Move Your Money

The Move Your Money project is a nonprofit campaign that encourages individuals and institutions to divest from the nation’s largest Wall Street banks and move to local financial institutions. These smaller financial institutions are typically more conservative about how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. In other words, they have the values that more people would want banks to have. Plus, they tend to have fewer fees and offer better returns for consumers. It’s neither a conservative nor liberal idea; just a way for individuals to vote with their dollars and create a better financial landscape.

Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues

The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues helps non-metropolitan journalists define the public agenda for their communities, and grasp the local impact of broader issues. It interprets rural issues for metro news media, conducts seminars and publishes research and good examples of rural journalism. It helps journalists all over America learn about rural issues, trends and events in areas they’ve never seen but have much in common with their own.

Ollie and Theresa McNay Nursing Scholarship at Eastern Kentucky University

My sister,  Theresa,  and I made the decision at  mom’s death to create the Ollie McNay Nursing Scholarship at Eastern Kentucky University.  The scholarship is designated for a nursing student who is a single parent  at Eastern Kentucky University.  Ideally the student will be from Kenton County or Northern Kentucky.  When Theresa died in October, we changed the name of the scholarship to  the Ollie and Theresa McNay Nursing Scholarship.    Theresa was not a nurse but a single parent like my mom.  It seemed appropriate. The fund needed $10,000 to be endowed.  It made the $10,000 goal, primarily from  people who read my newspaper column online.  Most of the contributions were in the $25 to $50 range.