The pandemic stopped them from gathering this year, but it didn’t stop them from giving.
Two community organizations received a total of $16,500 from the Fabulous 50 women’s giving circle for 2020, continuing a tradition that’s spanned eight years now.
By virtual vote, the women chose Do Something to receive the top grant award of $11,000 and the Brown County Humane Society to receive the second-place award of $5,500.
Do Something, a community and organization for people seeking substance abuse recovery, asked for support for Hope Fest. It’s a recovery fair which also featured a softball game last year between the sheriff’s department and Recover Out Loud. For this year’s Hope Fest, organizers plan to add more sheriff’s department and recovery group softball teams.
Do Something also plans to use the money to add a phone and a stipend to get another person to answer calls for help; to further develop its website to point to resources and testimonials; and to do more social media outreach.
In 2020, Do Something was able to answer 246 phone calls for help, refer 46 people for substance abuse treatment, aid 21 inmates, distribute 32 doses of Narcan, host 22 parent-child meetings, tour six new sober living and treatment facilities, and give financial assistance for lodging or travel to treatment to five people.
The Brown County Humane Society plans to add its grant money to its medical fund. Typically, the society spends $11,000 to $18,000 annually to help special-needs animals seeking homes. In the early part of 2021, the society was already dealing with two expensive cases: a dog born with a bone condition that resulted in two partial paws on one leg, and a senior dog who had two tick-borne diseases, arthritis, and an anal gland tumor.
The Fabulous 50 group now includes 89 local women who donate $200 a year to the giving circle. There’s also a small group of four Magnanimous Men who contribute and vote. Some members give extra.
When voting time comes each February — usually over snacks and punch — each donor writes a cause she would like to support on a slip of paper, and three slips are drawn from a basket to be contenders for that year’s donations. Then, members make pitches to the group about why their nominee is deserving.
This year, the pitching and voting were all done over email.
Polly’s Dog Park — under construction behind the CVS in Nashville — was the third grant contender this year, but it did not win enough votes to get funding.
Since its first grant award in 2013, the group has given $107,031.50 directly to organizations, and contributed $8,450 to the Fab 50 endowment and $9,690 to the Brown County Community Foundation’s sustainability fund. The BCCF helps administer the program.
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To inquire about joining the Fabulous 50 or Magnanimous Men, contact Jenise Bohbrink at the Brown County Community Foundation, 812-988-4882 or [email protected].
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