Additional $77,000 in grants awarded to local nonprofits

Earlier this month, more than $315,000 in grants were awarded to 20  Quad Cities-based nonprofits from the Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation.

Now, more than $77,000 in additional grants have been awarded to 12 nonprofits from eight additional funds supported by donors at the Community Foundation. The grants provide general operating support and support for successful ongoing programs.

“We know a strong community is built, in part, by strong nonprofits,” said Kelly Thompson, vice president of grantmaking and community initiatives at the Quad Cities Community Foundation. “We can do more when we come together. Thanks to generous donors who have made gifts to the Community Foundation, they have come together this month alone to enable us to award nearly $400,000 to nonprofits.” 

Quad Cities resident Judith Berger started her endowment fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation to focus on education, poverty and children in need—all issues in the community she cares deeply about. This year, a $1,840 grant from her fund went to support Christ United Methodist Church, which hosts a food pantry to help hungry individuals in Silvis. 

“I believe that when you have the ability, you need to give back. We are blessed to have the Quad Cities Community Foundation in our community. They are a safe and productive place to give. They consistently find the best—and right—places to grant from the endowment fund my late-husband Steven and I started,” Berger said. “I am just so pleased to be part of a larger group of people who made so many grants possible.”

Nearly $60,000 in grant funding was awarded thanks to the CommunityWorks Endowment Fund, which focuses on childcare, land use and protection, and workforce development in Rock Island County. One of this year’s grant recipients is the Aldridge Early Learning Center, which provides affordable childcare for families in the Quad Cities. Beverly Clark, director of the center, said she has had a smile on her face since getting notice of the fully-funded, $20,000 grant award from the Community Foundation.

“There are middle-income families today who have to choose between making a car payment or paying for their childcare," she said. "Because of this grant, we will now be able to subsidize childcare for families in our community who cannot afford it.”

The center currently has 143 children enrolled, 111 of whom are low-income and receive childcare fee assistance through the state of Illinois. The family income of the remaining 32 children exceeds the state's maximum, making them ineligible for the state's subsidized child care assistance. "We cannot wait to call these families and share the news," Clark added.

Grant awards were also made from the Basic Human Needs Fund, the Sekharan Family Fund, the Chip Sunderbruch Memorial Risk Management Fund, the Neil C. Brennan Fund, the Roy E. Murray Fund, and the John J. Quail Fund.

Basic Human Needs Fund Grant—supporting organizations supporting basic human needs:

  • River Bend Foodbank: $500

CommunityWorks Endowment Fund Grant—focuses on childcare, land use protection, and workforce development in Rock Island County:

  • Aldridge Early Learning Center: $20,000

  • Dress for Success Quad Cities: $10,000

  • WVIK Quad Cities NPR: $9,800

  • YouthHope: $20,000

John J. Quail Fund Grant—focuses on arts and culture:

  • QC United: $2,750

Judith Berger Fund Grant—focuses on education, poverty, and children in need:

  • Christ United Methodist Church: $1,840

Neil C. Brennan Fund Grant—focuses on educational opportunities for underserved children:

  • Hand-in-Hand: $400

Roy E. Murray Fund Grant—focuses on youth:

  • QC Closet2Closet: $6,480

  • Safe Families for Children Alliance: $1,470

Sekharan Family Fund Grant—focuses on hospice care and homelessness:

  • DeLaCerda House, Inc.: $600

Chip Sunderbruch Memorial Risk Management Fund Grant—focuses on risk management and safety issues:

  • Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities: $3,700

Grants are made available thanks to the generosity of donors in the region who have made endowment gifts to support communities in the Quad Cities area. These grants were awarded through the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Coordinated Field of Interest Fund Opportunity, allowing nonprofits to submit one application and be considered for many grant opportunities. Many of these grants were awarded in partnership with grants from the Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund.

Ted Stephens IIIGrant, Amy Helpenstell Foundation