Harrison County Community Fund

07/24/2026

We were so grateful to have been able to be a part of this grant program in downtown Cynthiana.

Keeping up older buildings in the historical downtown can be very difficult and costly, but so crucial and impactful on tourism and even our own experience of the downtown as citizens.

We are so excited to see how these recipients utilize this grant program in Cynthiana!

✨Congratulations to the 2026 Downtown Incentives Grant (DIG) recipients!✨

We’re proud to announce this year’s recipients:
🔨 VanHook Hardware
🧀 Cynthiana Cheese Store
💐 Twin Oaks Floral/Flower Depot
🍷 Maime's Fine Wine and Gifts

The Cynthiana-Harrison County Tourism Commission continues its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs, revitalizing spaces, and preserving historic buildings through the Downtown Improvement Grant (DIG) Program.

The DIG program is a highly competitive program that encourages and assists investment in our historic downtown. Building on the Cynthiana Main Street Program’s prior grants and revitalization efforts, the DIG Program is the flagship of the Tourism Commission's strategy to attract investment, support entrepreneurship, encourage property improvements, and strengthen the downtown district.

Each year, the Tourism Commission commits $15,000 to the DIG Program; this year, for the first time, we increased our individual grant investment to $5,000 to provide three grants to support downtown revitalization.

The increased funding threshold attracted more applicants than usual. The number of strong applications led us to reach out to the Harrison County Community Fund for assistance. Thanks to a special one-time partnership investment of an additional $5,000, this cycle of the program was expanded to include a fourth recipient, bringing the total matching funds investment in downtown to $20,000.

The projects we are supporting this year will help with HVAC installation, roof repair, facade and signage improvements, and the creation of a second-floor short-term rental.

❤️ We are incredibly grateful to the Harrison County Community Fund for partnering with us to maximize this year's program. These projects are more than building improvements; they are investments in the future of downtown Cynthiana. Every restored storefront, improved façade, and preserved historic building helps create a downtown that residents are proud of, and visitors want to explore.

👏 Congratulations again to VanHook Hardware, Cynthiana Cheese Store, Twin Oaks Floral, and Maime’s Fine Wine & Gifts. We look forward to sharing the progress of these exciting projects in the coming months.

07/09/2026

Some gifts don’t just solve today’s challenges—they create opportunities for generations to come.

Today, we are honored to recognize a transformational $25,000 gift from Together We Grow to the Harrison County Community Fund.

Together We Grow was originally established during the uncertainty of COVID-19 to help our local businesses and community weather an unprecedented season. As its mission evolved, the organization chose to become a fund under the Bluegrass Community Foundation, allowing the Foundation to steward the legal, financial, and grant administration while Together We Grow remained focused on what has always mattered most: caring for Harrison County.

That same heart for community is what led Together We Grow to invest in the Harrison County Community Fund.

Unlike many charitable funds, every dollar contributed to HCCF becomes part of a permanent endowment that is invested, grows over time, and continues giving back to Harrison County forever. Our goal is to build this endowment to $1 million, creating approximately $50,000 in annual grants to address urgent community needs and invest in the pillars that make Harrison County stronger.

We’ve already seen what that kind of giving can do. Last fall, HCCF was able to quickly provide $10,000 to local food banks when they feared they wouldn’t be able to meet the community’s growing need. When a local food pantry’s refrigerator unexpectedly failed, HCCF helped provide funding for a replacement within days, ensuring families continued receiving food without interruption.

Their generosity joins the support of organizations like the James & Martha Brown Foundation and others who believe deeply in the future of Harrison County. Many of these supporters no longer live here full-time, yet they continue investing in the place that helped shape them.

If others believe this strongly in Harrison County’s future, how can we show that we believe in it too?

• T O G E T H E R • we aren’t just responding to today’s needs, we are building a foundation for the future of Harrison County.

