2012 Endowment Challenge Grant Match Announcement

I am excited to announce that the Community Foundation is once again issuing an Endowment Building Challenge!

This challenge is an opportunity for nonprofit organizations in Scott and Rock Island counties to earn matching funds from the Community Foundation to increase their current endowment or to establish a new fund at the CFGRB.

Nonprofits that raise $15,000 in new gifts for their endowment at the Community Foundation qualify for a $5,000 matching grant for their endowment fund. Alternatively, nonprofits may raise $30,000 and qualify for a $5,000 match with the option to add it to their endowment or use the match for current operations.  During the 2012 Endowment Challenge the CFGRB will award up to $100,000 through 20 grants on a first come, first serve basis.

Only unrestricted endowments held by organizations may participate in this Challenge. Funds restricted to a specific purpose do not qualify for the Challenge.

Gifts to your organization’s endowment fund must be made by at least 10 donors to be considered for a Challenge Match grant. This Challenge provides the perfect opportunity to talk to your donors (or potential donors) about making their first endowment gift or to consider making a larger than normal gift to your endowment, as their gift will leverage additional dollars for your organization’s endowment fund.  Donations to your fund must be received by the Foundation by December 31, 2012. Pledges and planned gifts do not qualify for the Challenge.

More information about this Challenge will be available at the upcoming Endowment Partner Meetings on Wednesday, March 21 – 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Thursday, March 22 – 8:30 a.m. to Noon at the Outing Club in Davenport, IA.  I strongly encourage nonprofit staff and board members to attend one of the Endowment Partner Meetings especially if you plan to participate in the Challenge. Each session will include the same information so you will only need to attend one session. Items covered at the meetings will include:

• Recent changes in endowment fund reporting, distributions and spending policies
• The Foundation’s new grant-making strategy
• Ways to increase gifts to your endowment and how to engage your board and staff in your endowment-building campaign 

To attend one of our Endowment Partner Meetings, please RSVP by March 19^th to (563) 326-2840 or to lindseywheeler@cfgrb.org.

Issuing this Challenge is just one way for us to say “thank you” for the tremendously important work that is carried out every day by Quad City nonprofits. We are proud to support you in your efforts to create a better community. 

John Kiley’s Passion for Social Justice Lives On in Memorial Scholarship Fund

John R. Kiley, a man who cared deeply about helping others through social action. His family has created a memorial fund in his name through CFGRB.

Three years ago today, John R. Kiley died in his sleep of a sudden heart attack. When he passed away, the Quad Cities lost a champion of social action and justice, and our Community Foundation lost a great friend.

The day we moved into our new offices here in Bettendorf, John personally delivered flowers because he was that type of person. He knew the stress we were going through during such a transition, and he cared enough to make us feel better with an act of generosity.

It was not an isolated event. People who knew John describe him as a man of “humility and grace.” He is also remembered as someone who truly lived the Gospel of Matthew that encouraged people to care about “the least of these.”

John was born in 1950. In 1969, he attended Woodstock. By the mid-70′s, he was married to Katie and spent some time as a house-husband, helping to raise their daughter, Joanne.

He started his career in social work as a counselor for the Youth Service Bureau in Rock Island County, then worked at the Comprehensive Employment and Training Administration (CETA) program before joining United Way of the Quad Cities Area, serving in a variety of roles including President. In 2007, he became the Diocese of Davenport’s Social Action Director.

John was a devoted husband to Katie and father to Joanne and Julia, son-in-law Ken, and grandfather to Elliot and Iris. He was a marathon runner and loved music, movies, dancing, tennis, reading, and spending time with his family and friends.

To honor his passion for social action, his family has established a fund in his name – the John R. Kiley Memorial Scholarship Fund. Scholarships will be given to students seeking careers in human services leadership.

The goal is to build a $25,000 fund. Donations may be sent to the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, 852 Middle Road, Ste 100, Bettendorf, IA 52722. Donations may also be made online – go to www.cfgrb.org, click on the Donate Now link and write “John R. Kiley Memorial Scholarship Fund” in the box labeled “Gift Details.”

“John loved connecting people with resources to make their lives better,” says Katie Kiley. “He appreciated the Community Foundation because it builds resources to help people. We’re looking forward to building the John R. Kiley Memorial Scholarship Fund and to assisting young people – in John’s name – who want to follow his same path.”

All of us at the Community Foundation are honored to have the family come to us to establish this memorial fund. John had a philosophy of life that everyone should reach their potential. He was a very inclusive person and a very special person who made a positive impact on everyone he met.

Now, thanks to his family and friends, John R. Kiley will be remembered for generations as he continues to help others follow the path he traveled with grace, humility, an amazing love for people, and a desire to make life better for “the least of these.”

A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Mother and the Davenport Public Library

Lorraine Duncan (seated) is presented with a cake and serenaded with "Happy Birthday To You" to celebrate her 91st birthday. In the middle is Library Director LaWanda Roudebush, with Lorraine's daughter Pat Duncan on the right. An endowed fund in Lorraine's name will provide a gift to the Library in her name for generations to come.

