We are proud to share that Palmetto Promise Institute’s President & CEO Wendy Damron was appointed by the US Commission on Civil Rights to the advisory committee for the State of South Carolina.   Below is the press release from the US Commission on Civil Rights regarding Damron’s appointment: On Friday, March 21, 2025, the

This article by Patrick Gleason originally appeared in Forbes. The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision last September to strike down the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF), upending a new education savings account (ESA)-style program enacted by South Carolina lawmakers the prior year. The ESTF program struck down by the South Carolina Supreme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DeVos Foundation Donates $250,000 to Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund COLUMBIA, SC — The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has made a generous $250,000 donation to the ESTF Families Fund, an initiative launched by Palmetto Promise Institute to assist low-income families impacted by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to

Palmetto Promise’s report Sandlapper Shakedown is cited in this piece originally published in Forbes. South Carolina has been among the most successful states recently in attracting individuals, families, and employers from other states. In fact, last year the Palmetto State’s population grew faster than all 49 other states. State lawmakers in South Carolina and Governor

This op-ed by Palmetto Promise Research Fellow Jennifer Buckley was originally published in the Post and Courier. It also has been published in FitsNews. South Carolina’s dormant nuclear energy ambitions could be stirring back to life. Santee Cooper announced Jan. 22 that it is seeking proposals to acquire and complete, or propose alternatives for, the

Columbia, S.C. (February 4, 2025) — A supermajority of South Carolina’s general election voters overwhelmingly support the modernization of the state’s energy grid and a move away from the currently siloed monopoly-driven power systems. In a poll of 600 registered general election voters, 80 percent of those surveyed favored moving away from the current monopolistic

This article by Adam Whittenberg was published in The Lion about Palmetto Promise President & CEO Wendy Damron’s recent award. When the South Carolina Supreme Court abruptly ended South Carolina’s school choice program just weeks into the school year, Wendy Damron didn’t take things lying down. Damron, who heads the Palmetto Promise Institute think tank,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Donors Push Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue Fund to $2.2 million  COLUMBIA — To kick off National School Choice Week, Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron announced today that new support from three (3) additional donors has pushed the Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue fund to $2.2 million. The Rescue Fund goal,

COLUMBIA, South Car. (Jan. 24, 2025) – Families in South Carolina are eager to explore their school choice options, and dozens of schools in the Columbia and Lexington area are gathering to meet that need at a school fair timed to coincide with School Choice Week. No matter what type of school they’re looking for,

We are pleased to announce that Palmetto Promise Institute President & CEO Wendy Damron was awarded the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Doer Award at the Awakening by Heritage Conference this past weekend. Heritage defines “Doers” as individuals who are making a difference in their personal lives or fields of work, advancing Heritage’s mission and values. The