A note to nonprofits in the Quad Cities region
We want to try and mitigate any worry or anxiety you have about any current competitive grants you have from us.
As fellow Quad Citizens and human beings, all of us at the Quad Cities Community Foundation want you to know that we are thinking about you. We are thinking about the changes you will be experiencing at work, and how they will impact you, your families, the people you serve, and all your loved ones. We are thinking about your health—physical and mental—as you balance your personal life and professional responsibilities. We know many of you felt the impact of the 2019 flooding, and might be feeling even more overwhelmed because of this.
First, we want you to know that Disaster Recovery Grants are now available—as part of the community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic—to support the effort to "flatten the curve" of COVID-19 infections in Rock Island and Scott Counties by helping our community follow public health recommendations, and help address the financial impact of following those recommendations. All the details are available here.
Many of you are currently operating projects and programs funded by grants from us over the last year or so in various competitive processes. As funders, we want to try and mitigate any worry or anxiety you have about any current competitive grants you have from us. It is our responsibility as a community foundation to be flexible and responsive to community needs, and now is one of those times. We know your focus should be on maintaining your continuity of services (as much as is possible), staying healthy, and taking care of those who need you. We do not want you to worry about final grant reports that might be late, or worry about any grant-funded projects or programs that might be impacted by the coronavirus or spring flooding. Here is how the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Grantmaking & Community Initiatives Department is approaching grant work right now:
If you need an extension on an interim or final grant report, please let Lisa Stachula know what you’re facing. We will work with you to extend deadlines. Email her at lisastachula@qccommunityfoundation.org.
If you have a funded project or program that cannot be completed by the original timeline (or perhaps cannot be completed at all), please let Lisa Stachula know what you’re facing. We will work with you to come to an agreement on extending timelines or modifying grant purposes.
You will not be “penalized” in any way if your operations for 2020 are different than what you described in a 2019 grant request. Again, with this or any other challenge with an existing grant, the most important thing is to communicate with us as soon as you know, and work to find an agreed-upon solution.
Grant programs and application deadlines will remain as stated for now, with the exception of Q2030 Grants, which have been suspended until May 2020 to allow us to allocate resources to Disaster Recovery. If we need to make changes to grant programs or application deadlines we will update our website and communicate changes in our e-newsletter. If you aren’t already, please make sure you are signed up at https://www.qccommunityfoundation.org/news.
We want to continue to hear from you about the challenges and/or successes you are experiencing so we can respond appropriately
Please reach out with any questions or concerns you have related to the Community Foundation that we have not addressed above. Please know that you are not alone during this difficult time. We will try to do all we can to support you and your work.
We look forward to hearing from you, and please take care of yourselves.
Kelly Thompson
Vice President of Grantmaking and Community Initiatives
Lisa Stachula
Grantmaking Specialist