Lorraine Duncan celebrated her 91st birthday on February 8, 2012. A small party that included a big surprise for Lorraine was held at the Davenport Public Library. For more than 40 years, Lorraine was a volunteer for the Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society and for the Library’s Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center.

To honor her mother on her 91st birthday, Pat Duncan established the Lorraine Duncan Special Collections Endowment for the Davenport Public Library. Each year, the Fund will provide a gift to the Library for the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center.

“It’s remarkable and wonderful that Lorraine’s family recognized how much her work meant to her,” said Library Director LaWanda Roudebush. “Now, Lorraine knows that her work is going to be carried out in the future.”

Library Board member Ken Croken presented Lorraine with a plaque, which will be duplicated in bronze to go up on the wall. A leaf inscribed with her name will also go up on the donor tree in the Special Collections Center.

Lorraine was part of a group of volunteers who spent years making sure people could find correct information about Davenport and the Quad Cities. They had a special fondness for genealogy, and worked tirelessly to see that important local records were microfilmed and preserved for future generations. Some of Lorraine’s friends are still volunteers.

LaWanda says the Library will be able to do a lot with the annual gift from the Fund. “We’ll be able to do more to preserve historic materials,” she says. “It’s a gift that will help our community for many years.”

Not only is this Fund a wonderful way to ensure that your loved one’s legacy will be remembered for generations, but it’s also a wonderful way to support an important community asset.

Our community is a better place to live because of generous volunteers like Lorraine, and thanks to her daughter Pat, Lorraine’s contribution to the Library will never end.

Important Grant Information for QCA Nonprofits

It’s already February, and that means another round of grants from our Community Impact Fund is right around the corner.

Since 1964, CFGRB has given back $33 million in grants to great causes and organizations. Just 18 years ago we had one charitable fund and $1 million in assets. At the end of 2011 we had more than 700 funds and $80 million in assets.

As we’ve grown, we’ve seen how other successful foundations make an impact in their communities, and as we get better at what we do, we want to help you get better at what you do.

This year, we will award a total of $100,000 in grants in the spring and $100,000 in the fall from our Community Impact Fund. These Core Mission Grants are aimed at capacity building — making nonprofits stronger.

If you’re a CEO or Executive Director of an area nonprofit, we encourage you to visit the Grants section of our website and have your organization’s grant writer do the same. You’ll find important information about grant guidelines, including a newly implemented Letter of Inquiry process for our Core Mission Grants (formerly known as Opportunity Grants).

Letters of Inquiry will be due by March 15, 2012 for the spring grants.

During 2012, we will also award $5,000 per month in Impact Grants, for an annual total of $60,000. These are grants for purposes that can’t wait for the two Core Mission Grant cycles. The guidelines and application link can also be found on our website at the link above.

After visiting our site and reviewing the guidelines, please contact me or Matt Mendenhall with any questions about our granting program.

We’re very proud to support the wonderful work of area nonprofits as they make our community a better place to live.

Saying Goodbye to the Last of Our Founding Board Members — John Nagle

John Nagle, one of the founding Board members of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.

In 1964, John Nagle (also known as “Jack”) was among the founding Board members of the Davenport Area Foundation, which became the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.

He was the last living original Board member when he passed away on Tuesday, January 24, at his residence at The Fountains in Bettendorf.

It takes vision for a small group of caring people to launch a community foundation. They are people who understand the far-reaching impact of building resources that enable us to help ourselves and address our own community needs and issues. From its humble start in 1964, our Community Foundation now has assets close to $80 million and total annual grants from our Foundation and our affiliates are around $6 million.

The Community Foundation was not his only charitable activity. As a tireless volunteer for many causes, John showed during his lifetime that he cared deeply for his community. He was a lawyer and C.P.A. in Davenport for 50 years and retired as a senior partner of the Nagle and Cook Law Firm. Read an in-depth biography from the Quad City Times here.

I’d like to extend our condolences to John’s wife, Mary, and to his family. The care he demonstrated with his actions has made life better for many thousands of people in the Quad Cities Area, and will do so for generations to come.

Thank you, John.

Grants for Health Programs Available from Independent Physicians of the Quad Cities Fund

Nonprofits and qualified government agencies may apply for grants from the Independent Physicians of the Quad Cities Fund. Applications must be received at the offices of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend by the end of the business day on February 28, 2012. Guidelines and the application can be downloaded at http://www.cfgrb.org/independent-physicians-of-the-quad-cities.

Grants up to $5,000 will be awarded based on how the program to be supported makes an impact on public health. Consideration will be given to projects that:

• Monitor health status to identify community problems;
• Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues;
• Link people to needed personal health services;
• Assure a competent public health and personal health care workforce;
• Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.

Grant applications must be submitted to the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, 852 Middle Road, Ste 100, Bettendorf, IA 52722.

