Community Newsletter - Winter 2022

COMMUNITY

Winter 2022 Newsletter

Event Highlights Partnership with Local Black and Brown Leaders

On Thursday, November 10, the Community Foundation hosted the Community Learning Series: Partnering with Emerging Black and Brown Leaders. At the event, members of the Community Foundation’s Thrive Cohort shared their stories and discussed how the program has helped them and their organizations on their path to success.

Thrive launched in January 2021 as a way to advance racial equity and support newly established nonprofits. Five Black and Brown leaders of emerging organizations were selected to participate in the cohort: Keeyon Carter (Wellington Heights Community Church), Mugisha Gloire (United We March Forward), Leslie Neely (Advocates for Social Justice), Jorel Robinson (Big Bang Foundation), and Bridgette Williams-Robinson (Bridge Under the Bridge). Keeyon, Bridgette, and Mugisha spoke at the event, with Tamara Marcus filling in for Leslie.

Over the last two years, the group has met monthly for learning activities and discussions on a range of topics related to building nonprofits organizations. Local leaders served as guest facilitators.

“To be in a room with these guys, to have someone who looks like us show up and say, ‘I made it,’ is huge for people who come from a place where most people don’t,” Bridgette said at the event.

They were willing to invest in that, and a lot of times Black people don’t have that support. I felt empowered.

Mugisha Gloire United We March Forward

In addition to the meetings, each member’s organization received quarterly general operating support grants of $2,500. Organizations used these grants for overhead, programming, and even educational costs for their leadership. The grants— and the sentiment behind them—were often transformational.

“The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation believed in the leaders you see here today,” Mugisha said at the event. “They were willing to invest in that, and a lot of times Black people don’t have that support. I felt empowered.”

Also at the event, Community Foundation staff announced plans for the next iteration of Thrive. The

2023 cohort is open for nominations, and community members are encouraged to nominate themselves.

“Thrive is a way of investing in people who may not have had opportunities for support in the past,” explained Carrie Walker, Nonprofit Network Manager. “We’re opening Thrive to all Black and Brown nonprofit professionals or volunteers because everyone in our community should have access to professional development and leadership training.”

To view a recording of the Community Learning Series event or to submit a nomination for the 2023 Thrive Cohort, visit gcrcf.org or contact Carrie Walker at carrie.walker@gcrcf.org.

The Community Foundation is accepting nominations the for the 2023 Thrive Cohort. The nomination deadline is December 15, 2022. For more details, visit www.gcrcf.org/2022/11/thrive-2023/.

Fund Renamed to Greater Good Fund to Support Linn County and Its Future

For decades, unrestricted gifts to the Community Foundation have allowed us to respond to the everchanging needs of Linn County. Donors who give unrestricted gifts recognize that the future holds unknown challenges and opportunities and have entrusted us with resources to provide the community with the support it needs.

Beginning in December 2022, the unrestricted fund –currently known as the Community Endowment Fund -- will be renamed the Greater Good Fund.

“This name change better reflects the intent of the fund and the donors who support it,” said Michelle Beisker, Senior Vice President of Development. “Rethinking how we talk about these assets will allow us to better highlight the impact the fund has had and more effectively partner with donors who are eager to make an investment in Linn County’s future.”

The Greater Good Fund will continue to accept gifts from donors who want to provide flexible, responsive, long-term support for local nonprofits. The fund will also continue to make grants to support local organizations working to strengthen Linn County.

The Community Foundation has four grant programs that are supported by the Greater Good Fund— Program Support Grants, Organization Support Grants, Endowment Challenge Grants, and Rapid Response Grants. Each is overseen by a diverse committee of local volunteers. Together, these programs provide grants for a wide range of services, projects, and initiatives that benefit Linn County and its people. In 2021, these grants totaled more than $1.4 million.

“The grant programs supported by the Greater Good Fund represent the backbone of the Community Foundation’s role in the community,” said Karla TwedtBall, Senior Vice President, Programs and Community Investment. “We’re here to invest in the long-term strength and stability of Linn County, and to respond when new challenges present. We couldn’t do this without the ability to award grants when and where they are needed.”

Currently, 62 funds established by donors are designated to unrestricted giving. These gifts have been critical to helping our community recover from hardships over the last few years, including the pandemic and derecho.

