Forever in Clinton: A place to call home

Alethea Cahoy didn’t grow up in Clinton, but for 23 years, she has called the city home. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“When I came to Clinton I fell in love with this community,” says Cahoy, who settled in the city after graduating from college with a teaching degree. “People are very sincere and friendly. They welcomed me into the community.” 

Her love for Clinton inspired her to join the River Bluff Community Foundation as its executive director and lead the new Energize Clinton community development and fundraising campaign. “The Community Foundation board supports this work because they understand the power of endowment – and they weren’t going to leave a $100,000 match for Clinton on the table,” says Cahoy.

Energize Clinton is a two-phase initiative that empowers the community to achieve two goals: Identify what matters most to residents and build an endowment fund that will help enhance those positive qualities for generations to come. It’s a hybrid of Community Heart & Soul and the Small-town Dreams Initiative, two programs led by the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. 

Using the Heart & Soul process, Cahoy and the Energize Clinton team connected with 1,200 residents through surveys and meetings to understand what they care about. People began to connect over their shared passion for Clinton while identifying concrete areas for investment, including downtown and neighborhood revitalization and brain health resources. 

The six “values statements” that emerged from the Heart & Soul process will become the guiding principles for the Small-town Dreams phase, an initiative that empowers people to build strong futures for their communities. The goal is to leverage a $100,000 challenge grant and raise matching funds to build a $450,000 endowment, which will lead to about $25,000 in grants annually to support local organizations responding to future needs and opportunities. 

Equipped with homegrown ideas for strengthening the community and the funds to do so, leaders in Clinton will be prepared to ensure their city can remain a vital place to live, work and play for generations. This is in perfect alignment with the Community Foundation’s mission to strengthen communities and inspire giving. 

“The campaign has really invigorated residents; they feel part of the process,” Cahoy says. “And the endowment fund will grow and pay out annually, forever.”