Winneshiek County Community Foundation Highlights Grant Impacts, Awards Over $139,000 in 2022 Grants

Winneshiek County Community Foundation

March 25, 2022

The Winneshiek County Community Foundation (WCCF) held its grant awards celebration at Luther College’s Dahl Centennial Union on March 24, highlighting the impacts of WCCF’s 2021 grant awards and announcing the distribution of $139,169.94 to 24 projects of organizations serving Winneshiek County through its 2022 grant cycle.

“We were excited to reimagine our annual grant awards event in a way that brings the work of the Winneshiek County Community Foundation full circle; showing the impacts made by last year’s grant funding and announcing this year’s projects that will go on to enrich communities across our county,” said Marcia McKelvey, chair of the WCCF governing committee.

The 2022 grant recipient organizations, project the grant will fund, and grant amount is listed below by funding area.

Arts & Culture

• ArtHaus, ArtHaus Community Gallery Remodel, $5,000
• City of Spillville, Civic Improvement Association – Inwood Stage, $4,800
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum, Relocating the Burr Oak One-Room Schoolhouse, $5,000
• New Minowa Players, Sound System, $3,000
• Winneshiek County Historical Society, Preserving, Indexing, and Digitizing the Ossian Bee, $5,000

Community Betterment

• City of Calmar, Fire Department – Equipment Update, $7,293.79
• City of Decorah, Library – Mobile Outreach Booth, $3,357.41
• City of Fort Atkinson, Community Center/Gym - HVAC System Upgrade, $5,000
• City of Ossian, Community Center – Opening Doors to Everyone, $8,400
• City of Ossian, Fire Department – Breathing Apparatuses, $5,000
• Decorah Volunteer Fire Dept Association, Rescuer Safety, $7,820.50
• Fort Atkinson Firefighter’s Association, 2022 Firefighter Protective Gear, $3,580.64
• Protivin Firefighters, New Protivin Fire Station FY22, $4,800
• Ridgeway Rural Fire Department, Personal Safety Turnout Gear, $5,117.60

Education & Youth Development

• Helping Services for Youth & Families, Youth Mentoring at Helping Services, $5,000
• Sunflower Child Development Center, Sunflower’s Growing Healthy Kids Initiative – Kitchen Equipment, $4,700
• Toys Go ‘Round Toy Lending Library, TGR Back to Basics – 30 Years & Counting!, $5,700

Environment & Animal Welfare

• Winneshiek County – Auditor, Conservation – Dry Run Bridge – Decorah to the Greenbelt, $20,000

Health

• Aase Haugen Senior Services, Spa Enhancements for Well-Being & Quality of Life, $5,600
• Winneshiek Medical Center Foundation, Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Remodel, $5,000

Human Service

• Allamakee New Beginnings/Iowa Food Hub, Delivery Truck to Distribute Local Foods, $5,000
• Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, Winneshiek County Home Delivered Meals General Operating Expenses, $5,000
• Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Feeding Families, $5,000
• Riverview Center, Inc, Winneshiek County Sexual Assault Crisis Response Program, $5,000

Decisions on grant awards are determined by a local committee, which consists of volunteers from Winneshiek County. Committee members include: Dianne Ameling, Nate Ersig, Justin Gullekson, Roger Jaeger, Lilly Jensen, Steve Johnson, Mark Kuhn, Marcia McKelvey (chair), Emily Mineart, Keith Newhouse, Andy Nimrod, Jana Olson and Joe Skretta.

Grants are awarded through WCCF’s competitive grant process to projects in the program areas of arts and culture, community betterment, education and youth development, environment and animal welfare, health and human service. Grant applicants must be a 501(c)(3) designated organization or government entity serving Winneshiek County in order to be considered for funding. The 2023 grant cycle opens on November 15, 2022, with an application deadline of January 10, 2023. The grant guidelines and application can be found at www.winneshiekccf.org.