Nearly 30 Give Where You Live NKY giving circle members gathered on Zoom last week to give $6,000 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 The Barracks Project, based in Newport, and Covington Partners, based in Covington.
The grants continue a year of quarterly meetings in 2020 that will bring upwards of $25,000 in giving by community members.
“Our members have again shown their responsiveness to Northern Kentucky needs,” said Horizon Community Funds President Nancy Grayson. “These organizations both serve extremely vulnerable populations in our community- populations that get hit twice as hard in times of crisis. We thank our Give Where You Live NKY members, who are the collective engine behind these gifts to our nonprofits.”
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.
“It was amazing to see the generous spirit of our Give Where You Live NKY members on full display, despite the challenging times we all face,” said Mueller Financial Partner and Give Where You Live NKY Cofounder Woody Mueller. “Give Where You Live NKY understands that the needs of our community do not stop, and we were are proud to have awarded these funds to Covington Partners and the Barracks Project.”
The remaining 2020 Give Where You Live NKY meeting will be held on Dec. 10. Meetings for 2021 will be announced at the Dec. 10 meeting.
“We thank Give Where You Live NKY and its members for choosing The Barracks Project for this award,” said Founder and President Felicia Huesman. “This gift will have a substantial impact, as it puts more doors in frames, and more strong roofs overhead for Northern Kentucky’s vulnerable veterans. As we approach colder months, gifts like this become even more imperative for the health and safety of our community’s veterans. Thank you to all those who contribute and volunteer to make our mission success possible, and to continue to support the lives that fought for ours.”
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.
“Covington Partners is grateful for the support from Give Where You Live NKY,” said Executive Director Stacie Strotman. “We are continuing to find ways to provide high-quality programming virtually as needed and eliminate the digital divide that will have long-lasting effects for our most vulnerable populations. Support from the local community is the most effective way to ensure our vision of all students realizing the promise of their full potential becomes a reality.”
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 Give Where You Live grants 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; Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center in Florence; Family Nurturing Center in Florence; and, GO Pantry 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.
