Over the past 15 years, SC Thrive has served as our state’s leader in linking South Carolinians with community and essential resources. In partnership with the Palmetto Institute, the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation, and The Duke Endowment, SC Thrive began as a program of the SC Office of Rural Health in 2010. The organization supports whole-person wellbeing by connecting those in need with life-sustaining resources and building the community’s capacity to thrive. This success rests in SC Thrive’s commitment to its mission: to lead South Carolinians to stability by providing innovative and efficient access to quality-of-life resources.
A Trusted Partner
SC Thrive offers a unique community-benefit outreach model that addresses the barriers individuals face when accessing benefits. In 2009, state leaders were finding that millions of dollars in federal assistance were going unclaimed in South Carolina every year. Many people continued to struggle with food insecurity, affordable healthcare, and meeting their basic needs while lacking the access, time, or resources to find help. They identified a solution to this challenge, and an initiative was established to shepherd a web-based platform that simplifies the benefits application process, allowing trained counselors to assist low-to-moderate income families in real time and in collaboration with state and federal agencies like the Departments of Health and Human Services, Social Services, Mental Health, Corrections, and many others.
What sets SC Thrive apart is its ability to bring this technology solution, coupled with a hands-on approach, directly to communities. A dedicated outreach team works to integrate this system into local workflows across cities, towns, and rural areas, promoting it through partnerships with food banks, clinics, churches, and other local organizations. This model is effective because of its innovative integration of technology with local collaborators, making the process easily accessible to those in need. By offering a “one-stop shop” for benefits screening, application submissions, case management, assessments, and referrals, SC Thrive eliminates confusion, ensuring more people can access the support they need to achieve self-sufficiency and a healthier future.
Excellence in Service
In 2023, SC Thrive reached a significant milestone – infusing one billion dollars in resources and benefits back into South Carolina since its inception. This achievement reflects SC Thrive’s dedication to helping individuals not just survive, but thrive. By combining compassion and service, the organization uplifts the community, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
This commitment to excellence in service has never wavered, despite challenges in the social care landscape over the years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual recertification process for Medicaid was paused; however, as recertification resumed in 2023, many South Carolinians faced losing healthcare coverage. SC Thrive took immediate action, supporting state agencies and partners by answering over 125,000 overflow calls, many from homebound individuals. The organization worked tirelessly to help clients renew or reinstate coverage, expanding its partnership with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to process renewals and provide additional assistance.
Currently, SC Thrive is actively disrupting the cycle of recidivism by supporting returning citizens. Benefits Coordinators work alongside staff at the South Carolina Department of Corrections, offering resources to individuals before release and equipping them with the support needed to reintegrate successfully into society. SC Thrive’s efforts are focused on creating self-sufficient, engaged citizens, ensuring everyone, regardless of their past, has the opportunity for a brighter future.
For work such as this, SC Thrive and its leadership have been the recipients of numerous awards and accolades, including the Fred Sheheen Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award given to SC Thrive’s CEO, Tricia Richardson, in 2016 by Francis Marion University and Together SC, the State Impact Award given to SC Thrive in both 2019 and 2021 from Live Healthy South Carolina, and the Vince Ford Health Equity Award in 2025 from the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina.
Innovative Access
SC Thrive is a leader in the social care sector, partnering with nonprofit and community-benefit organizations across South Carolina. SC Thrive’s web-based technology solution, Thrive Hub, offers a single access point for resource screening, benefit applications, case management, assessments, and referrals, giving individuals the opportunity to take an active role in their own care. Thrive Hub connects people with services in communities where they live, work, pray, and learn, helping them transition from crisis to stability.
Since the launch of their work in 2010, SC Thrive has helped over 660,000 South Carolinians access quality-of-life resources. Thrive Hub simplifies the complex process of navigating community, government, education, and healthcare systems, allowing users to search for local resources, be referred to partner agencies, and access services like filing tax returns or creating resumes. Previously only available through SC Thrive’s partner organizations, Thrive Hub is now open to all South Carolinians. The platform, accessible online or via an app, has received praise from partner organizations for its ease of use, reducing paperwork, and improving efficiency. SC Thrive’s innovative services such as this are promoting resiliency, helping individuals and organizations across the state build capacity, improve wellbeing, and address critical community needs.
Honoring People
At SC Thrive, people and partnerships drive the mission. The organization’s model rests on people-centered Outreach and Training Teams that connect with diverse audiences, ensuring South Carolinians are informed and equipped. By building strong partnerships with other agencies, these teams focus on whole-person wellbeing, providing partner organizations with vital assistance and ongoing support. The Outreach and Training Teams also help agencies maximize the benefits of Thrive Hub to better serve their communities.
Furthermore, SC Thrive’s Training Team enhances learning experiences through workshops offered to partners and community members such as Mental Health First Aid, Financial Wellness, Poverty and Caregiving Simulations, and much more. These workshops challenge the community to innovate and grow in their service delivery. Together, the people at SC Thrive embody the organization’s commitment to fostering connections, offering essential information, and providing unmatched support to agencies serving those in need. Through these efforts, South Carolina can become a state where both individuals and agencies are thriving, both now and in the years to come.
Looking to the Future
In 2025 and beyond, technology will be more critical than ever in empowering individuals and organizations alike. SC Thrive’s single, integrated system for benefits screening, applications, case management, closed-loop referrals, and community resources is key to simplifying the complexity of the social care web that exists in our state. Organizations like SC Thrive are leading the way by streamlining these services, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their circumstances, can easily access the support they need. By focusing on interoperability and putting information back in the hands of patients and clients, technology can give individuals the power to make informed decisions about their own care and future. When organizations work together to improve access and create more efficiencies, we build more healthy, stabilized communities where everyone can thrive.
