Great work requires resources. We partner with organizations to identify funding opportunities and develop compelling proposals, bringing academic research experience and technical expertise to help turn promising projects into funded ones.
Meaningful work requires sustainable funding, and navigating the funding landscape can be as complex as the problems you’re trying to solve. We help partners identify opportunities that align with their goals — federal and state grants, private foundations, and other sources — and we collaborate closely on proposals, bringing research experience and technical depth that strengthen a project’s case for support.
We’ve helped secure funding across a wide range of sources for our own projects, and we’ve worked alongside partners to help them leverage additional funds for technical assistance and implementation. We also do fee-for-service work for partners whose projects are already resourced. Our goal is simple: don’t let funding be the reason good work doesn’t happen.
Projects
Examples of Funding Collaboration:
-
Putting a Data Dashboard to Work for Greenville’s Transit System
Greenville County’s transit system provides 750,000 rides a year—workers, students, and residents who depend on it to reach jobs, healthcare, and opportunity. A custom dashboard built by the Shi Institute is giving advocates the data and tools they need to make the case for a stronger, more connected county.
-
Extreme Heat Is a Health Crisis. The Hard Part Is Knowing Exactly Where
South Carolina already endures about 15 days a year above 95°F—and that number is expected to grow dramatically. Extreme heat kills, worsens chronic illness, and strains communities in ways that vary dramatically from block to block. The Shi Institute is helping municipalities see exactly where the threat is greatest, and act on it.
-
A Trusted Guide for Climate Resilience Action in SC Communities
South Carolina is home to 10 federally designated Community Disaster Resilience Zones — communities where climate risk and social vulnerability are high, but resources to act are often limited. Finding the right funding, technical expertise, and partners can feel like navigating a maze. That is the problem the Southeast Navigator Network program was built to…
-
The Business Demand Is There. Why Isn’t SC Capitalizing on Renewable Energy?
South Carolina companies, large and small, want to buy renewable energy. Many have hard commitments to do so. Research from Dr. Matthew Cohen and the Shi Institute finds that state policy is the main thing standing in the way and that the investment dollars may end up elsewhere if SC isn’t more proactive.
-
Preserving the Farms That Define Our Communities
South Carolina stands to lose 586,000 acres of farmland by 2036. That’s 67 acres disappearing every single day. Shi’s mapping tools can help change this trajectory.
-
Protecting Sterling’s Community Character Amid Intense Market Pressure
Sterling sits in one of Greenville’s fastest-growing real estate markets, where community leaders’ foresight in acquiring key properties years ago now provides crucial protection against displacement pressures.