Recent Grants from Unrestricted Funds

Feed Iowa First

�����: $20,000 Organization Support Grant

�������: Alleviating Food Insecurity in Linn County

“Unrestricted funding allows us to match staffing needs with program growth to increase field-growing capacity and expand food distribution to build health equity in underserved communities. This year, we grew 40 varieties of produce with 22 community partners and distributed more than 45,000 pounds of fresh produce to Linn County families through local food pantries, health clinics, community fridges, and our Veggie Van program.”

- Emmaly Renshaw, Executive Director

Red Cedar Chamber Music

�����: $18,000 Program Support Grant

�������: Into Nooks and Crannies: Chamber Music for Linn County

“From libraries to public spaces, we build community through music. Without the tremendous support of the Community Foundation over the years, it wouldn’t have been possible to form so many partnerships that reach into the nooks and crannies of our community. This year, the Program Support Grant award has enabled us to expand our reach into several rural schools and revive partnerships interrupted by the pandemic.”

- Carey Bostian, Artistic Director

NewBo City Market

�����: $25,000 Endowment Challenge Grant

�������: Building an Endowment

“NewBo City Market is a staple in the Cedar Rapids community not only as an essential cultural attraction and gathering space but as a business incubator that helps to foster diverse entrepreneurs in our community. Having an endowment through the Endowment Challenge Grant is the first step to ensure we can continue to serve this community in perpetuity. As a non-profit that is still in its first ten years of life, this is a foundational step for our organization and our community.”

- Julie Parisi, Executive Director

Advisor Chris Casey Turns to the Community Foundation for Personalized Giving

For Chris Casey, charitable giving is a deeply personal experience. For almost thirty years, Chris has been a financial advisor and an active supporter of several local nonprofits. When clients come to her looking for a way to give back, Chris turns to the Community Foundation—and her own experience as a philanthropist—to help them find their philanthropic passions.

Chris grew up in a small town in northeast Iowa, but Cedar Rapids is now very much her home. “It’s a great place to be, and when you love a community, you look for ways to give back,” Chris said. “I started out supporting organizations I knew, like the Public Library, Boy Scouts of America, and Waypoint.”

In 2021, after decades in the industry, Chris and several colleagues established their own asset management firm, Private Wealth. They envisioned a firm that was founded on relationships and invested in the local community and its people. It was a vision informed by Chris’ charitable perspective, and the group is excited to be a part of the Cedar Rapids community.

Throughout her career, Chris has maintained a commitment to volunteer service, which provided her first glimpse into how the Community Foundation supports local nonprofits. When she was asked to join the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2020, she felt honored to be joining an organization focused on Linn County’s long-term success.

“Philanthropy is something that many people are interested in, but many people don’t know where to start,” Chris said. “The Community Foundation is great place to start. They have their finger on the pulse of the community, and they can work with the donor to establish and achieve their goals.”

For Chris and her clients, this personal, emotional aspect of giving always comes first. Once the donor has a goal in mind, Chris sets out to help build the road map—figuring out how to structure the gift and identifying tax advantages. Often, these conversations lead to the Community Foundation and donor-advised funds, or DAFs, which are flexible and easily personalized.

For many donors, a DAF allows for a simplified approach to charitable giving. They can take

advantage of tax deductions and credits, including Endow Iowa, and they can support multiple causes and organizations with a single gift to their DAF.

Advisors like Chris turn to the Community Foundation for expertise on giving options like DAFs, but also to make sure that the whole process remains personal and fulfilling for the donors.

Given the Community Foundation’s long history of supporting Linn County, Chris feels confident that her clients are going to the right place to build their legacy.

“This is an organization that can connect with you, and it’s going to be around for a while,” Chris said. “The Community Foundation will be around for your lifetime and for future generations.”

Endow Iowa Tax Credit Program Makes Changes to Right-Size Demand

Since 2003, the Endow Iowa tax credit program has inspired gifts to endowed funds held at community foundations across the state. Iowans are generous, and demand for the tax credits has long outpaced availability. Currently, donors are being added to a long waitlist for future credits. While the legislature considers updates to the program, some changes will be made in 2023.

Beginning July 1, 2023, the waitlist process will be discontinued. At this time, only applications received on or before June 30, 2023, will be added to the waitlist. In addition, beginning January 1, 2023, the maximum credit per taxpayer will be $100,000 (or $200,000 per couple). This is a reduction from the current limit of $300,000 per taxpayer (or $600,000 per couple).

