Mission: The Kleinpenny Educational Fund is committed to funding non-profits that support creativity, critical thinking, sustainability, tolerance, and mental health in Athens County.
Founded in 2012, this fund was established to solidify our commitment to Athens County. We have both lived our entire adult lives in Athens, and although we have supported many of these organizations, some for over 30 years, we had never formalized a program that would provide the most benefit that our contributions might achieve.
In creating the fund, we wanted to support local organizations that we feel do an amazing job at what they do to elevate the communities of Athens County, whether it’s through social service endeavors, sustainability initiatives, mental health support, or a dozen other things. Athens County is filled with local and regional organizations that do good work here, and we want to make sure our company is a part of that.
While grant funding can do amazing things, we wanted to provide resource in a more general and ongoing way, for sustainable growth and support. The Kleinpenny Educational Fund is not a grant-giving entity, instead we have selected local organizations that receive a yearly donation for general use. We believe in the missions of these entities, and we also believe that they best know how to spend the funds they receive.
We are practicing a slow growth model. We have made a commitment to the organizations below and we intend to fund them each year at a similar level, hoping over time to increase those amounts as we are able. The KP Educational Fund currently supports 22 local organizations. Each year, we also set money aside for local Capital Campaigns, which have included Habitat for Humanity, Stuart's Opera House, Women for Recovery, and The Dairy Barn.
And you’re a part of this, too! As a tenant in one of our rental properties, part of your monthly rent goes to supporting these organizations; about 10% of our rent collection goes into the KP Fund each year.
Athens is a wonderful community in which to live, raise kids and take part in a wide variety of social groups. We have enjoyed living here since 1976 and 1980 respectively and feel blessed that our time on this planet as been so fulfilling. Athens has had a lot to do with that. Being part of the economy here has allowed us to prosper and to use our resources to give back. Here you can make a difference.
Michael Kleinman and Ann Moneypenny