River Bluff Community Foundation awards $12,850 to local nonprofits
In celebration of the important work local nonprofits are doing, the River Bluff Community Foundation held the first Inspiration and Impact grant award ceremony last month at The Church at Lyons in Clinton. The Foundation awarded a total of $12,850 to four projects that support local youth.
Recipients are:
- CAST: $3,000 for youth theatre program
- MercyOne Foundation: $5,000 for newborn welcome package
- Midwest Lumber Museum: $2,500 for field trips/youth programming materials
- Vince Jetter Community Center: $2,350 for STEAM and ‘I Am’ projects
“All the projects the board funded will have a lasting impact on the children in our community,” says Alethea Cahoy, executive director of the Foundation.
“The Showboat Theater is an incredible asset to our community, and the board wanted to support its youth theater project because confidence gained in theater translates to confidence and success in other areas of a child’s life,” she adds. “We supported the newborn welcome package, which includes safe sleep items and a first book for babies; data shows that small investments in the smallest people have a lifelong impact.”
The award to the Midwest Lumber Museum will be used to purchase sustainable, reusable field trip supplies that will educate many children over time. The STEAM and ‘I AM’ projects at the Vince Jetter Community Center reach an underserved population in the community. Both expose children to a variety of experiences they likely would not encounter outside the classroom.
“The Foundation has gained momentum with our Energize Clinton initiative and received generous donations to our grantmaking fund over the past year,” says Cahoy. “This event was an opportunity to celebrate those accomplishments as well as the good work nonprofits are doing in our area.”
Energize Clinton is a two-phase initiative that uses the Community Heart & Soul process to help build an endowment during the Small-town Dreams Initiative. The first phase, Community Heart & Soul, invited residents to share what they love about Clinton and offer suggestions for things that could be done to make Clinton an even better place to live, work, and play. By encouraging participation from every resident, the program aims to create an authentic and lasting connection between the community and its decision-makers. The second phase, Small-town Dreams is a challenge grant opportunity from an anonymous donor that will build a sizeable endowment that will pay out annually to jumpstart and fund those things that residents suggested. The launch of this initiative signifies a new era of collaboration where all voices will be heard and all perspectives respected.
That partnership is key to the Foundation’s impact. Support for grants comes from the Foundation’s Community Impact Endowment as well as from individuals who hold endowment funds with the Foundation. “We also received a generous gift from Ascentra Credit Union that helped increase the amount we were able to award,” says Cahoy.
To join the Foundation in supporting area nonprofits and causes you care about in Clinton and Camanche, contact Cahoy at rbcf@dbqfoundation.org or 563.321.0317. Gifts over $50 to endowments like the Community Impact Endowment Fund may be eligible for the 25% Endow Iowa State Tax Credit. Learn more at dbqfoundation.org/rbcf.