COVINGTON, Ky. — A Northern Kentucky organization is thriving amid the pandemic. The success of Horizon Community Funds means more success for other non-profits in the area.
Nancy Grayson, president of Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky, said the needs of Northern Kentucky are unique.
“As a Northern Kentucky region, we have an interesting footprint. We lie in the state of Kentucky but we're also considered part of Greater Cincinnati. So we have a really unique personality,” Grayson said.
Horizon has raised more than $32 million and been granted $11.5 million since its start in 2017.
“Our focus is to help create more philanthropic efforts, a more robust culture in Northern Kentucky, more specifically Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties and really to work with donors and non-profit organizations and companies to make sure we're addressing our community needs,” Grayson said.
Aaron Broomall is the executive director at Faith Community Pharmacy, a non-profit that provides free prescriptions in Northern Kentucky.
“Horizon was huge for us last year,” Broomall said. “As people were laid off, they lost health insurance, they lost benefits, or they even lost income and couldn't afford their co-pays and deductibles. We saw our numbers rise about 30% last year.”
Horizon helped them with a grant of $30,000, which the pharmacy turned into a $370,000 value for its 1,000 clients it helped in 2020.
“We were able to raise $2.1 million just for Northern Kentucky alone to help address their neighbors who might need food, shelter, healthcare support, those types of things directly related to the pandemic,” Grayson said.
Donations come straight from community donors. The fund has also supported organizations like United Way, Be Concerned, Meals on Wheels and more.
“We want to make sure we stay efficient, we stay nimble, but that we're able to really leverage technology and access younger philanthropists to make sure that this is something that stays around for generations long,” Grayson said.
There are multiple ways to donate, including a "designated funds" option which allows donors to give to a specific organization and select how the money will be used.
