Kentucky Nonprofit Assistance Fund fills revenue gaps, awards $1 million in Campbell County

Nonprofits were hit especially hard by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staffing was affected as demands for service increased. Fundraising events and other efforts to raise essential revenue were curtailed or eliminated. The subsequent rise in inflation increased the cost of food, utilities, gasoline, and almost everything else. Many had little in the way of financial reserves to fall back on.

In response, last August, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced a $75 million fund to help Kentucky’s nonprofit organizations recover from the effects of the pandemic. Called the Nonprofit Assistance Fund, it is funded by federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars. 

It’s meant direct payments to nonprofits that were affected financially by the pandemic. The most recent example is more than $1 million awarded to 14 local nonprofits in Campbell County.

Among those were Brighton Center, which received $100,000, and its affordable housing subsidiary, Brighton Properties, which also received $100,000. The agency will use the money to support is emergency assistance efforts, its workforce development programs, and its affordable housing, says CEO Wonda Winkler.

“The funds were a true blessing to our work of ensuring those we serve are financially stable, independent and have the best quality of life possible,” she says.

The World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky also received $100,000, money it will use to help rebuild staff capacity and continue providing programming for students in Kentucky schools, such as its global summer camp with Covington Independent Public Schools.

“Due to the pandemic, our funding and capacity was drastically reduced, which greatly affected our ability to meet the needs of our local community and global education efforts,” says Michelle Harpenau Glandorf, executive director.

The other recipients were:

• Mental health services provider Holly Hill Child & Family Solutions, with $100,000
• Inspiring Service, doing business as Cincinnati Cares, which builds capacity in volunteer organizations, with $100,000
• R-3 Restorations, doing business as Reset Ministries, with $100,000
• The WAVE Foundation at Newport Aquarium with $100,000
• The Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory with $100,000
• The World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky with $100,000
• Highland United Methodist Church with $80,078.77
• Alexandria United Methodist Church with $71,268.24
• The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra with $49,604
• Community dance workshop Pones with $45,557.57
• National Alliance on Mental Illness Northern Kentucky with $26,550 
• The Carpenter Art Enamel Foundation, a Bellevue-based nonprofit providing art workshops, with $7,423