Winner – Heaven Hill Brands
In 2023, Heaven Hill Brands launched the ‘Spirited Neighbor Initiative’ – a five-year, US$800,000 initiative to drive community investment in Louisville’s West End – which has suffered decades of disinvestment – and the California Neighborhood surrounding the company’s Bernheim Distillery.
The project began by trying to pinpoint which areas were most in need of investment, with Heaven Hill conducting a survey of local people, community leaders, employees and sales partners. The survey identified three main areas:
- Mental health – the need to expand access to mental health services, as well as reducing stigma through grassroots programmes
- Economic development – building financial literacy, carrying out workforce training and offering pathways to opportunity
- Education – offering enriching academic achievement and cultural programmes for local young people
The ‘Spirited Neighbor Microgrant Program’ offers grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 to grassroots nonprofits, up to an annual total of $500,000 – the idea being that investment is channelled directly to community-designed solutions that can have the greatest impact.
In order to maintain credibility, Heaven Hill established a Grant Review Committee, made up of employee volunteers from across company departments. The inclusive process was designed to strengthen accountability and employee development.
The company drew attention to the structure of the programme, claiming that, by narrowing the focus to three core pillars, the microgrants could achieve outsized outcomes, “stretching dollars across mental health programmes, economic opportunity and education without diluting effect”.
At the same time, the multi-year nature of the initiative was designed to ensure continuity – not a one-off donation, but “a sustained strategy of investment and engagement”.
According to Heaven Hill, the programme has had a tangible impact in four main areas:
- Education – a financial literacy project achieved a youth graduation rate of 96.4%, with students and parents taught to budget, save and open their first bank accounts
- Economic development – expansion of job readiness workshops, financial coaching and small business mentoring, helping families to build generational stability
- Mental health – urgent needs have been met and stigma reduced through the expansion of youth mental health services, school-based counselling and community wellness programmes
- Neighbourhood resilience – as well as offering the microgrants, ‘Spirited Neighbor’ has also helped to fund infrastructure projects such as sewer improvements and beautification efforts, contributing to the creation of a healthier, more welcoming environment.
Our judges said: “Heaven Hill Brands earned recognition for its ‘Spirited Neighbor Initiative’, investing US$800,000 over five years back into the local community of Louisville to make it a better place.”
