Stories

BGCF365: Our Impact

June 5, 2023Impact Stories

Since 2017, BGCF365 has granted $210,000 to 30 nonprofit organizations in Fayette County. Learn more about our impact below or download our one-page report.

2025 Grants: Home Base

 

Members of BGCF365, a giving circle at Blue Grass Community Foundation, awarded $30,000 in grants to three Lexington nonprofits at The Finals, BGCF365’s annual grantmaking event held May 7 at The Melodeon.

Focused on the 2025 grant theme Home Base: Housing Stability and Homelessness Solutions, the event highlighted local efforts to address the growing challenges of housing insecurity in Lexington. After hearing presentations from three nonprofit finalists, BGCF365 members voted to award the following grants:

First Place ($15,000): Gleanings Housing

Gleanings Housing works to transform vacant or blighted houses into stable homes for low-income families, revitalizing neighborhoods and creating long-term housing solutions one home at a time. Funds from BGCF365 will go toward the cost of framing a new duplex on Florence Avenue, a project that will provide stable, affordable housing for two local families.

Second Place ($10,000): Arbor Youth Services

Arbor Youth is Lexington’s only emergency shelter for unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, providing safe shelter, transitional housing and comprehensive support for young people ages 18–24. BGCF365 funds will support Arbor Youth’s Rapid Rehousing program, which helps youth with past evictions and utility arrears with housing, financial aid, and intensive case management to help them regain stability, overcome barriers and prevent future homelessness.

Third Place ($5,000): Children’s Law Center

Children’s Law Center advocates for the legal rights of Kentucky children so they can grow up safe and healthy. With BGCF365 funding, CLC will provide direct legal services, legal clinics and community education targeting Fayette County students and their families at risk of homelessness, providing legal representation and education that will empower them to advocate for themselves long after the grant period ends.

 

2023-24 Grants: Connecting Communities to Resources

BGCF365 members met at The Melodeon for The Finals, our annual grantmaking meeting, on May 9. The fast-paced event showcased three local nonprofits pitching innovative projects, vying for a total of $30,000 in grants.

First Place $15,000 Grant Winner: Marafiki Center

The Marafiki Center creates opportunities for cross-cultural connection, building a bridge of mutual understanding through education, events and advocating for improved representation of the Swahili-speaking community. Due to the growing Congolese refugee population in Lexington, Swahili is the third-highest spoken language in our community. The BGCF365 grant will help the Marafiki Center expand AfroLex Connect — a series of professional development training and networking events aimed to support African, refugee young adults ages 18-30 with resources to build a sustainable career and economic future.

Second Place $10,000 Grant Winner: Jubilee Jobs

Jubilee Jobs offers hope to all in Fayette County who desire to work but face barriers, through a seven-step program that educates people about becoming employed, helps place them in jobs and encourages them to grow beyond their initial placement. The BGCF365 grant will help launch Breaking Barriers, Building Futures, a new comprehensive effort to address the complex challenges hindering employment, through tailored support services, professional counseling and a data-driven approach.

Third Place $5,000 Grant Winner: GreenHouse17

GreenHouse17 is an advocacy agency committed to ending intimate partner abuse and its impact on families and our community. The BGCF365 grant will support its Nature-based Work Readiness After Surviving Intimate Partner Abuse program, through which intimate partner abuse survivors reimagine the possibility for economic stability for themselves and their children through nature-based work readiness training.

2022-23 Grants: Youth Development + Wellness

BGCF365 members met at Base249 for The Finals, our annual grantmaking meeting, on April 20. We heard project pitches from three Lexington nonprofits supporting Fayette County youth and voted on how to award $25,000 in total grants:

FIRST PLACE $15,000 GRANT WINNER: OPERATION MAKING A CHANGE

Operation Making A Change (OMAC) offers a 12-week violence prevention/intervention program for Fayette County Public School students in grades 3-12. In addition to violence prevention (with an emphasis on gun violence), the program addresses other critical issues such as substance abuse and mental health and reinforces positive behaviors and decision-making.

SECOND PLACE $7,500 GRANT WINNER: AFRICAN AMERICAN BALLET TROUPE

The African American Ballet Troupe provides free ballet classes to traditionally underserved youth, including children of diverse races and those experiencing financial hardship, to increase the diversity of the Lexington ballet community. Students benefit from the regular physical activity, and experience positive changes to their confidence levels and mental health by connecting with a community of dancers and performing in dance productions.

