The Community Foundation of South Central Kentucky awarded $188,742 in grants Thursday to 38 area nonprofits during a presentation at the SoKY Marketplace in downtown Bowling Green.

The foundation is designed to meet the changing needs of southcentral Kentucky through its discretionary and donor fund grantmaking.

CFSCKY Executive Director Jennifer Wethington said endowment building and grantmaking is at the heart of the organization’s work to enhance the quality of life in the area.

“This will be my 10th year with the foundation, and every year the amount we have given away goes up,” Wethington said. “Truly, this year is our largest year.”

Each of the 38 nonprofits received one grant ranging between $1,000 and $18,500.

United Way of Southern Kentucky was given the largest award at $18,500. The Boys and Girls Club of Bowling Green received the second-largest grant at $11,339.60, and the SKY Arts Foundation received the third-largest at $10,468.

All of the grants awarded were given through the following funds held and stewarded by CFSCKY: Jerry E. Baker Fund; Lawrence Bloom Fund; Community Foundation Fund; John B. Gaines Fund; Heather F. Higgins Foundation; Help Your Self, Help Others Fund; Higgins Family Foundation; Kelly Family Fund; Laura Turner Dugas for Allen County; Julie Ritter Fund; SKY Arts Fund and the Vitale Family Fund.

CFSCKY holds a total of 41 distinct funds that are pooled, managed and invested to generate growth and income for granting purposes.

The foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of local business and civic leaders who are dedicated to building a lasting resource to address the community’s needs.

One organization that was given its first grant from the foundation was the Boys and Girls Club of Butler County, which was awarded $4,000.

Executive Director Amanda White said the money will go toward an educational program called MobyMax that will start in the fall and aims to raise the reading levels of children in the community.

“It makes us feel really important that there are other people out there interested in helping out children,” White said. “Just to be able to see some of the other organizations that are out here and the things that they do shows that you are not in the fight alone. It makes it worthwhile.”

The Simpson County Historical Society was also a first-time receiver of a grant from the foundation in the sum of $2,000.

President and CEO James Snider said the funds will go toward making the research center and museum more accessible through a project called “Touch and Learn.”

“We have applied before, but this is the first time we have received it,” Snider said of the grant. “We are wanting to use this to make the exhibits more interactive (i.e. touch screens, tablets). We want to have a little bit more of a self-guided tour.”

“It will allow us to purchase some of these items that we have been wanting to have, and we just haven’t had the money that we felt like we could spare for this kind of stuff,” Snider added. “This grant will allow us to be able to do that.”