Transformation Grant seven years later

Awarded to EveryChild in 2018, a Quad Cities Community Foundation Transformation Grant supported the organization’s visionary work and provided momentum for growth. Seven years later, EveryChild is still helping to change the landscape of support for expectant parents in Rock Island County and Scott County. Hundreds of safe, happy babies later, EveryChild is showing what real transformation looks like.

EveryChild’s doula team

The organization—then known as the Child Abuse Council—received the $100,000 Transformation Grant to expand its successful doula program. At the time, the program had only two doulas serving a small number of families in Illinois. Today, four doulas are supporting up to 40 families at a time between two states.

“The grant was a vote of confidence,” said Nicole Mann, president of EveryChild. “It allowed us to get a foot in the door in Iowa, build our reputation, and demonstrate the impact of doula care as a preventive service. So many families have been touched as a result.” 

Since receiving the Transformation Grant, the Iowa-based doula program has served 166 families. EveryChild gauges success in a number of ways, but the most telling are the word-of-mouth referrals and families who enroll for doula services when they have a second child.

Regional demand for doula services has grown in recent years. EveryChild continues to invest in training for their doulas and is actively working to expand the program to meet the needs of local families.

“We can draw a direct line from the Transformation Grant to where we are today,” said Mann. “Without it, the Iowa program wouldn’t exist. But because of it, families on both sides of the river now have access to the support they need to thrive.” 

The program operates through a unique evidence-based curriculum, with doulas providing education, advocacy, and support from pregnancy through eight weeks postpartum. A typical home visit with a doula includes a family check-in, discussions about developmental milestones, and guidance on birth planning. Doulas can also accompany parents to medical appointments, ensuring they feel heard and supported by healthcare providers.

“Our team focuses on the parent-child bond because that’s what prevents abuse,” said Tina Greer, EveryChild’s doula coordinator. “By educating and building relationships, we help parents see their baby as a person.”

“Our program has become a model for others,” Greer said. “We’ve shown that when you invest in doulas, you invest in healthier families and stronger communities.”

The Community Foundation’s Transformation Grants are the largest single grants made each year. In the past 10 years, Transformation Grants have reshaped the region. In that time, thanks to donations to the Quad Cities Community Impact Fund, $1.77 million has been awarded to 14 local nonprofits pursuing transformative change. 

“These grants are designed to launch, grow, and create wide, lasting ripples of change,” said Kelly Thompson, the Community Foundation’s vice president of grantmaking and community initiatives. “EveryChild has been an absolute success. They have used the grant to grow sustainably and to develop a program that has changed hundreds of lives in our community.”