Community Foundation Celebrates Greater Good at 15th Annual Luncheon
The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (CFGD) celebrated a successful year of community impact with donors and community partners at its 15th annual donor luncheon on Tuesday, October 10, at the Dubuque Golf and Country Club.
The event celebrated many successes made possible by the Foundation’s community leadership work, including:
- Vision To Learn, a mobile eye clinic that provided free eye exams and delivered free glasses to 800 kids across our region;
- Successful grade-level reading campaigns in Dyersville and Jackson County, where a summer program helped more than 120 kids to maintain or improve their reading skills over the summer months; and
- A partnership between the Community Foundation and Northeast Iowa Community College that is providing classes in Cascade to help immigrants learn English and earn their high school diplomas.
“The Community Foundation connects donors to causes they care about and helps local nonprofits to build capacity; we also serve as a convener and catalyst that brings partners together to address complex local and regional challenges,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Nancy Van Milligen. “This year, we are celebrating many successes made possible by generous community members and partners coming together to create greater good.”
The Foundation reported highlights from its last fiscal year. Northeast Iowa donors, nonprofits and businesses have created 939 funds at the Foundation, growing total assets to more than $78 million. Last year alone, the Foundation made 2,040 grants totaling $5.7 million.
The Community Foundation supports eight rural affiliate foundations in Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Jackson, and Jones Counties as well as the Dyersville area. Together, these affiliate foundations support 384 funds totaling more than $25 million, which benefit libraries, hospitals, scholarship programs and other vital causes throughout the region.
Community foundations are charitable organizations that administer funds to benefit their communities and improve the lives of people in their geographic region. Nonprofit organizations and community members can create endowment funds at CFGD to benefit charitable causes. These funds are invested and pay out five percent annually to the designated nonprofits, providing a reliable source of income to sustain organizations’ operations forever. Any earnings beyond the five percent are reinvested.
Gifts to endowment funds at the Community Foundation are eligible for the Endow Iowa 25 Percent State Tax Credit. Community members can contribute to hundreds of funds established for nonprofits throughout Northeast Iowa, which provide sustainable sources of income for these essential community service organizations.
To learn more about the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, visit www.dbqfoundation.org.