(Council Bluffs, IA) The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently approved $7.7 million in grants and initiatives funding to 24 nonprofit organizations and government entities in southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

Funds to address diversity, equity and inclusion in Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County arose as a central theme to the second of three grants cycles for 2019. The Pottawattamie County Community Foundation received nearly $300,000, $166,000 of which was earmarked for the Women’s Fund of southwest Iowa while Centro Latino received $75,000 for operating funding, and One Iowa received $16,000 to conduct a needs assessment for the LGBTQIA+ community in Pottawattamie County.

“As we evaluate the ever-changing makeup of our community, the Foundation is focused on organizations who can help meet the needs of all individuals who call southwest Iowa home, and that includes females, minorities and the LGBTQ community,” said Pete Tulipana. “Collectively, we hope this funding can lead to greater education around the issues faced by members of these populations in our region.”

“We are honored to work with the Iowa West Foundation, University of Iowa, and Des Moines University on this important endeavor, said Dr. Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel, Executive Director of ONE Iowa. “Data is essential to ensuring our work to improve LGBTQ individuals’ lives is impactful. As a result of this project, we will have quantifiable data for the first time ever to inform our work addressing the specific needs of LGBTQ individuals in western Iowa.”

In the Placemaking category, the Foundation awarded funding to several recreation projects, the largest of which was $2,000,000 for the Iowa West Sports Plex -an indoor turf facility that will be operated by the Council Bluffs Soccer Club. Pickleball courts currently under construction at the Iowa West Field House received $600,000 and Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development received $350,000 for its Loess Hills Missouri River Region Cabin Initiative.

“The lead gift from Iowa West Foundation has been instrumental in leveraging funding from other grant sources across the state and region,” said Arian Haddix, the newly named Executive Director of the Council Bluffs Soccer Club. “Their commitment to recreation in southwest Iowa will allow us to provide a much-needed home for our young athletes to be able to play the sports they love all year round and not have to travel outside of our community.”

Lastly, as part of its ongoing commitment to rural southwest Iowa communities, the Foundation awarded grant funds to several flood relief organizations throughout the region, totaling $200,000.

2019 Cycle 2 Grants and Initiatives

Angels Among Us

Financial aid for families of children with cancer in Pottawattamie County

$18,900

Centro Latino

Operating funding

$75,000

City of Carter Lake

Rental Inspection Program

$14,500

City of Council Bluffs

River’s Edge Parking Garage

$300,000

West Broadway – Phase III

$1,769,124

City of Tabor

Tabor Public Library

$50,000

Completely Kids

Phoenix House family services

$7,000

Council Bluffs Schools Foundation

STARS, an IWF initiative for low-income adult parents in pursuit of college degrees, licenses or certificates
$345,000

Trade Works Academy

$200,000

FAMILY, Inc.

Raise Me to Read

$170,400

Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development

Loess Hills Missouri River Region Cabin Initiative

$350,000

Impact Hill
Operating funding for recreational, educational, social, cultural advancement at the historic Riverside HS building
$15,000

Iowa West Foundation Initiative

Council Bluffs Riverfront Revitalization

$405,000

Iowa West Foundation Initiative

Iowa West Sports Plex

$2,000,000

Iowa West Foundation Initiative

Pickleball Courts at the Iowa West Field House
$600,000

Iowa Western Community College Foundation

Pottawattamie Promise

$700,000

Metropolitan Area Planning Agency

Heartland 2050 Close the Gap 2019

$27,500

Minden Volunteer Fire Department

Personal Protective Equipment

$9,700

One Iowa

Needs assessment of LGBTQIA community in Western Iowa

$16,000

Pottawattamie County Community Foundation

Women’s Fund of southwest Iowa, and matching funds

$291,667

The 712 Initiative

The Good Neighbor program, formerly Neighborhood Network

$25,000

YMCA of Greater Omaha

Capital funding for Charles E. Lakin YMCA in Council Bluffs

$200,000

Flood Relief

American Red Cross – Central Iowa Chapter

Fremont County

$15,000

American Red Cross – Nebraska/Southwest Iowa Chapter

Harrison and Pottawattamie Counties

$5,000

Food Bank for the Heartland

Fremont, Harrison, Mills and Pottawattamie Counties

$50,000

Iowa Legal Aid

Southwest Iowa services

$25,000

Mills County Public Health

Shelters in Mills County

$15,000

Omaha Community Foundation

Fremont County Community Foundation

$25,000

Harrison County Community Foundation

$25,000

Mills County Community Foundation

$25,000

Salvation Army

Flood Relief in southwest Iowa

$15,000