Community Foundation endowment fund creates community connection

For the last 50 years, Hills & Dales has been building meaningful lives and promoting inclusion for hundreds of individuals with disabilities. But you’d be forgiven if you aren’t yet familiar their work—for the first 40 years, the nonprofit almost exclusively served the Dubuque, Iowa area.

Now, they’re expanding and bringing their unique model of care to the Quad Cities. And to support their permanent commitment to the Quad Cities, they have opened an endowment fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation.

“If we want to grow and invest in the Quad Cities, we need to partner with trusted, local philanthropic organizations,” said Jack Mescher, Hills & Dales CEO. “The Community Foundation is at the top of that list. They have a respected and determined team, a clear mission, and a long track record of building philanthropy and supporting nonprofits.”

“I know Hills & Dales from living and working in the Dubuque area most of my career,” said Sue Hafkemeyer, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO. “They are a tremendous nonprofit and are changing lives every single day. We’re lucky to have them expanding to the Quad Cities, and we’re proud they chose the Community Foundation as the home for their new endowment fund.”

If you or an organization you are a part of is interested in opening a permanent endowment through the Community Foundation, you can find more information here or contact Anne Calder and Joscelyn Rowe for more details.

“For Medicaid and state-funded programs, the goal for patients is simply survival,” said Mescher. “Those programs are critical, but we don’t want people to just survive. We believe people with disabilities deserve to live full and meaningful lives.”

Mescher described a recent case in which a client wanted to travel out of state for a family wedding. “It was a six-hour trip, overnight accommodations, rental car, support staff, and more,” Mescher recalled. “Medicaid is not going to cover this, but it’s something you or I might take for granted. And it’s something everyone should be able to take part in. So, Hills & Dales steps in and funds that gap—we call these ‘mission moments.’”

These mission moments are only one part of the Hills & Dales mission. “Our region has an infrastructure gap when it comes to serving people with disabilities,” Mescher said. “We work to make housing possible and comfortable for our behaviorally and medically complex clients. That means modifying housing, making spaces accessible, and helping to make them affordable.”

Hills & Dales’ services are fully active in the Quad Cities, where 60 of their 460 employees now work. “We’re committed to growing our services here,” said Mescher. “We’ll be adding clinics, creating training structures to build the workforce, and continuing to grow our capacity. The new endowment fund with the Community Foundation is key to that plan to grow our mission and make lasting connections in the community.”

You can contribute to the Hills & Dales endowment fund—and to hundreds of other transformative nonprofits and funds through the Community Foundation giving page.