The Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation announces more than half a million dollars in grants

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Thirty-eight nonprofit organizations serving Rock Island and Scott Counties in the Quad Cities have been awarded more than $500,000 in funding from the Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation. More than $150,000 in additional funds will be awarded through renewable grants in 2019.

The Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund carries out the legacy of Helpenstell and her passion for youth development, health, community development, cultural activities and education. Since 2005, the fund has directed more than $6.6 million to nonprofit organizations in the Quad Cities area, where Helpenstell lived, worked, and volunteered. 

The grants support the core operating and program costs of nonprofit organizations, providing the best opportunity for them to be flexible and responsive to opportunities and needs in the Quad Cities. “Amy’s passion for the community shows in every one of these grants,” said Kelly Thompson, vice president of grantmaking and community initiatives at the Community Foundation. “Our community honors her memory through the good work that is happening through this funding.”

The following organizations received funding for 2018. An * denotes a grant that will be paid over the course of two years, half in 2018 and half in 2019:

  • Augustana College—$10,000

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley—$20,000*

  • Black Hawk College Adult Education Program—$7,500

  • Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley—$10,000

  • Cafe on Vine—$15,000

  • Child Abuse Council—$20,000

  • Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities—$13,850

  • Christian Care—$20,000*

  • Churches United of the Quad City Area—$7,500

  • Family Resources—$10,000

  • Genesius Guild Theatre Foundation—$9,000*

  • Hand In Hand—$15,000*

  • Hope at the BRICK House, Inc.—$15,000

  • Humility Homes & Services, Inc.—$33,000

  • Lead(h)er—$7,500

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Inc.—$40,000*

  • Nahant Marsh Education Center—$5,000

  • NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley—$10,000

  • Project Renewal—$30,000*

  • QC Closet2Closet—$7,500

  • Quad City Arts—$10,000

  • Quad City Botanical Center—$5,000

  • Quad City Symphony Orchestra—$20,000*

  • Rebuilding Together Quad Cities—$20,000

  • River Bend Foodbank—$20,000

  • Robert Young Center, Amy’s Gift—$39,250

  • Rock Island County Extension & 4-H Education Foundation—$5,000

  • School Health LINK Inc.—$15,000

  • Spring Forward Learning Center—$30,000*

  • St. Joseph the Worker House Association—$30,000*

  • Supplemental Emergency Assistance Program—$20,000*

  • Transitions Mental Health Services—$40,000*

  • Vera French Foundation—$15,000

  • WVIK Quad Cities NPR—$12,000

  • Youth Service Bureau of Rock Island County—$25,000

  • YouthHope—$15,000

  • YWCA of the Quad Cities—$50,000*

  • YWCA of the Quad Cities, the Place2B—$8,000

Melanie JonesNonprofits, Grant, Amy Helpenstell Foundation