The spirit of generosity is alive in Clayton County

The Clayton County Foundation for the Future awarded $22,000 in grants and celebrated the successful completion of a year-long fundraising campaign during its annual event in May. 

“One year ago, we embarked on an ambitious goal: to raise $375,000 and capture a $100,000 challenge grant for our Clayton County Vision for Tomorrow Endowment. This fund provides an annual payout, forever, which the board uses to award grant requests like those we’re here to celebrate,” said Kathy Mueller, Foundation chair. With gifts from individuals and businesses ranging from $40 to $150,000, the Foundation has met the goal, which will double annual grantmaking impact. That means more funding for the local organizations that make our communities wonderful places to live.  

Of the $100,000 match, provided by a partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, $25,000 is designated for immediate community impact. “Our board decided to commit nearly all of that cash toward solutions to our county’s child care challenges,” said Mueller. Last year, the Foundation made grants to each of the child care centers in the county for building expansion and classroom updates, new playgrounds, staff training, and staff recruitment and retention. The Foundation has also hired a coordinator, Tierney Hoefer, who will steward the countywide child care strategic plan that resulted from a 2023 assessment led by the Foundation.

During the event, the Foundation awarded 23 nonprofits with grants made possible by endowments in the Foundation’s family of funds. Endowed funds are permanently invested, and annual earnings pay out to support special projects and organization sustainability, forever. This year’s grants were supported by payouts from the Acts 20:35 Blessed to Give Endowment, Andrea Bockenstedt Live Your Life Endowment, Clayton County Vision for Tomorrow Endowment, Leroy and Colleen Darby Family Endowed Donor-Advised Fund and the Dan Barton Family Endowment.

Thanks to this year’s grants, nonprofits will be able to serve the community in many ways, such as providing meals to seniors, offering summer programs to kids, and increasing opportunities for outdoor recreation.

Grants were awarded to: 

  • Family’s Helping Hand for community engagement and support
  • Edgewood Community Childcare and Learning Center for its Kinderwood playground update 
  • Clayton County Energy District for Clayton County Energy Workforce Summit 
  • Friends Of The Volga Public Library for Sharing Stories in Volga  
  • Brown's Hometown Victory Foundation for the Hero Impact Program 
  • City Of North Buena Vista for Rejuvenating Buenie Parks / Updating Welcome Signs 
  • Clayton Ridge Youth Sports for a Softball Pitching Machine for Darwin Duwe Field 
  • Creativity Center & Foundation for the Arts for art supplies 
  • Families Helping Families of Iowa for shoes for children in foster care in Clayton County 
  • Humane Society Of Northeast Iowa for Humane Hometowns & Helpful Librarians program 
  • Central Community School District for family nights
  • City of Elkader for Floral Hall preservation and rehabilitation 
  • Clayton County Agricultural Society to repair 4H building and grand stands 
  • Clayton County Conservation Board for Osborne Park tree planting 
  • Dubuque Visiting Nurse Association for lead testing supplies 
  • Elkader Community Child Care and Learning Center for outdoor infrastructure improvement 
  • Friends of the Marquette Driftless Area for Driftless Area Wetlands Centre youth enrichment programs 
  • Little Bulldog Childcare & Learning Center Inc. for Dr. Clifford C Smith Childcare playground renovation  
  • McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts Inc. for 2025 youth program support 
  • Motor Mill Foundation of Clayton County for Going with the Flow project 
  • Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging Inc. for NEI3A Clayton County Meals 
  • Northeast Iowa Wellness & Recreation Center for pitching machine replacement 
  • UERPC Housing Inc. for Big Four Educational Dairy Barn 

 

Donors who give to endowments may benefit from the Endow Iowa 25% State Tax Credit in addition to federal charitable income tax deductions. For more information about giving to support local needs, contact Emily Sadewasser at 563-880- 6044 or ccff@dbqfoundation.org.

To learn more about how you can make an impact on your Clayton County community, visit dbqfoundation.org/ccff.