In brainstorming ideas for our organization’s name, we reflected on the famous line from Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day,”said Tandy Taylor. “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? We settled on Wild Vision Coalition, because these students have a wild vision for their lives that we can support.”
Tandy Taylor’s enthusiasm is contagious as she discusses the Wild Vision Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Greenville, South Carolina, that she and her husband, David, who are Natural Investments clients, were instrumental in launching in 2025. At its heart, Wild Vision and its community partners address needs created by the intersection of racial and economic injustices. These include the racial wealth gap (white households hold an
average net worth roughly 4 to 6 times higher than Black and Hispanic households) and the struggle for economic mobility, in which individuals encounter structural obstacles as they attempt to climb the socioeconomic ladder. In practice, their work offers educational empowerment opportunities, focusing on postsecondary students in need of extra support as they pursue goals in higher education and trade schools.
After a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020, the Taylors studied how racism and economic oppression combine to create entrenched barriers to financial stability and wealth creation. Their learnings opened their eyes to a host of systemic inequities, and they longed to
address these huge societal issues in tangible ways. They also became aware of how these inequities manifested in Greenville. In the national context,
Greenville is known for its robust per-capita philanthropic giving, but the city also ranks poorly for economic mobility. Statistically, if an individual,
particularly a Black man, is born into poverty, that person will most likely stay in poverty the rest of their life.
When the Taylors felt ready to act, they met with Dr. Edward Anderson, a Black community leader who was working with United Way of Greenville County’s OnTrack program. The Taylors asked Anderson which service gaps weren’t getting the attention they needed. His answer was unequivocal: post-secondary education.
The Taylors and their colleagues formed a leadership team, including local African American non-profit leaders, and over time they created an action plan. They partnered with local organizations that already have scholarship programs in place. The partners advertise the scholarships, create the applications, assemble judges, award the scholarships to students, and celebrate the students with community events to shine a light on their accomplishments and gifts. While most organizations set up scholarships as one-time awards without ongoing support to keep the student engaged and financially stable, Wild Vision undergirds the traditional scholarship structure with a long-term plan. Wild Vision works with local organizations to offer students continued assistance through their educational journeys, both financial and non-financial.
In 2023, Wild Vision began providing its first student grants. Each student receives a $1,500 initial scholarship, plus a $100 monthly stipend and access to an emergency fund. They also receive social and emotional support in the form of brief monthly check-ins, as well as a semi-annual comprehensive conversation about successes and challenges. Semi-annual exam care packages round out the offerings. Today they serve 30 students and will add seven more in the upcoming school year.
The impacts of this multipronged approach are felt by the students they serve. “Our students really appreciate the initial scholarship, the monthly stipends and the care packages. But even more, they appreciate the relationship of support with extra adults that has included help with everything from resume writing to finding summer internships,” Tandy says. Wild Vision currently works with three community partners:
- BOLD Leadership Network, a group of local Black male educational administrators (principals, vice principals), support students who are future educators.
- Brother Box, soon to be expanded and relaunched as Black Boys Rising, supports Black male students.
- OnTrack Greenville, a program of United Wayof Greenville County, supports students from two local Title 1 high schools in which they invest community resources. A Title 1 school is a public school that receives federal financial assistance through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to support students from low-income families.
The Taylors have long prioritized both the value of education and of community involvement. After meeting in graduate school, they went on to accumulate three master’s degrees and a doctorate, collectively. “We understand and appreciate how these degrees have opened doors of opportunity for us,” says David. They have also worked extensively in Greenville’s non-profit and community development sectors, becoming increasingly familiar with the social challenges facing their city. Tandy says, “For 12 years now, we have lived in a predominantly Black neighborhood. We have become keenly aware that our neighbors, both literal and figurative, have only limited access to higher education. We want to address that discrepancy in tangible ways.”
As of summer 2026, Wild Vision has supported 36 students by granting $104,300 in scholarshipsand stipends and $19,465 in emergency requests. They have also fostered deep relationships between the students and community partners, a connection that has enriched students’ lives and extended
the partners’ impact. And the Board plans to keep expanding the organization’s footprint, eventually serving 200 students and diversifying their funding stream. Tandy says, “Bringing together people of means who have a passion for social justice with an innovative model that gives students the support to be successful in higher education has the potential to dramatically change lives, families, and communities.” Given the success of their model so far, Wild Vision hopes to effect these changes far into the future.