Community Foundation of Jackson County Honors Donors and Celebrates Community Impact at Annual Event
BELLEVUE, Iowa — The Community Foundation of Jackson County (CFJC) celebrated a successful year of community impact with donors, nonprofits leaders and community partners at its annual event on Thursday, November 17, at the Bronco Club in Bellevue, Iowa.
The event celebrated many Foundation successes, including $323,000 in endowment payouts that will support the needs of Jackson County nonprofits.
“Jackson County has so many philanthropic, caring individuals who really try to make a difference for our community,” said CFJC Executive Director Mary Jo Gothard at the event. “We come together in appreciation of the greater good that happens throughout Jackson County.”
The Foundation also shared its annual report “Greater Good” with the community. Jackson County donors, nonprofits and businesses have created 98 funds at CFJC, growing total assets to $8.5 million dollars. Last year, the Foundation made grants and scholarships totaling $845,000.
The event honored local donors Matt and Marilyn Osterhaus, who were founding donors of the Maquoketa Area YMCA and established a donor-advised fund to support health and wellness.
Guest speaker, Nancy Van Milligen, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (CFGD), highlighted recent successes since CFJC affiliated with CFGD in 2012, including the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Parks to People, Heart & Soul and Vision To Learn.
“I really believe that our partnership makes our region stronger,” said Van Milligen. “Thanks to an anonymous donor grant Dubuque’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading expanded to Jackson County, improving the reading skills of hundreds of local students. In Bellevue, Heart & Soul will encourage job creation and retention, rural philanthropy, youth engagement and a culture of entrepreneurship. Parks to People will work to connect state parks and create trails for a more vibrant community and Vision To Learn will continue to give children the opportunity to see their futures a little clearer.”
In addition, Darwin Schipper, board president, announced grants totaling $71,365 to the following nonprofits and programs:
Jackson County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading - $8,000
Jackson County summer learning program
Grant Wood Mississippi River Region Inc. - $7,500
Connecting nature, recreation and education at Hurstville trail
Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Jackson County – $5,000
Dolly Foundation Continues Reaching Out!
Friends of Jackson County Conservation - $5,000
Prairie Creek pavilion
City of Preston - $5,000
Playground equipment at Two Good Park
Grant Wood Scenic Byway - $5,000
Enhancing Jackson County through public art
St. Stephen's Food Bank - $4,465
Weekend backpack program
Sabula Chapter - Izaak Walton League - $4,000
Chapter lodge renovation
City of Maquoketa - $3,500
Maquoketa downtown historic district nomination packet
Bellevue Economic and Tourism Association – $3,500
Bellevue downtown historic district nomination packet
Maquoketa Betterment Corporation - $2,500
Summer concert series
Bellevue Community School District - $2,000
Youth engagement: Bellevue Big and Bellevue Heart & Soul
Maquoketa Alternative Classroom - $2,000
The MACnificent Cafe
Bellevue Arts Council - $1,000
Elementary art exploration program and Mill Valley Care Center oil painting class
Andrew Community School District - $1,000
Project based learning and classroom innovation
Maquoketa Chamber - $1,000
Building capacity for downtown revitalization
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton - $900
School based mentoring in Jackson County
Jackson County Food Donation - $10,000
Support to five county food pantries
These grants were supported by Iowa’s County Endowment Fund Program. This initiative, unique to Iowa, makes grants to create a strong community foundation infrastructure in 84 counties like Jackson that do not hold state-issued gaming licenses. The CFJC grants out 75 percent of these funds and invests the remaining 25 percent in a permanent endowment that generates interest to be distributed in future years.
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 CFJC 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.
Gifts to endowment funds at the Community Foundation are eligible for the Endow Iowa 25 Percent State Tax Credit. Community members can contribute to more than 200 endowment funds established by nonprofits throughout Northeast Iowa, which provide sustainable sources of income for these essential community service organizations.
For more information, visit www.dbqfoundation.org/CFJC.
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The Community Foundation of Jackson County was established in 1982 as the Maquoketa Area Foundation to help individuals throughout Jackson County make a positive impact on the communities they care about. From a humble beginning consisting of $3,000 in donations, a seven-member volunteer board created a nonprofit organization to accept donations and bequests and make grants back to the community. In 2012, it joined the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque as an affiliate foundation.
To learn more, visit www.dbqfoundation.org/cfjc.
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