VENTURA COUNTY — Founder of The Greater Contribution, Karon Wright, has been selected as an Honoree for the 2024 National Philanthropy Day Awards as Volunteer of the Year, Ventura County.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties Chapter NPD nomination committee will be presenting her with the honor at an awards ceremony Tuesday, October 29 at 5:00pm at the Santa Barbara Zoo (500 Ninos Drive, SB, CA 93103).
Criteria for Volunteer of the Year: An eligible individual must have demonstrated exceptional leadership through direct voluntary service and/or by coordination of groups of volunteers for one or more major fundraising project. Through contributions of personal time, effort and leadership, he/she must have clearly influenced the success of the fundraising and organizational advancement.
Wright founded The Greater Contribution in 2006 to empower impoverished women and girls in Uganda. Now decades later, the non-profit has provided more than 35,000 micro loans, education and development programs to impact thousands of lives beyond our borders. She is truly a volunteer as she has never taken a salary as the organization’s president.
From her home office in Thousand Oaks, her formula for success has made a huge impact by starting small, so that women in remote Ugandan villages can start their own businesses and lift their families out of poverty. Typical incomes for women in Uganda prior to enrollment = .35cents a day. After completing the three-year mentorship program salaries average $17.73 per day, with an impressive 98% repayment rate. That means a pair of shoes for a child, or maybe three meals a day, or the ability for siblings to attend school, or visit a doctor.
“In the African culture where women are the breadwinners, our program creates sustainable incomes that foster pride with our participants and their communities,” says TGC President Karon Wright. “Best of all, by the end of the three-year program our borrowers are often employing other women and men.”
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Greater Contribution empowers impoverished women and girls in Uganda with compassion and respect. We provide financial support through micro loans, education, and development programs to reduce poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, and gender inequality. This assistance supports them in becoming equal partners in their families and respected members of their communities, opening doors to a more equitable and prosperous future.