Horizon Community Funds has deployed $ 62,000 to six nonprofits for their work in Northern Kentucky through its Community Impact Fund.
Adopt a class
The following non-profit organizations have received funding:
• Adopt a class received $ 6,000 to expand its program, which connects businesses and civic groups with economically challenged school students, at Ockerman Elementary School in Florence. The expansion will add mentors to 500 students.
“Adopt A Class is honored to receive $ 6,000 from the Horizon Community Fund to support the growth and expansion of Adopt A Class in Northern Kentucky,” said Marie Rusincovitch, Chief Operating Officer of Adopt A Class . “Thanks to the Community Impact Fund, more than 500 students at Ockerman Elementary School in Florence will be mentored by local businesses and civic groups as part of our program. As an organization fueled by volunteers, this investment supports the necessary and important work that we do.
• The Catalytic Fund received $ 10,000 to support its Impact Investing Program, which attracts quality real estate investments to the river towns of northern Kentucky, resulting in both regional economic development (attraction of jobs and talent ) and local community development (improving quality of life and place for low-income people). and low-income residents).
“The Catalytic Fund is honored to be the recipient of a Community Impact Fund grant from the Horizon Community Fund. said Jean Schroer, Chairman and CEO of the Catalytic Fund. “This will greatly amplify our work. Specifically, the $ 10,000 can be used to provide matching funds for an additional $ 20,000 in US Treasury Department CDFI Fund grant dollars and $ 30,000 of private equity typically raises $ 600,000 in tangible investments. which in turn create jobs, quality housing and new economic activity. in our NKY river towns. We very much appreciate the support given to our work of creating diverse housing, preserving historic assets, and converting vacant sites and buildings into productive assets that benefit community members.
Covington Partners
• Covington Partners received $ 10,000 to support their Individual Strength Plan, which is a goal setting activity performed after students identify their unique character strength profile and includes an academic goal, a resilience goal (how to meet a challenge of life) and a goal of altruism (how to serve others).
“Covington Partners is delighted to receive funding from the Horizon Community Impact Fund to implement Individual Force Plans (ISP),” said Stacie Strotman, Executive Director of Covington Partners. “PSI will help students develop an individual growth and success plan based on their top five character strengths after taking the Values in Action character assessment. The ISP has the ability to change a negative mindset into a positive and hopeful future.
• Gateway Community and Technical College received $ 7,500 to support the River City Promise Scholarship Program, a three-pronged approach to support Pell-eligible students who graduate from high schools in River City. These students will 1) receive a scholarship to cover tuition fees, 2) receive assistance from a dedicated service center, and 3) receive a discounted rate at Northern Kentucky University upon completion of the associate’s degree at Gateway.
“We are grateful to Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky for their very generous support of our River City Promise scholarship,” said Gateway President and CEO Dr. Fernando Figueroa. “Since its launch in fall 2020, 98 students have started their journey to a better life through our River City Promise partnership with Northern Kentucky University. “
• Northern Kentucky Education Council received $ 13,500 to support its One to One Reading program, which provides Grades 1 to 3 students and their families with tools to develop literacy.
“Ensuring that every child is reading at grade level by the end of Grade 3 is a top priority for the Northern Kentucky Education Council and our community, and our One to One programs are critical to achieving that goal,” said the Executive Director of NKEC, Dr. Randy Poe. “The One to One Coaching and Parents as Partners programs will provide a multigenerational approach to help students overcome their literacy challenges, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently recruiting one-on-one reading coaches to help struggling readers from grades 1 to 3 at 14 local schools. “
• Refugee Connect received $ 15,000 to support its Northern Kentucky Community Navigator program, which provides native language support to guide families in accessing resources and services in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The program is led by trained refugee and immigrant community leaders who are representative of the populations served by the organization.
“These funds will allow us to deepen our work with refugee families in northern Kentucky through our Community Navigator program,” said Kristin Burgoyne, Executive Director of RefugeeConnect. “Our Community Navigators are an integral part of our organization’s mission to provide intensive, one-on-one family support to the growing refugee and immigrant population of northern Kentucky. Community Navigators are cultural leaders who help families navigate complex social systems, connect them to organizations, resources and providers in the region, and support families’ long-term goals, all in the native language of the community. family.
“I can’t stress this enough – the people of Northern Kentucky are in good hands with the nonprofits that serve our community,” said Nancy Grayson, president of the Horizon Community Fund. “We know these grants will make the best and best use of donor dollars in Northern Kentucky and impact the areas of education, labor force and economic development at a time when the impact is essential and for years to come. The Community Impact Fund is our most flexible fund to meet the needs of Northern Kentucky as they arise, and I encourage the community, our community of donors, to make your donation of any size. today.
Each funded project is also focused on eliminating all residents of northern Kentucky, reaching historically underfunded communities in the area.
Refugees Connect
The Community Impact Fund, which operates separately from the Horizon NKY Coronavirus Relief Fund, offers a flexible annual grant opportunity that provides resources to nonprofits that accelerate change, innovate in solutions, and leverage partnerships and resources in northern Kentucky. The Community Impact Fund relies on individual donors, business partnerships, and other forms of support to provide grant opportunities in Northern Kentucky.
“We are going to have an impact on the life of Northern Kentucky not with our opinions on the quality of education, vocational training or business development, but with our actions,” said Kit Andrews, chairman of the committee. grant from Horizon Community funds. “Please join us. The Horizon Community Funds team knows the pulse of the nonprofit community and offers help where it’s needed most.
Information on the 2022 Community Impact Fund grant cycle will be available at the end of this year.
The community is encouraged to donate to the Community Impact Fund by:
• Visit www.horizonfunds.org
• Check sent to Horizon Community Funds (memo: NKY Coronavirus Relief Fund): 50 E. RiverCenter Blvd., Suite 431, Covington, KY 41011.
