Nearly 30 Give Where You Live NKY giving circle members gathered on Zoom to give $10,000 to two local charities in a process that took less than an hour. In the end, members voted to give this quarter’s prizes to Family Nurturing Center in Florence and GO Pantry, also based in Florence.
The grants kick off a year of quarterly meetings in 2020 that will bring upwards of $25,000 in giving by community members.
“We’re so excited to bring this giving circle back to Northern Kentucky for its second year,” said Horizon Community Funds President Nancy Grayson. “Each member’s gift of $100 each quarter transforms into thousands of dollars for a local nonprofit, and each of these grants makes a huge difference right here in our community. We hope to see this giving circle grow even bigger, and encourage more of the public to sign up for this ‘speed philanthropy.’”
Give Where You Live NKY is a joint initiative presented by Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky and Mueller Financial, Inc., and its format lends itself to busy community members who are looking for an easy way to give back to nonprofits that serve Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties.
“Although the meeting format was different, the impact that these funds will have in our community is enormous,” said Mueller Financial Partner and Give Where You Live NKY Cofounder Woody Mueller. “We look forward to seeing how these two worthy organizations put this money to work for the betterment of Northern Kentucky.”
The community is encouraged to join the giving circle at www.nkygives.org or by contacting Tess Brown at tbrown@horizonfunds.org or (859) 620-8221. The remaining 2020 Give Where You Live NKY meetings will be held on Sept. 17 and Dec. 10.
“Child abuse effects us all, no matter where we live, and COVID-19 has placed children all across Northern Kentucky at greater risk,” said Family Nurturing Center Executive Director Jane Herms. “We’re so grateful to Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky and Give Where You Live for supporting Family Nurturing Center and helping us in our work to end the cycle of child abuse.”
The giving circle runs on a tight schedule at each meeting. Participating members nominate a nonprofit of their choice, and three names are randomly selected and briefly discussed by the group. The members then vote on their favorite of the three organizations, and each member contributes $100 for the grant to the winning organization. All takes place in under an hour, just four times per year.
“Working with over 40 schools, GO Pantry can sadly attest to the fact that there are kids in every school battling food insecurity, and the COVID 19 crisis has amplified needs,” said GO Pantry Executive Director Laura Dumancic. “This surprise $5,000 donation from Give Where You Live will be a huge help in purchasing food items needed to help these NKY kids get through the long summer. GO Pantry is very grateful for this community support and encouragement.”
The format of Give Where You Live NKY also provides a way to connect funds to nonprofits without the need for nonprofits to expend financial resources and staff time on fundraising. The previous winners of the Give Where You Live grant were The Scheben Care Center in Florence; The Gateway Community and Technical College Foundation, which has campus sites across Northern Kentucky; Lucky Tales Rescue in Fort Thomas; Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Covington; and, Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center in Florence.
The community can get involved by reaching out to Tess Brown at tbrown@horizonfunds.org or (859) 620.8221, or by visiting www.nkygives.org.
