Tornado leads to disaster relief fund in Spartanburg

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The Spartanburg County Foundation has established the Spartanburg County Disaster Relief Fund, focused on supporting the nonprofit organizations working first-hand with community members dealing with the aftermath of disasters that may affect the residents of Spartanburg County.

The fund was inspired by agencies responding to damage in Spartanburg after a recent tornado. The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF1 tornado hit Spartanburg Feb. 6, with winds estimated at up to 110 miles per hour. No serious injuries were reported but thousands were left without power and many homes and businesses were damaged.

The Spartanburg County Foundation established the disaster relief fund to focus on supporting the nonprofit organizations working with community members dealing with the aftermath of any disaster that affects county residents.

“In light of the sudden devastation to our community, the Spartanburg County Foundation began exploring other responses to disasters in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana,” Troy Hanna, president and CEO of The Spartanburg County Foundation, said in a news release. “The Spartanburg County Disaster Relief Fund will be able to respond to any type of disaster that may occur and will be able to support the appropriate nonprofit network responding to a specific type of disaster.”

The fund offers grants to assist nonprofit organizations participating in recovery and reconstruction efforts following declared Spartanburg County disasters, according to the news release. The fund will also allow for individual and corporate donor contributions, as well as disaster relief funds going to the Spartanburg community from government relief sources. Grants are to be provided only to charitable/nonprofit organizations; individuals will not be eligible to apply, the release said.

“We hope the fund will not have to be accessed often, but when we experience a disaster in Spartanburg County, we wish to have immediate financial resources available from which to draw,” Hanna said in the release.