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News & Impact

News, coverage, and stories about Grant Ready Kentucky in the wild.

The Difference We're Making

August 11, 2025

How the GRANT Program Powered Habitat For Humanity’s Neighborhood Vision

When Habitat for Humanity Owensboro-Daviess County set out to build not just homes, but an entire neighborhood, they had the land, the vision—and a serious funding gap. With help from the GRANT Program and local partners, they found the match funding that turned “someday” into “right now.” The result? Ten homes under construction, families on the path to stability, and a powerful reminder of what’s possible when big dreams meet the right support.

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Jeremy Stephens, former Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Owensboro-Daviess County, in Habitat’s Owensboro office, a few miles from their first full neighborhood build, made possible by GRANT Program funds
July 22, 2025

How Lifeline Recovery Center Is Building Capacity to Serve More Kentuckians Than Ever Before

After two failed attempts at securing state opioid abatement funding, Lifeline Recovery in Paducah, Kentucky, was ready to give up. But with Grant Ready Kentucky’s free coaching and training, Executive Director Ashley Miller and her team took one last shot, and won. That grant is now transforming lives, funding workforce training, peer support, and GED prep for people in recovery. For Ashley, a program graduate who has lost multiple family members to addiction, the success is deeply personal: “You don’t have to do it all alone. Asking for help is not a weakness. It’s wisdom.”

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Ashley Miller, Executive Director of Lifeline Recovery Center in Paducah, Kentucky, on the property where they are building their newest recovery campus.
June 24, 2025

How a Community Centered around Food, Music, and Connection is Building for the Future

In Whitesburg, Kentucky, the Cowan Community Center has long been a gathering place rooted in grit, grace, and community spirit. When a dream for a permanent farmers market pavilion seemed just out of reach, the GRANT Program helped change the math—turning a modest local investment into hundreds of thousands in federal support. Now, thanks to Cowan’s vision and the backing of partners like KRADD, a new stage and 30-bay market pavilion are rising on the banks of the Kentucky River. It’s more than a structure—it’s a promise that rural places can build big dreams, and see them through.

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Executive Director of Cowan Community Action Group, Valerie Horn, in Whitesburg, Kentucky, at their headquarters, the town’s original post office turned office building.
June 24, 2025

From Small Staff to Big Vision: How Grant Ready Kentucky Helped New Pioneers Build Capacity

In the heart of central Kentucky, New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future is showing what sustainability can look like in small, rural places—one relationship at a time. With just a few staff and a whole lot of heart, they’re making big strides through education, advocacy, and hands-on programs. Thanks to support from Grant Ready Kentucky, Executive Director Julia Gerwe found not just a roadmap for grants—but the confidence to own her organization's voice. With newfound clarity and tools in hand, New Pioneers is ready to grow its impact across Washington, Marion, and Nelson counties.

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Julia Gerwe, Executive Director of New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future, participates in a two-day, Grant Ready Kentucky workshop focused on nonprofit grant readiness.
April 10, 2025

How a rural Kentucky community turned a $15,000 match into $10 million in change

For years, the City of Campton, Kentucky—a small town serving all of Wolfe County—faced mounting infrastructure challenges with few financial options. But under Mayor Kathi May’s leadership and with support from the state’s new GRANT Program, the city has secured over $10 million in federal funding for critical projects, including a new walking bridge, water treatment upgrades, and long-awaited water access for 80 households.

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Mayor Kathi May and local resident Donna Brewer posing on the Campton, Kentucky bridge that will soon be renovated with the help of GRANT Program matching funds.
April 8, 2025

How One Regional Planner is Helping Eastern Kentucky Communities Dream Bigger

The Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD) has helped small, often-overlooked communities across Eastern Kentucky unlock over $10 million in federal funding—thanks to the state’s new GRANT Program. By helping local governments and nonprofits navigate complex applications and secure matching funds, KRADD has turned “impossible” projects into reality.

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Insights and Updates from GRKY Leadership

Resources and Assistance Available for ARC POWER Initiative

Grant Ready Kentucky and Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) are partnering to offer webinars, grant writing assistance, and in-person coaching opportunities focused on the Appalachian Regional Commission's POWER Initiative.
By
Leigh Cocanougher, Operations Director
August 22, 2025
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2
min read

August 2025 Executive Order: Challenges and Opportunities for Grant Seekers

On August 7, 2025, the White House issued the Executive Order Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking to increase accountability, transparency, and alignment of federal discretionary grants with stated national priorities. This directive reshapes how agencies develop, review, and manage Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), and it adds new oversight layers that will affect both timing...
By
Hannah Conover and Melissa Vermillion
August 11, 2025
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6
min read

Thinking Beyond Federal Grants: A Broader Approach to Nonprofit Sustainability

As many nonprofits brace for increased competition and shifting priorities in federal funding, the need for sustainable alternatives has never been clearer. At the 2025 Kentucky Grant Professionals Association (KY GPA) Statewide Conference in Elizabethtown, I met Phil Johncock and discovered one of his books that felt especially timely: Diversify Nonprofit Sustainability with 20 Approved IRS Re...
By
Melissa Vermillion, Chief Strategy Officer
June 20, 2025
•
min read

Some Federal Grants Are Back—and They’re Rooted in Community

Federal grants are blooming again—and they’re focused on Kentucky’s real needs. New DOJ and USDA programs are investing in rural safety, food access, and local economies. With more on the horizon like ARC POWER, now’s the time to get ready.
By
Melissa Vermillion, Chief Strategy Officer
June 25, 2025
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5
min read

HB 605 Updates the GRANT Program to Expand Grant Access and Flexibility

There’s exciting news on the grant front for Kentucky organizations: The Governor recently signed HB605—a bill updating the Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (GRANT) Program to include expanded opportunities, more flexibility, and a smoother application process for public service providers across the Commonwealth. Changes are expected to go into effect by May 1st.
By
April 28, 2025
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3
min read

Riding the Waves: How Nonprofits Can Stay Steady While Federal Funding Is in Flux

I was conducting a training a couple of weeks ago in Western Kentucky and an executive director of a small nonprofit asked me during a break in a quiet but steady voice, “What are we supposed to do while the federal grants are stuck in limbo?” It’s a question I’ve heard dozens of times in the last few months. From food pantries to workforce development nonprofits, from after-school programs to...
By
Melissa Vermillion, Chief Strategy Officer
May 16, 2025
•
5
min read

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