadership team, to include SC Center for Fathers and Families, Children’s Trust of SC, SC Department of Social Services, and Fact Forward, will use Systems Mapping, a qualitative assessment process, to identify opportunities to improve services for teen mothers and their children at both the state and local levels. In addition, the state leadership team aims to incorporate the Aspen Institute’s Two-Generation (2GEN) approach into state and local systems.

Community(ies) Served: Aiken, SC and Anderson, SC

Target Population:  Teen mothers aged 15-19

Average Anticipated Number of Youth Served Annually: 25% of teen mothers in targeted zip codes in each county

Tier 2 - EmPOWERed SC: Creating Linkages for Youth of Color in South Carolina

Funder: US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs

Grant Time Period: July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2023

Project Overview: Partners Optimizing Wellness & Education through Referrals (POWER), is the main focus of emPOWERED SC: Creating Linkages for Youth of Color in South Carolina. This initiative developed by Fact Forward aims to increase the use of sexual health services by youth of color (Black or African American and Hispanic) ages 15 to 19 in two counties, Orangeburg and Richland. These networks will include high schools, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), local health departments (Title X provider) and/or federally qualified health centers, community-based organizations, local businesses, parents and other youth-supporting adults. Fact Forward chose this priority area due to the high teen birth and sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates among youth of color within partnering counties.

Community(ies) Served: Orangeburg, SC and Richland, SC

Target Population:  Youth of Color (African American and Hispanic) 15-19

Average Anticipated Number of Youth Served Annually: estimated 11,845 youth, parents, caregivers and youth supporting adults

Project RHEA - Linking Older Adolescents to Reproductive Health Services

Funder: Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation

Grant Time Period: January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2020

Project Overview: The goal of project Reproductive Health Education Access (RHEA) is to reduce unintended pregnancy among students ages 18 to 19 on four colleges campuses in South Carolina through increasing access to reproductive health services and educating students on reproductive health and the prevention of unintended pregnancy, HIV, and STIs. Fact Forward partners with the University of South Carolina Aiken, Francis Marion University, Voorhees College, and Winthrop University to implement an evidence-based program Media Aware with freshmen students on their campuses. Over the three-year project period, 650 students will participate in Media Aware. Fact Forward provides technical assistance to college campus workgroups and performs evaluation services. 

Community(ies) Served:  Aiken, SC; Bamberg, SC; Florence, SC; and York SC

Target Population:  Young Adults aged 18-19

Average Anticipated Number of Youth Served Annually: 217 College freshmen 

Choosewell

Funder: Choose Well/New Morning Foundation (South Carolina)

Grant Time Period: January - December 2020

Project Overview: Fact Forward provides support and training for college health centers, with an emphasis on adolescent-friendly health services and access to reliable birth control options. This year Fact Forward staff worked with student health centers at Coastal Carolina University, University of South Carolina (Columbia and Upstate) and the College of Charleston.

Community(ies) Served: College students in the Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Upstate areas of South Carolina.

Target Population:  Older adolescents/Young adults ages 18-24

PREP - State Personal Responsibility Education Program

Funder: SC Department of Health and Environmental Control

Grant Time Period: October 1 2020-September 30, 2022

Project Overview: PREP partners will replicate effective, evidence-based to delay sexual activity, increase condom or contraceptive use for sexually active youth, or reduce pregnancy among youth ages 10-19.  In addition to education on abstinence and contraceptive use, PREP projects also offer services to prepare young people for adulthood by implementing activities that address Healthy relationships, Positive adolescent development, Financial literacy, and Parent-child communication skills.

Community Served:  Florence, SC; Lancaster, SC; Spartanburg, SC; Laurens, SC; Dillon, SC; and Richland, SC

Target Population:  Youth 10-19

Partners:

DUKE - Creating Access to Quality Reproductive Health for Adolescents

Funder: The Duke Endowment 

Grant Time Period:  January 2020- June 2023 

Project Overview: This project focuses on utilizing Fact Forward's Collaborative for Reproductive Education and Wellness to bring professional development and training to health care providers serving pediatric and young adult patients to reduce teen birth and STI rates and increase HPV vaccination rates in South Carolina. 

