Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque awards $35,920 to local nonprofits through Community Impact Grants Program
The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (CFGD) recently announced eight nonprofit recipients of 2017 CFGD Community Impact Grants totaling $35,920. Now in its 13th year, the Community Impact Grant program is funded by gifts to the Foundation’s Community Impact Fund.
The goal of the grant program is to improve policies and practices affecting the Greater Dubuque community and to have the greatest possible impact. Unlike many grant programs, Community Impact Grants focus on building capacity of local nonprofits by supporting training and development, collaboration and coaching, research and planning, and operations.
The 2017 Community Impact Grant recipients are:
- East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA)- $1,000
Grant will establish a grantwriting pool for nonprofit groups to hire ECIA staff to write special project grants.
- Camp Albrecht Acres - $3,000
Grant will fund four-day Instructor Certification Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training program for year-round, full-time staff so they can train new seasonal direct care staff.
- DuRide - $3,920
Du Ride is at record levels of membership, volunteers and ride volume. This grant will allow the nonprofit to add an additional part-time employee and work station in the office.
- Hillcrest Family Services - $4,000
Grant will fund training for three Hillcrest staff to become certified instructors for mental health first aid.
- Almost Home Dubuque - $6,000
Grant will support program that allows people at risk of losing their utilities to earn vouchers to supplement payment directly to a recognized vendor by performing scheduled volunteer work at a nonprofit and receiving employment mentorship.
- Dubuque Dream Center - $6,000
Funding will provide a “School Connector” (teacher/paraprofessional) trained in reading and math improvement strategies.
- Mercy Medical Center – Dubuque - $6,000
Grant will support the Dubuque Marshall Islands Health Project, which seeks to improve the health status of Marshallese Dubuquers by connecting them with fellow Marshallese people trained as “community health workers,” as well as nurses and social workers to guide them through the healthcare system.
- Multicultural Family Center - $6,000
Grants will fund the Future Talk Teen Empowerment program, designed to teach youth critical employment skills, how to open and maintain a bank account, how to work in a natural environment, and to be engaged citizens.
The Community Impact Grant program was established in 2004 and is made possible by donations from community members to the Foundation’s Community Impact Fund. Annual payouts from this endowment fund have supported a total of $420,280 in grants to local nonprofits. This is one of several CFGD grant programs that, combined with payouts from endowment funds established by donors and nonprofits at the Foundation, has distributed nearly $30 million to nonprofits since the Foundation’s inception in 2002, including $6.5 million last year alone.
“We can’t anticipate what our community’s most urgent needs will be in 10 or 20 years. Donations to the Community Impact Fund build a sustainable source of income that provides a safety net for the future,” says Nancy Van Milligen, CFGD president and CEO. “Thanks to the generosity of community members and the power of endowment, this fund is building the capacity of nonprofits so they can deliver essential services to our community for years to come.”
For more information about Community Impact Grants, please contact Katie Foust, CFGD grants management coordinator, at 563.588.2700 or katie@dbqfoundation.org.