✨🤍 LINK IN BIO to donate or set up your monthly donation toward Harrison County’s future.

To donate: https://bgcf.givingfuel.com/harrison-county-community-fund

06/10/2026

Want to give back to your hometown and make a difference that lasts?

Endowed community funds at Blue Grass Community Foundation are built to do just that.

These funds are permanently invested to support local nonprofits, respond to emerging needs and strengthen the places we call home. Each year, a portion of the fund’s earnings is granted out while the fund continues to grow.

That means a gift made today can support your community year after year.

You can make a lasting impact in:
🩵 Clark County
💚 Fayette County
🩵 Franklin County
💚 Harrison County
🩵 Madison County
💚 Magoffin County
🩵 Mt. Sterling–Montgomery County
💚 Rowan County
🩵 Woodford County

And there’s a smart way to give. Through the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit, eligible Kentucky taxpayers can receive up to a 20% state tax credit when they make an approved gift to an endowed community fund.

💰 A $50,000 gift may qualify for up to $10,000 in Kentucky tax savings.
💡 You don’t need to itemize your deductions.
📈 The statewide tax credit pool has doubled to $2 million this year.
🌱 Applications open July 1, and gifts planned now can grow for good.

Let’s grow something lasting, together.

🔗 To learn more about Endow KY and download the 2026 application: bgcf.org/endowky
🔗 To learn more about BGCF's nine endowed community funds: bgcf.org/community-funds

06/03/2026

A huge thank you to Bruce Florence for taking the time to highlight the mission and impact of the Harrison County Community Fund in her recent article.

In rural communities like ours, every dollar matters. What makes the Harrison County Community Fund unique is that gifts don’t just help today—they help forever. Through the power of an endowment, donations are invested and continue growing, creating a permanent source of funding that supports local nonprofits, community projects, education, food security, arts, recreation, and the opportunities that make Harrison County a better place to live, work, and raise a family. (Blue Grass Community Foundation)

✨The future of Harrison County isn’t built by one person or one large gift—it’s built by neighbors who believe in their community and choose to invest in it.✨

If you’d like to be part of that impact, please consider making a one-time gift or becoming a monthly donor through the link in our bio. Together, we’re creating a legacy that will continue supporting Harrison County for generations to come.

BluegrassCommunityFoundation RuralKentucky LegacyGiving

05/22/2026

Today, we had the honor of hosting a luncheon for past Harrison County Community Fund board members — people who helped lay the foundation for what this fund is today and what it has the potential to become for our community’s future. ❤️

Right now, our fund has been given an incredible challenge through the generosity of the James and Martha Brown Foundation. Their gift is helping push us toward something much bigger than a number — it’s helping us build a permanent, growing source of funding for Harrison County and Cynthiana for generations to come.

Because the Harrison County Community Fund is an endowment fund, donations don’t just get spent once and disappear. They are invested and continue to grow over time. A single donation today has the ability to become something far larger in the future — continuing to give back year after year after year.

Reaching this next level as a fund means that eventually, our community could have at least $50,000 annually to reinvest into local needs through grants and community projects. In a rural community like ours, that matters deeply. We rely on trusted organizations, partnerships, and outside funding opportunities to help strengthen Harrison County, and this fund was built specifically to support those efforts long-term.

What makes this fund special is the structure and accountability behind it. The Harrison County Community Fund operates through the Bluegrass Community Foundation, providing oversight, reporting requirements, and transparency for both donations and grant recipients. Every organization receiving funding is required to report back on how funds were used, helping ensure donations truly impact our community.

Additionally, our board follows structured funding pillars and an application process focused on community-wide needs — not private individuals or personal property — ensuring grants are directed where they can create the greatest public good.

We’re also proud to say that 100% of our board members personally give back to this fund themselves. We believe in investing in the future of Harrison County right alongside our community.

