Funding supports thriving rural communities in southwest Iowa The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently approved $4.3 million in grant and initiative funding toward creating vibrant southwest Iowa communities where residents love to live, employees can learn as they earn, and places to play are plentiful. The cities of Avoca, Carson, Carroll, Denison, Dunlap, […]
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$2 million to 50+ Communities In small, rural Iowa communities, fire departments play a vital role in safeguarding their communities and are important to the success and wellbeing of the towns they serve. Sadly, they often operate with limited resources to sustain their operations. City budgets typically only cover essential expenses, such as vehicles and […]
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Iowa Legal Aid: Eviction Diversion Help Desk From Crisis to Solution: Iowa Legal Aid’s Impact on Eviction Rates Have you ever been so shocked by a statistic that it drove you to make a change? Erin Planalp, an attorney with Iowa Legal Aid, was immediately alarmed when she learned Pottawattamie County had the greatest increase […]
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Today’s Students = Tomorrow’s Workforce ASPIRE was created in partnership with Pottawattamie County school districts to serve the unique needs of both urban and rural students. It allows superintendents to use flexible funding to grow existing workforce training programs or launch new ones. Each program ensures students receive support in their career exploration and assistance […]
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$1.1 million to fund job training opportunities and support for high school students (COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA) – Headlines across the country warn of a workforce pipeline problem in healthcare, childcare, and construction trades among other fields, but that is not the story in Pottawattamie County, where the Iowa West Foundation today launched ASPIRE. The new […]
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Funding supports students in and out of the classroom; Housing remains a focus of IWF’s work (Council Bluffs, IA) – When southwest Iowa students head back to school next month, they will have unique opportunities in the classroom and beyond thanks to Iowa West Foundation grants. A long-time supporter of arts & culture in southwest Iowa, […]
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What is a Housing First approach? If a person is hungry, you don’t ask them to purchase pots and pans and then learn how to cook. You feed them first, and then begin to address the root causes that led to hunger. Similarly, “Housing First” is a strategy rooted in the belief that all people […]
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Known for developing world champion wrestlers, the club also will offer community-use hours (COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA) – An Olympic-caliber wrestling club will join Fast Break Sports Iowa (Omaha Sports Academy) and the Council Bluffs Pickleball Club at the Iowa West Field House later this summer. The addition of The Best Wrestler will fill the remaining […]
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Funding targets programs geared toward youth; education (Council Bluffs, IA) – The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently approved $3.5 million in grants and initiatives for more than 30 nonprofits and government entities in the southwest Iowa region. Youth in Pottawattamie County are the primary beneficiaries of the funding, with a series of investments to […]
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