GiveTLH announces winner of $10,000 grand prize for 2023
Entrepreneur Rick Kearney recalls his own early days of philanthropy, after leaving his job at IBM to open Good News Outreach and serve the Frenchtown neighborhood of Tallahassee.
“I would go to the post office just praying there was a check so I could pay a bill,” he shared to a chuckling audience. “The Beatitude Foundation created the GiveTLH to make sure other small nonprofits had an easier time getting started.”
Now in its sixth year, the annual giving campaign has awarded over $1 million and in-kind services to almost 50 local organizations. This fall, six local organizations were selected to receive a $1,000 grant and a 12-month membership to United Partners for Human Services.
Nominees: GiveTLH 2023: The voting is open for six worthy Tallahassee nonprofits
GiveTLH Administrator Kim Garner starts the selection process early. “Each summer I begin my research, looking for small, unique, mainly volunteer driven organizations that are providing crucial services in our community. I'm always amazed at how many of them I’ve never heard of before. They are all deserving, but we can only choose a handful of nominees each year. That's why it's so important for our foundation to continue this effort,” she says.
On Dec. 6, all six organizations and their supporters gathered to hear the results of a week of online voting by Tallahassee Democrat readers.
The grand prize of a $10,000 grant, $10,000 in combined services from BowStern Marketing and LocaliQ, and free registration and exhibitor booth space for the United Partners for Human Services Annual Conference went to the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative.
Executive Director Dan Hendrickson, flanked by volunteers and supporters, expressed thanks to the Beatitude Foundation and voters, saying, “We are so honored that the community in Tallahassee turned out to vote to support veterans, celebrating Veterans Day every day. We know that many veterans who find allies that help support them while solving their individual challenges will in turn step up to help others. It’s so gratifying.”
Founded in 2018 to promote the provision of legal assistance to economically disadvantaged veterans rehabilitation, the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative is a network of hundreds of volunteer lawyers, paralegals, organizers and community service providers who are passionate about serving the men and women who have served our country in military service.
Hendrickson continues, “The grant and additional consulting will keep our weekly clinic going next year, taking care of mundane organizational maintenance such as insurance, but especially our driver’s license reinstatement work and advocacy for increased VA benefits.”
Rounding out the top three GiveTLH winners are Little Sunshine Pantries, receiving $5,000, and SHE Academy taking home $2,500. The community spirit was reinforced by a banquet to celebrate the organizations, with Garner sharing, “Even though this is our 6th year of GiveTLH, it was the first time we hosted an awards banquet. I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet each of our nominees and their volunteers in person.”
“We are so grateful for all the local non profits and the commitments they’ve made for their community and the sacrifices they make to keep those commitments,” Little Sunshine co-founder Ashley Pugh said. “We are also so thankful for our partners and followers who helped us make it to second place! The winnings from GiveTLH will be set aside specifically for our grocery store fund while we continue to raise the needed capital to bring it to fruition.”
Shaqualyn Shedrick, founder of SHE Academy, shared on Facebook, “Mr. Kearney and The Beatitude Foundation, thank you so much for everything you do to empower nonprofit organizations in our community! Congratulations to the Little Sunshine Pantries for coming in second place and gearing up to build Tallahassee’s first free grocery store!!! Congratulations to the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative for winning first place!!!”
Kearney smiled as the room was filled with applause, calls of congratulations, and snapping selfies, saying, “In early 2018, I realized there were many small nonprofits in our area that were really struggling. They weren’t eligible to receive funds from the city and county, and although they were offering crucial services, they had little to no staff and were relying on only a handful of dedicated volunteers to run their programs," Kearney said.
"I wanted to find a way to highlight these organizations and educate the public about them. It is my hope that by sharing their mission with a large audience, they will get the funding, volunteers, and staff needed to expand their programs and services,” Kearney said.
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Learn more about all of this year’s nominees and how you can support them all year at givetlh.com.
About #GiveTLH
#GiveTLH, underwritten by the Beatitude Foundation and Rick Kearney, is a look at six nonprofits in our community and how you can help them in their life-changing work. At the conclusion of this series, Kearney will award grants to the nonprofit that gets the most votes in an online poll. For more profiles, visit give.tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative wins #GiveTLH grand prize
