New Grant Supports Tech Upgrades
The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque was granted $15,000 to help offset the cost of upgrading the audio/visual capabilities of the McCarthy Center for Nonprofit Learning — a major need as remote meetings become more common.
The grant comes from the Dubuque Racing Association (DRA), which holds the casino-gaming license for Q Casino and is the co-licensee for Diamond Jo Casino. After expenses, the DRA distributes 50 percent of winnings from Q Casino to local charities in the form of grants to strengthen the community.
Located on the second floor of the Roshek Building in downtown Dubuque, the McCarthy Center is available to nonprofits in the community to use for meetings, trainings, staff development and other collaborative events.
“Many nonprofits in our community do important work with limited resources, meaning that they often lack on-site meeting spaces,” Baum says. “Providing access to the McCarthy Center and its technology is one of the many ways we help increase the capacity of nonprofits to serve the community.”
The McCarthy Center upgrades will include:
- New TV monitors with video conferencing capability.
- Enhanced video cameras.
- Various types of microphones.
- Improved computer connections for projecting presentations.
Since its inception in 1985, the DRA has played a major role in building a thriving community. To date, it has generously given over $42 million to local nonprofits, including $540,000 to support recovery efforts during the pandemic. In addition, the organization played an active role as part of the Community Foundation's Disaster Recovery Fund grantmaking committee last year, researching community needs and helping strategically allocate dollars to make the biggest possible impact.
“We are grateful to the DRA for continuing to support the well-being of our community," Baum says. "With this latest grant, we will be able to fulfill our role of strengthening nonprofits by providing access to capacity-building resources."
To learn more about the McCarthy Center and how your organization can reserve the space, visit dbqfoundation.org/mccarthycenter.