Giving back

GoodGiving Challenge starts today!

One of the great things about liv­ing in Central Kentucky is that we are a gen­er­ous peo­ple. Our com­mu­ni­ties are stronger because folks are will­ing to vol­un­teer and give finan­cial­ly to the many wor­thy non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tions that help to sus­tain and improve the lives of all peo­ple in the region.

Have you ever vis­it­ed the Bluegrass Heritage Museum, Leeds Center for the Arts, Legacy Grove, or one of the oth­er com­mu­ni­ty parks? Ever make use of the ani­mal shel­ter or have a child involved in youth sports? Maybe you or some­one you love has been in a posi­tion of need­ing ser­vices from one of the many orga­ni­za­tions pro­vid­ing food, shel­ter, and oth­er emer­gency ser­vices to folks in need?

These are just a few of the many non­prof­its in our com­mu­ni­ty that enrich our lives. Whether you’ve ben­e­fit­ed direct­ly or not, you do ben­e­fit from liv­ing in a town where such orga­ni­za­tions help to ele­vate the lives of all citizens. 

When my wife and I moved to Winchester from Eastern Kentucky in the fall of 2015, one of the first things that impressed us was the annu­al GoodGiving Challenge that takes place in ear­ly December each year. The idea of the chal­lenge, spon­sored by the Blue Grass Community Foundation and Smiley Pete Publishing, is to orga­nize and com­press a year’s worth of giv­ing into an intense week. Charitable dona­tions are made to par­tic­i­pat­ing local non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tions through the BG Gives online giv­ing platform.

But there’s a fun twist: dona­tions from indi­vid­u­als are great­ly mul­ti­plied dur­ing the week­long chal­lenge by gen­er­ous dai­ly “chal­lenge grants” from local com­pa­nies and char­i­ta­ble foun­da­tions. For instance, the Clark County Community Foundation pro­vides match­ing grants total­ing up to $250,000 to par­tic­i­pat­ing non­prof­its in our county. 

The chal­lenge was orga­nized in 2011; this year is the eleventh year of the event. To date, $14.1 mil­lion has been raised for non­prof­its in 14 coun­ties of Central Kentucky. 

This year there are 29 par­tic­i­pat­ing orga­ni­za­tions in Clark. Donors can choose which orga­ni­za­tions they would like to sup­port and how much they wish to donate. The min­i­mum is $10 per orga­ni­za­tion; there is no lim­it. All dona­tions are tax-deductible, and receipts are provided. 

The chal­lenge will run from 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30 through mid­night on Monday, Dec. 6. Get all the details and give online at BGgives.org.