Our ‘Forever’ Is: Strong Nonprofits

When individual people are inspired to get involved in their community, they can make a big impact. When those individuals are inspired to work together, that impact can grow exponentially.

Just ask Beth Gilbreath and Jill Hogstrom.

Each was inspired to give back in her own way – one by forming a nonprofit, the other by joining the Community Foundation’s Women’s Giving Circle. By forging a connection, they have increased capacity to address a significant community need: access to period products.

When Beth learned that many teens and adults were going without these essential products because they couldn’t afford them, she stepped up.

“I only learned about the need through a friend in 2016,” she says. “We asked, ‘Where do people go for period products?’ and neither of us knew. We went to the Dubuque Rescue Mission and Dubuque Food Pantry and asked how they address this. Both said it was a tremendous unmet need in our community no one was tackling.” 

That day, she co-founded The Red Basket Project, a nonprofit that distributes packages of period products to sites across the region, including schools, food pantries and service organizations. All products are distributed in discrete, yet stylish, totes that are available for free to anyone who needs them.

Since Beth started the nonprofit, word of its work has spread, and many more sites have requested products. That awareness and growth is positive, but it also creates challenges. Like many nonprofits, The Red Basket Project runs on a shoestring budget and relies on the generosity of volunteers and donors. Beth herself estimates she spends 25 hours a week volunteering with the organization on top of her real estate job.

That’s where the Women’s Giving Circle comes in. The group, founded in 2006, comprises hundreds of women coming together to make donations and award grants that support the needs of women and children.

While reviewing grant applications in 2023, the members noticed that many organizations were requesting funds for period products. Rather than award grants to the individual nonprofits, the group focused its efforts on the organization supplying the products: The Red Basket Project. Many nonprofits hadn’t been aware of its work.

In the fall of 2023, the Circle members invited Beth to speak at their annual meeting and organized a service project, giving members the chance to assemble period packs and see first-hand what The Red Basket Project’s work entails.

“It was great experience,” says Jill, who serves as chair of the Circle’s Grantmaking Committee. “It was wonderful to not only learn in depth about a nonprofit’s needs but also for attendees to give back. That night, everybody got to give time, talent and treasure.”

For Beth and The Red Basket Project, the opportunity to connect with the Women’s Giving Circle had immediate and long-term impact. The volunteers helped assemble 400 period packs in one evening, and the entire group gained awareness of the community need. During the
holidays, many Women’s Giving Circle members made individual donations to The Red Basket Project.

“This is a total community project,” Beth says. “We could not do this without the community’s support.”