If you’d like to help us continue building something lasting for Harrison County:
• You can donate through the link: https://www.bgcf.org/community-funds/harrison-county/
• You can pledge an amount over the next 18 months to 2 years
• Or you can set up a monthly donation of any size to simply give consistently over time

No gift is too small when it becomes part of something designed to grow forever. 🌱

05/13/2026

Harrison County has always been a place where neighbors show up for one another. And today, we’re asking our community to do exactly that again. ❤️

We are incredibly honored — and honestly humbled — to share that the James A. and Martha R. Brown Foundation has made a transformational investment into the future of Harrison County through the Harrison County Community Fund.

That kind of belief in a small community like ours is rare. It’s meaningful. And it’s a reminder that what we are building here matters.

Now, it’s our turn.

This campaign isn’t about finding one person to give a million dollars. It’s about proving what can happen when an entire community believes in where they live.

To complete our journey to a $1 million permanent endowment for Harrison County, we now need to raise the remaining funds as a community.

And when you break that down, it becomes something powerful:
✨ it’s 2,000 people giving $100
✨ or 4,000 people giving $50
✨ or families, businesses, neighbors, and friends each giving what they can over time

Because big impact doesn’t have to come from big gifts — it comes from committed neighbors.

If we reach this goal, the Harrison County Community Fund will have approximately $50,000 every single year to reinvest back into Harrison County through grants, projects, nonprofits, education, community needs, and opportunities for generations to come.

This is about creating something permanent.
Something lasting.
Something that keeps giving long after us.

You can support this effort by:
• Setting up a monthly donation through the Harrison County Community Fund page on the Bluegrass Community Foundation website (link in bio)
• Making a one-time gift
• contacting us directly to pledge an amount over the next year and a half

A local family planted the seed with their generosity. Now it’s our turn to grow it together.

We’re not asking for everything —
we’re asking for everyone.

Because it doesn’t take one millionaire to change a community.
It takes a community that believes in itself.

Donate here: https://www.bgcf.org/community-funds/harrison-county/

05/07/2026

What if a gift to Harrison County’s future could also benefit you at tax time?

Through the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit Program, gifts made to eligible endowed funds — including the Harrison County Community Fund — may qualify for up to a 20% Kentucky state tax credit. That means your generosity doesn’t just make an impact today… it helps build permanent support for the people, places, and projects that shape our community for generations to come.

From local nonprofits and student opportunities to community improvement projects and long-term investment in Harrison County, endowed giving creates something that keeps giving back year after year.

The statewide tax credit pool opens July 1 and is limited each year, so early planning matters. Reach out to learn more about how you can support Harrison County while taking advantage of this unique Kentucky program. 🌱

05/05/2026

There’s something powerful about investing in the place you call home.

The Harrison County Community Fund exists so that when Cynthiana needs something, we don’t have to look outward—we can respond from within.

Every dollar given doesn’t just get spent… it grows. It becomes part of something lasting. A permanent fund that supports local projects, local people, and local progress—not just today, but decades from now.

It’s how scholarships are funded, parks are improved, food access is expanded, and small but meaningful needs are met quickly—by people who actually live here and understand this community.

In a town like Cynthiana, that matters.

Because rural communities thrive when the people in them believe in them.

The best time to invest in your community may have been years ago.
The next best time is now 🌱

Use the link in our bio if you’re looking to get involved and contribute to our fund! Even $25 per month is something much larger and has a lasting impact for years to come!

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day from Harrison County Community Fund 🌎🌱

The earth has a beautiful way of reminding us that everything is connected—roots beneath the soil, hands within a community, and the small acts of care that grow into something lasting. Philanthropy works much the same way. What we give today can create shade, strength, and opportunity for generations to come.

They say the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.

Today, we encourage our Harrison County community to plant seedlings—literally in the ground, and metaphorically in the future of our hometown. A kind gesture, a volunteer hour, a donation, a helping hand, a new idea. Every seed matters.

Let’s grow something beautiful together. 🌿