Boyle County organizations raise more than $100,000 in GoodGiving Guide Challenge

Published 9:34 am Wednesday, January 18, 2017

More than $1.6 million was raised for charities in central and eastern Kentucky during the month of December through the GoodGiving Guide Challenge, a portion of those funds going to 10 Boyle County non-profits.

Boyle County Education Foundation, Camp Horsin’ Around, CASA of the Bluegrass, Community Arts Center, Family Services Association of Boyle County, Heritage Hospice, Inc., Holland-Farm, Inc., KyADAPT, The Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County and the Wilderness Trace Child Development Center all benefitted from fundraising efforts during the giving challenge.

“All of the organizations networked a lot and got to know more about each other,” said Julie McAllister, executive director of Camp Horsin’ Around. “It was really cool to be participating together in this.”

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The 10 raised $109,996 through the challenge, not including the matching funds.

“It was good for all of us,” said Kate Snyder, associate director for marketing and development at the Community Arts Center.

The non-profits also benefitted from the Hudson Ellis Match, part of the online challenge. Organizations were required to raise more than $1,000 through bggives.org to qualify for the match, which capped at $5,000 total, or $30,000 for all the qualifying non-profits. This year, $28,535 was given through Hudson Ellis.

“It was a really big deal for those of us eligible for it,” McAllister said.

• The Boyle County Education Foundation raised $4,000 online, not including matches.

“We’re excited about what we’re going to be able to do with the funding,” said Alane Mills, board member for the foundation.

Mills said the money raised would go to support the district’s TEACH Mini grants, which are given to teachers in the district to work on projects in their classrooms.

• Camp Horsin’ Around raised $21,535 online, not including matches.

“I’m extremely please with how many people expressed their support of Camp Horsin’ Around through the GoodGiving Guide Challenge,” said McAllister.

The big thing that this year did for Camp Horsin’ Around was to draw in more people, she said. The first year the camp participated in the GoodGiving Guide Challenge, there were 18 donors, while this year there were 48.

• CASA of the Bluegrass raised $8,030 online, not including matches.
“We’re really excited,” said Laura Guerrant, executive director of CASA. “This money is going to go a long way for serving children who need an advocate. We’re extremely excited.

“We surpassed our expectations for what would occur.”

• The Community Arts Center was able to raise $22,085 online, not including matches.

“It went really well this year,” Snyder said. “We saw a really significant increase in the amount of donations from the community.”

The center was able to raise about $7,000 more from last year. The Bluegrass Community Bank and Johnson & Pohlmann Insurance also matched funds raised, Snyder said.

• Family Services Association of Boyle County was able to raise $4,165 online, not including matches.

In the November 2016 article regarding the GoodGiving Guide Challenge, Board member Joni Morgan said that the money raised would go to help families with one-time needs, such as utilities bills, medications and more. All requests are to be emergencies and recipients go through meetings with FSABC Director Crystal McPhearson.

• Heritage Hospice, Inc., was able to raise $4,960 online, not including matches.
In the November 2016 article about the GoodGiving Guide Challenge, Matt Baker with Hospice said the money raised would enable the organization to provide patients with a team of doctors, nurses, even a chaplain, to help them through the end of their lives.

• Holland-Farm, Inc., was able to raise $3,525 online, not including matches.

“It was a great experience for us, especially seeing the importance of social media,” said Abigail Overstreet with Holland-Farm, Inc. “It was a great experience for us and a great learning experience.”

The organization gained a lot of outside donations as well, Overstreet said.

• KyADAPT was able to raise $9,110 online, not including matches.

“We did pretty well,” said Dahlia Haas, program manager and client services manager with KyADAPT, which stands for Assisting Deaf Adults to Participate Totally.
Haas said they plan to use the money to provide more classes and activities for clients.

• The Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County was able to raise $1,481 online, not including matches.

“We were very pleased,” said Mimi Becker, executive director of the commission. “December was … the total was quite good.”

Besides the money raised online, Becker said they were able to draw in a great deal more through person check and donations, which are not accepted through bggives.org.

image• The Wilderness Trace Child Development Center was able to raise $31,105 online, not including matches.

“It’s so exciting. It’s such a game changer for us,” said Libby Suttles. “GoodGiving challenge donations actively impact Wilderness Trace.”

It’s the fact that it’s a different sort of fundraiser adds that element of excitement, she said. The money is going to help with supplies for the classroom, art supplies and more.

“(The GoodGiving Guide Challenge) is a tangible investment,” Suttles said.

Follow Kendra Peek on Twitter, @knpeek.