Western Kentucky nonprofits receive $240,000 in grants from Kentucky Colonels

Christie Netherton, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·2 min read

Jun. 18—The Higher Order of Kentucky Colonels has awarded $240,000 in grants to nonprofits in Western Kentucky, several of which are Owensboro organizations.

A total of 275 organizations across Kentucky have benefitted from $2.1 million in HOKC grants this year. Thirty-nine were in Western Kentucky and seven were in Owensboro.

Local organizations that benefited from Kentucky Colonel grants include the Community Dental Clinic, Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Kentucky, Imagination Library, St Benedict's Shelter, the YMCA, the Owensboro Symphony and the RiverPark Center.

Grant administrator Eric Patterson said the HOKC, a nonprofit organization, awards grants to a variety of organizations.

"We support all different types of organizations, so there are not too many requirements. They have to have been in existence for at least five years. We're looking for organizations who are apolitical and also organizations who do not have any sort of religious requirements in order to receive services," he said.

The organization must also be a nonprofit to receive grant money from the HOKC.

The Kentucky Colonels, according to Executive Director Sherry Crowse, has been around since the early 1800s.

The organization focuses on philanthropic values by giving to organizations that touch the lives of residents in their communities.

"All of those dollars, that $2.1 million ... were given to us by Kentucky Colonels," she said. "They contribute to us so that we can make a difference in the commonwealth. All the grants that we've given out ... those nonprofits will have touched 3.7 million Kentuckians, and ... there are only 4.4 million Kentuckians right now."

Crowse said the HOKC gives to a variety of nonprofits, ranging from homeless shelters to animal shelters.

She said the organizations that receive grant funds from HOKC contribute to the commonwealth in meaningful ways.

"It's just this wide range of nonprofits that really affect the community, and those in Owensboro are outstanding nonprofits," she said.

To learn more about the HOKC, visit KYColonels.org.

Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360