Our mission is to encourage philanthropic giving to make a positive impact upon our communities now and for generations to come.
We work toward the goal of philanthropic giving through building and overseeing a permanent collection of endowment funds. We have several funds that serve specific sections of the community. For information on all of those, please visit Our Funds page.
We also maintain The South Central Kentucky Endowment Fund. This generalized endowment allows the Foundation to meet changing and emerging needs within the community.
Our efforts focus on serving the counties of Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson and Warren.
Fred Higgins honored as 2020 South Central Kentuckian of the Year
Frederick Marshall Higgins also known as Fred was an Industry Icon who used innovative ideas to bring retailing to the fore front of convenience store industry.
He was an entrepreneur, a mentor and was at the helm of many philanthropic endeavors. Higgins was born in 1943 in Athens, TN. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Centre College in Danville, KY in 1965. Higgins joined his father, Ralph Higgins, to create a new c-store chain, Minit Mart Foods Inc. while attending the University of Kentucky’s college of Law. After serving in the military intelligence branch of the US Army during the Vietnam war in 1972, Higgins settled in Bowling Green, KY.
He incorporated Minit Mart, which had grown to 16 locations. At its peak, Minit Mart was a multistate operator with more than 200 locations, became one of the first chains to add gasoline pumps in the 1970s and was a pioneer in creating new marketing conveniences by adding delis, gaming machines, video and DVD rentals.
LEGACY PARTNERS
VISIONARY PARTNERS
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
SUPPORT PARTNERS