Additional Key Partners on Grant: Changes yearly for this grant.

2020:

Community(ies) Served: Health: State Wide

Target Population:  Health Care Providers serving adolescents and young adults 

Target Number of Health Centers reached: 6 per year

1A - Accelerating Progress: Strengthening Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives

Funder: US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs

Grant Time Period: July 1, 2015– June 30, 2020 (with a 12-month a no-cost extension to complete deliverables interrupted by COVID-19) 

Project Overview: During the project period, Fact Forward provided capacity building assistance to 12 organizations that work with youth who are engaged with the Dept. of Social Services and/or Dept. of Juvenile Justice to increase their readiness to Implement an evidence based program. Partners implemented Making Proud Choices+, SHARP, Seventeen Day and Be Proud! Be Reponsbile!. Fact Forward also worked with  state-level DJJ and DSS to implement policies and procedures to support the replication of evidence based teen pregnancy, HIV and STD prevention programs and services.

Community(ies) Served: Statewide

Target Population:  Youth 15-19 who are engaged with the Department of Social Services and/or the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Number of Youth Served: To date (September 2020), 471 youth have been served.

Partners:

Tier 1B - Expanding the Reach of Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs in High Need South Carolina Communities

Funder: US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs 

Grant Time Period: July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2020 (with a 12-month a no-cost extension to complete deliverables interrupted by COVID-19) 

Project Overview: Fact Forward will work with school districts, local Departments of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), and other youth-serving organizations in Anderson, Aiken, and Orangeburg Counties to build their capacity to replicate evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs with youth. Effective programs used in the project include Draw the Line, Respect the Line, Making a Difference, Making Proud Choices, Love Notes, Reducing the Risk, Seventeen Days, and Nu-Culture. In addition to expanding the reach of evidence-based curricula, local coordinating agencies, including United Way of Anderson County, Helping Hands in Aiken, and Orangeburg-Calhoun-Allendale-Bamberg Community Action Agency (OCAB) will mobilize each community to build awareness around the issue, educate parents and community stakeholders, support local curriculum facilitators, lead sustainability efforts, and engage youth.  

Additional Key Partners on Grant: 

Community(ies) Served: Anderson, Aiken, and Orangeburg Counties 

Target Population:  Youth ages 11-19 (middle school and high school age students)  

Number of Youth Served: Over 35,000 teens reached during 5-year grant cycle 

Access Expanding the Reach of Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs in High Need South Carolina Communities (Tier 1B): At a Glance Infographic: 

1B Summary Infographic 

Access Tier 1B Ripple Effect Mapping Reports: 

Aiken County      Anderson County       Orangeburg County

PAF - Community Support for Young Parents

Funder: US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs 

Grant Time Period: July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2020 (with a 12-month no-cost extension to complete deliverables interrupted by COVID-19) 

Project Overview: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act established the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) to assist vulnerable individuals and their families during the transition to parenthood. Specifically, the program serves expectant and parenting teens, women, fathers, and their families. The PAF program focuses on meeting the educational, social service, and health needs of eligible individuals and their children during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Children’s Trust of South Carolina provides administrative and fiscal oversight and sub awards funds to Fact Forward for programmatic oversight and training, and to the SC Center for Fathers and Families to manage the local fatherhood programs.  The University of South Carolina’s Rural and Minority Health Research Center provides evaluation support.

Additional Key Partners on Grant: 

Community(ies) Served: Darlington, Horry, Richland, Spartanburg. Anderson and Florence serve young fathers.

Target Population: Expectant and parenting mothers and fathers ages 15-24

Number of Youth: Over 2,000 reached during 2-year grant cycle 

Access Serving Young Fathers in Community-Based Fatherhood Programs in South Carolina: Lessons Learned from a two-year initiative PDF

Access the SC CSYP Stakeholder Interview Report

Access the SC CSYP Program Infographic