(This article first appeared in the August print edition of the Hendersonian.)
The Habitat For Humanity of Henderson is again on the quest to raise more than $1 million in its annual bourbon raffle.
Habitat Chief Operations Officer Matt Reynolds said as of late July 8,000 of the total 20,000 tickets have been sold for the Raise a Glass, Raise a House Bourbon Raffle. He said if the raffle sells out, then the organization would have a good shot of raising $1.5 million.
“That’s very possible,” Reynolds said.
But it also depends on the amount of money spent on advertising to get the word out, Reynolds said.
To get a ticket, go to hendersonkyraffle.org and click on the raffle button to start the sign up.
Each ticket is $100 and gives a buyer the chance to win one of 55 different bourbon packages with the most valuable coming in at an estimated $14,531.
The deadline is Sept. 1.
The local Habitat started the raffle in 2019, and that year, it brought in $42,000. It has grown each year since, Reynolds said. In 2020, it raised $116,000; in 2021, $183,000; in 2022, $314,000; and in 2023, $563,000.
In 2024, the raffle raised more than $1 million, coming in at $1.07 million, and last year, it brought in $1.325 million.
Reynold said that the funds have gone a long way to help Habitat build an increasing number of homes each year. It’s not the only revenue stream, though, and Reynolds said the organization has also done a better job in the past few years of acquiring more grants. It also runs a thrift shop that sees steady foot traffic.
With all that, the local Habitat is projected to close on 13 homes in the current fiscal year, which started July 1 and will end June 30, 2027. That would be the most in one year in the local Habitat’s history.
Reynolds said about 15 years ago, when he started at Habitat, said it was hard to acquire donations because what it was doing in the community was limited.
“As we picked up, more people wanted to be involved in some way,” he said.
Part of that may revolve around the viewable results that donors can see their money supporting.
When they give us the money, “we can turn around and show them a tangible result,” he said.
Habitat is also actively working with the city of Henderson and the Henderson Fiscal Court to build more homes.
On the city side, both the city and Habitat have pledged $100,000 for each of the next five years to address blighted properties.
Fiscal court, meanwhile, has approved $400,000 in funding to help build homes in the county. The groundbreaking for the first occurred in December in Corydon. The groundbreaking for two more homes in Corydon occurred on July 24.
Reynolds wanted to give a “thanks” to all those who have already purchased tickets.
He also was careful to mention that Habitat has secured all the licenses to conduct this fundraising event.