THIRD PLACE $2,500 GRANT WINNER: SPECIALIZED ALTERNATIVES FOR FAMILIES AND YOUTH

Through SAFY of KY’s Older Youth Services Pathways to Success Skill Building Program, youth aging out of foster care (ages 18-21) receive monthly independent living skill building programming from a SAFY case manager. In addition to hands-on life skills, such as cooking, cleaning and financial planning, the youth will also receive trauma-informed mental health care.

2021-22 Grants: Healthy Neighborhoods

 

On March 17, BGCF365 awarded five grants totaling $25,000 to nonprofits working to create healthier neighborhoods in Fayette County:

  • $10,000 Grant: Refuge Clinic
  • $7,500 Grant: E7 Kids Cafe
  • $2,500 Grants: Children’s Law Center, God’s Pantry Food Bank and Lexington Rescue Mission

2020-21 Grants: Arts + Culture

On January 21, 2021, BGCF365 met virtually to award five grants totaling $25,000 to Lexington nonprofits delivering creative arts programming in innovative ways during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 Grants: Green Spaces + Public Places

On January 8, 2020, BGCF365 awarded five grants totaling $25,000 to nonprofits working on green spaces and public places in Fayette County.

  • North Limestone Community Development Corporation was awarded $10,000 to support the expansion of the Night Market, a monthly pop-up street art and craft fair.
  • LexArts received $7,500 to beautify the Booker Street side of the Black and Williams building with a community mural.
  • The Lexington Public Library Foundation received $2,500 to create an enclosed outdoor playspace on the back porch of the Northside Branch Library, free and open to everyone in our community.
  • LFUCG Greenspace Trust received $2,500 for the Dantzler Court project to establish a replicable model for a community-driven process to enhance access and activity in the 800+ underutilized neighborhood green spaces owned by the City of Lexington.
  • Seedleaf received $2,500 to erect self-guided education stations with signage, seating and a bike rack at the Seedleaf community farm, an educational growing space that highlights the possibilities of small-scale urban agriculture for sustainable local food production in an economically and culturally diverse community.

2018 Grants: Education

In 2018, BGCF365 awarded five grants totaling $25,000 to nonprofits focused on education in Fayette County.

  • One Parent Scholar House received $10,000 for its One Parent Scholar House School Preparedness for Children project, to instill enthusiasm for learning and ensure that each child in the Child Development Center has books, art supplies, Creative Curriculum educational materials necessary for kindergarten readiness.
  • The Lexington Public Library Foundation received $5,000 for the Destination Kindergarten project, to prepare children for academic success by delivering early education services throughout Fayette County with this new early literacy initiative.
  • Partnership for Successful Schools received $5,000 for the One to One: Practicing Reading with Students project. One to One recruits and trains volunteers to become literacy coaches and mentors in support of struggling readers throughout their elementary school years.
  • Living Arts and Science Center received $2,500 for the Science Explorers: Expanding Opportunities for Students and Families program, to strengthen and expand the Science Explorers after-school program for low-income and minority students in grades 3 – 5 by increasing participation of students and their families in family programs, and piloting a summer camp for Science Explorers students.
  • Midway University received $2,500 for the PATH (Providing Academic Transitions to Higher Education) Mentoring Program. The PATH mentoring Program was created to facilitate the pathway to higher education by inspiring leadership skills by fostering school and community involvement. This academic year-long program motivates and prepares female minority students to obtain a post-secondary degree.

2017 Grants: Healthy Neighborhoods

In 2017, BGCF365 awarded five grants totaling $25,000 to nonprofits focused on creating healthy neighborhoods across Fayette County.

  • Natalie’s Sisters received $10,000 for its Healthy Food for the Sexually Exploited program. Grant funding helped support the purchase of healthy meals and snacks for sexually exploited women who visited its Drop-In Center.
  • Common Good Community Development Corporation received $7,500 for its Nourishing North Lexington program. Funding helped support healthy food options, nutrition education, and formal recreational activities for participants in Common Good’s after school program.
  • God’s Pantry Food Bank received $2,500 to support the free food pantry at Leestown Middle School.
  • Kentucky CancerLink received $2,500 to conduct cancer screenings for uninsured/underserved Fayette County residents and facilitate the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking classes.
  • Radio Eye received $2,500 to support health and disability programming, as well as fitness shows broadcast by Radio Eye for the benefit of Fayette county residents who cannot comfortably hold print material because of blindness, visual or physical disability, or learning difference.

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