For more information about the Independent Physicians of the Quad Cities Fund, contact Nicole Freise at the Community Foundation at (563) 326-2840.

The Community Foundation on Quad Cities Business Radio

I was the guest recently of James Patten, host and producer at Quad Cities Business Radio.

James and his father Larry operate World Leadership Institute.

Through their Quad Cities Business Radio project, they conduct interviews with area business and community leaders. The interviews are broadcast on WOC-AM radio and are put up on the Internet.

It’s a great service to the business community. I appreciate having the opportunity to explain how the Community Foundation helps generous people build legacies, how we build resources for the community, and how we have an impact on community needs and issues.

You can listen to the interview by following this link.

QCA Nonprofits May Apply Now for Grants from Youth Philanthropy Group

Teens for Tomorrow members presented grants to eight QCA nonprofits in 2011, including the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Department.

Teens for Tomorrow is now accepting grant applications from Quad Cities area nonprofits. Grants totaling $10,000 will be decided by 35 T4T members from Quad Cities area high schools. The grants will be awarded to charitable organizations serving Rock Island and Scott counties. Applications should be postmarked by March 1, 2012 and can be downloaded at www.cfgrb.org/t4t.

Teens for Tomorrow (T4T) is a philanthropic initiative of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.

The T4T program teaches high school students about the important work nonprofits do and some lessons about leadership and philanthropy that will last a lifetime.

During the nine-month T4T program, students from high schools in the Iowa and Illinois Quad Cities learn about the role nonprofits play in the community. They work together to identify community needs and explore the grant making process. At the end of the year, they distribute T4T grants to local nonprofits.

In 2010, through the Herb and Arlene Elliott Endowment, Teens for Tomorrow became a permanent program of the Foundation and now grants $10,000 annually to local nonprofit organizations.

Each year, as they get more involved in the application process and make the site visits, the teens begin to see the good that nonprofits do in the community, and they begin to care more than they expected when the school year began. I love to see the growth these teens experience every year, and I look forward to seeing the decisions they make about the grants.

Grant applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2012 and submitted to the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, 852 Middle Road, Ste 100, Bettendorf, IA 52722. For more information about Teens for Tomorrow, contact the Foundation’s Youth Initiatives Advocate, Susan Parker at (563) 326-2840.

Deere Executive Luann Rickert Joins CFGRB Board of Directors

Luann Rickert, Vice President, Internal Audit for Deere & Company, is a new member of the Community Foundation's Board of Directors.

In its first meeting meeting of 2012, our Board of Directors voted to admit Luann Rickert as a Board member. She was present for the meeting.

Luann is Vice President, Internal Audit for Deere & Company, responsible for the worldwide internal audit function.  She joined Deere in 1979 as an auditor and has held positions of increasing responsibility over the past 32 years in varied areas, including Operations.  Luann is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Industrial Administration/Accounting.  Her MBA is from the University of Iowa with a concentration in finance.   Luann and her family recently returned to the Quad City area from Germany.

She has been an active volunteer at charitable organizations throughout her career.

“The Community Foundation plays an important role in connecting people and resources with the needs of our region,” she says. “I’m happy to get involved with an organization which is dedicated to making a difference.  It will be exciting to work with the Board, staff, and volunteers as we continue that legacy of quality and caring so that, together, we can address the community needs far into the future.”

Luann replaces Jenny Kimball, who left the Board recently due to job duties that took her out of the area. We’re also in the process of replacing Alan Anderson, whose term expired at the end of 2011. Both Alan and Jenny deserve our thanks for their service on the Board.

As of today, our Board includes:

Mike Drymiller, Chair

Deann Thoms, 1^st Vice Chair

Pete Wessels, 2^nd Vice Chair

Chris Wahlig, Treasurer

Jill McLaughlin, Secretary

Diane Harris, Past Chair

Katherine Andrios

Dan Ellard

Randy Moore

Linda Neuman

Luann Rickert

Jean Steffenson

William Storm

Terry Wilson

Our Board members are volunteers, giving their time and talent for the good of the community. They guide us in our operations, help monitor the needs of the community, and offer their expertise in various committees that help us do our work. Each member brings a different set of skills and experience in business, nonprofits, and the community.

They deserve our thanks, and to Luann we would all like to extend a warm welcome to our Community Foundation.

Columnist John Marx Shines Spotlight on the Good Work of The Amy Helpenstell Foundation

Amy Helpenstell left a legacy to the Quad Cities area that is having a tremendous positive impact.

The Amy Helpenstell Foundation gave more than a half-million dollars to area nonprofits in 2011. That’s an astounding gift that is having a tremendously positive impact — today — on people throughout the Quad Cities region.

In today’s Argus/Dispatch, columnist John Marx wrote about the good work Amy is doing, years after her untimely passing.

We’re proud to work with the Board and help administer The Amy Helpenstell Foundation. And our thanks to John Marx for recognizing the good work being done in our community — the legacy of a young woman with a generous heart.