Home » Esperanza Center wins NKY Speed Philanthropy Grant

Esperanza Center wins NKY Speed Philanthropy Grant

COVINGTON, Ky. – Give Where You Live NKY giving circle members recently gathered to give $6,500 to Esperanza Latino Center in a process that took less than an hour.  

The grant kicks off a year of quarterly meetings that have, since launching, brought more than $50,000 in awards from the giving circle’s members to Northern Kentucky nonprofits. 

“There is something so exciting about charitably-minded neighbors coming together from across Northern Kentucky to give together like this,” said Horizon Community Funds President Nancy Grayson. “Each $100 gift could certainly make an impact if our members chose their own organization to give to, but by coming together they are able to support an organization through a gift of thousands of dollars. Give Where You Live is a fun, casual way to learn about local nonprofits, and in so many cases, surprise these nonprofits with grants.”  

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.  

“Muchísimas gracias to Horizon Community Funds, Mueller Financial, Inc., and everyone that is involved with the Give Where You Live NKY initiative,” said Esperanza Latino Center Executive Director Reid Yearwood. “We have recently opened our center full-time in order to successfully handle the demand for assistance and programs from the community we serve. This incredibly generous grant will provide us the opportunity to dramatically expand and improve our educational programs and resource connection services. We are extremely fortunate to be located in a community with such generous and progressive-minded organizations, and we commend your support of the Latino/Hispanic and immigrant community of Northern Kentucky. Mil gracias!” 

The remaining 2021 Give Where You Live NKY meetings will be held on June 17 at Union 42 Bourbon & Brews, September 16 at Wooden Cask Brewery, and December 9 at Molly Malone’s—  all on Thursdays, all from 6-7 p.m. 

“It was exciting to be able to host a partially in-person event for our 2021 Kick-off round,” said Mueller Financial Partner Woody Mueller. “We are thrilled for the Esperanza Latino Center to be awarded the funds, and look forward to seeing the impact it will make within our wonderful Northern Kentucky Community.” 

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. 

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 include 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; GO Pantry in Florence; The Barracks Project in Covington; Covington Partners in Covington; and, Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky in Covington. 

The community can get involved by reaching out to Tess Brown at [email protected] or 859.620.8221, or by visiting www.nkygives.org.