Funding available for Community Investment Grants 2023 (Kentucky)

United Way of Central Kentucky provides grant funding to community partners on an annual basis and offers grant training to currently-funded agencies and new grant applicants.

Donor Name: United Way of Central Kentucky

State: Kentucky

County: Breckinridge County (KY), Grayson County (KY), Hardin County (KY), Larue County (KY) and Meade County (KY)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 03/07/2023

Details:

United Way of Central Kentucky saves the community thousands of dollars by consolidating nonprofit fundraising efforts, providing a clear form of accountability, and investing in programs that have the greatest potential to prevent problems from occurring in the future. UWCK’s Community Investment Grants are awarded through an open, transparent, and competitive process that convenes community members to maximize the local impact of community resources. The objective is to identify the programs that can best contribute to achieving the Community’s goal of reducing poverty through improved Education, Financial Stability, and Health while continuing to meet Basic Needs.

Types of grants awarded by UWCK:

• Impact grants: traditional Community Investment process outlined in this guide.
• Innovation grants: these awards are reviewed through the same Community Investment process but allow investment in new programs/services

Focus Areas

Education

• Improving School Readiness
  • children receiving developmental screenings
  • children connected to ongoing supports
  • increased hours in program
  • families/caring adults engaged in child’s learning
  • children under age 5 who receive a well-child checkup
  • caregivers reporting improved knowledge or skill
  • Born Learning Academies can report results using the same framework that is provided to other funders of this program
• Fostering Supportive Relationships
  • students promoted to next grade on time
  • students with improved grades
  • students with decreased unexcused absences or suspensions
  • students engaged in structured after-school activity
  • mentor/mentee relationships established
  • caring adults engaged in student’s learning
  • families connected to ongoing supports

Financial Stability

• Removing barriers to employment and education
  • participants gaining financial knowledge
  • participants who become “banked”
  • participants improving financial position
  • increase in average savings rate
  • participants gaining recognized skills or credentials
  • participants who become job ready
  • increase in job placement rate
  • increase in job retention rate
  • participants improving job quality
  • participants who acquire their own vehicle
  • participants securing reliable transportation source

Health

• Promoting health, independence, and safety
  • individuals utilizing preventative and primary health care services
  • individuals receiving information on health benefits and access
  • individuals enrolled in health insurance, services, or benefits
  • individuals provided temporary safe shelter
  • individuals transitioned into safe, healthy, affordable housing
  • older adults or individuals with disabilities receiving services to allow them to live independently
  • individuals engaged in physical or wellness activities

Basic Needs

• Providing a safety net of services to ensure basic needs are met
  • individuals receiving emergency food
  • individuals receiving support to alleviate long-term hunger
  • individuals reporting increased food security
  • individuals receiving disaster relief or recovery services
  • individuals receiving clothing, hygiene supplies, or household goods
  • individuals provided with utility assistance
  • individuals provided with rent, mortgage, or deposit assistance to prevent homelessness
  • clients receiving legal representation

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply for a UWCK grant, a program must:

• Attend one of the annual grant training sessions to learn how to prepare a competitive application.
• Concentrate its efforts and services within the United Way of Central Kentucky region (Hardin, Breckinridge, Grayson, LaRue, and Meade Counties).
• Align with at least one of UWCK’s focus areas, ideally to achieve a Community Impact priority outcome(s) under Education, Health, Financial Stability or Basic Needs.
• Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, or school district.
• Adhere to good governance standards by having an annual tax return (990/990EZ), an active Board of Directors, and an IRS determination letter verifying non-profit status. A complete annual independent audit or certification of financial controls is required based on the agency’s revenue and/or funding request. See the Application for details on the audit requirement and all documentation required to accompany application.
• Abide by the additional terms of the 2022 Memorandum of Agreement for Funded Programs.
• Grant recipients should be committed to recognizing the investment of UWCK through promotional opportunities to engage the public and grow support for the partnership (see co-branding requirement in MOA).
• Funds are open to implement solutions to aligned community needs through Innovation Grants. These resources are available to new programs or collaborations that fill gaps in existing services.

For more information, visit United Way.