Estill County Community Foundation
A community foundation is cited as an essential part of any successful economic development effort. The idea is simple. Individuals, businesses, and organizations with ties to Estill County donate money to the foundation’s endowment. This donation is tax deductible. All the donations are invested in an interest bearing account. Then, the interest from that account is put back into the community through grants. For example, if nonprofit group X is trying to raise money to do a community project in Estill County. Instead of going door to door to businesses to solicit donations, they can apply for a grant from the ECCF. A board of directors will meet on a regular basis to review grant applications and determine where the money is invested. This method is a sure-fire way to make sure all money given charitably in Estill County, stays in Estill County. Startup is the main hurdle to overcome. In order to gain enough interest to make a difference, the endowment must be fairly large; however, it grows every year. Budget: $100,000+ Committed: N/A
Estill County Entrepreneur Academy
Small business accounts for the vast majority of new job creation. From an economic development standpoint, especially in a small, rural community, entrepreneurs (those who start their own businesses) are an ideal group on which to focus your efforts. This program is meant to do just that. Through a partnership between the Estill County Chamber of Commerce and the EKU Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology, the academy will span 8 consecutive Mondays beginning January, 2010. EKU faculty are being utilized, and there is no cost to the participants. This will definitely be an asset to small business development in our community. Budget: N/A Committed: N/A
SIRVE – Serving Irvine and Ravenna/Volunteering for Estill
SIRVE is slated to be a comprehensive volunteer program for Estill County. The idea is to coordinate organizations and agencies throughout the community and help them identify their volunteer needs. By coordinating the needs and setting up job descriptions for each needed volunteer position, we can pool all open positions in one database/website. This will allow us to more effectively recruit and utilize individuals in the community who want to give of their time and talents. It will help organizations by giving them a ready pool of volunteers and individuals by informing them about what positions are available. Budget: TBD Committed: TBA