Contact us today with any questions you have on the Endow Iowa tax credits or the upcoming changes.

Philanthropy is something that many people are interested in, but many people don’t know where to start... The Community Foundation is great place to start.

Chris Casey

GreatAmerica Establishes Employee Advised Fund to Double Impact

Since 2001, the GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation Donor-Advised Fund has made hundreds of grants to local nonprofits across all sectors. Founded in 1992 by Tony Golobic, GreatAmerica provides equipment financing and related business services across the U.S. and has emerged as one of the most philanthropic businesses in the region.

In October, the company established the GreatAmerica Employee Advised Fund to engage its employees in community giving and effectively double its annual giving to $1 Million.

“The Employee Advised Fund will bring increased awareness of the nonprofit community to GreatAmericans who wish to learn more about and participate in community betterment efforts,” said Martin Golobic, Co-Chief Executive Officer at GreatAmerica. “It’s also an opportunity to understand their perspectives based on their personal beliefs, values and experiences.”

The company uses a competitive application process to make grants from this fund, with the Community Foundation facilitating grantmaking and educating a rotating advisory committee of GreatAmericans. The advisory committee reviews the applications and creates a slate for all GreatAmerica employees to vote on. The new fund requires applicants to have at least one connection with a GreatAmerica employee. Priority areas include health, human services, arts & culture, environment, and public projects.

“The Community Foundation offers a range of services for businesses who want to give back, and it was a pleasure to work with GreatAmerica to find a philanthropic approach that works for them,” said Michelle Beisker, Senior Vice President of Development at the Community Foundation. “This fund is helping GreatAmerica create an engaging philanthropic experience for employees, and we’re excited to help locally grown companies build giving plans that meet their needs.”

GreatAmerica employees wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The company supports a number of causes throughout the community and encourages employees to get involved.

Grant Application Deadlines to Change in 2023

To better align grant opportunities with the fiscal years of nonprofits, the Community Foundation is making changes to the number and timing of grant deadlines in 2023.

The 2023 grant deadlines will be March 1, June 30, and September 12. The Community Foundation’s competitive grant deadlines will be March 1 and September 12. Some Competitive Donor-Advised Funds will accept applications in the summer on June 30.

2023 Competitive Grant Programs:

The competitive grant programs are supported by the Greater Good Fund and other Field of Interest funds, and are designed to support a wide range of programs, projects, and organizations. While organizations will have four grant opportunities per year between Program Support Grants and Organization Support Grants, they will be limited to two active grants from these funds at any given time.

Endowment Challenge Grants

Linn County Grants

Rapid Response Grants Accepted as needed, once per 12-month period Disaster Recovery Grants Accepted as needed

2023

Competitive Donor-Advised Funds:

The Community Foundation accepts grant applications for a number of corporations and family funds. The funding priorities, criteria and amounts awarded are determined by the donor-advisor.

The Community Foundation has other grant programs available for specific community partnerships or purposes. Visit gcrcf.org for a complete list of funding opportunities and criteria.

Management of Group Violence Intervention Transfers to Foundation 2

In December of 2019, a group of stakeholders from across sectors came together to launch Group Violence Intervention (GVI), an evidence-based strategy for reducing gun violence. The effort was supported by an anonymous grant to the Creating Safe, Equitable and Thriving Communities (SET) Fund. Because other nonprofits were not yet engaging in this specific type of work, the Community Foundation agreed to take on initial project management.

Over time, a strong coalition has formed to support this work. For the past year, Foundation 2 has managed the Support & Outreach component of GVI, which focuses on direct support for those at highest risk of violent offense or victimization. In 2023, Foundation 2 will take over as the primary coordinator of the overall GVI strategy.

“GVI was brought to the community with the goal of having a nonprofit partner eventually take over,” said Casey Baustian, Program Officer at the Community Foundation and current Project Manager. “Foundation 2 has been a key partner since the beginning, and everyone involved is confident that they will keep this work moving in the right direction.”

After a spike in violence in both Cedar Rapids and across the country in 2020, there is some good news. In 2022, Cedar Rapids saw 115 shots fired through November. This is the same as through November in 2021 and is

29.5% lower than the same period in 2020. For Black male youth ages 15-24, who are at the highest risk of being victims of gun violence, the rate of those struck by gunfire per 100,000 has been below the 2020 high for two years in a row, including no new incidents in that demographic since mid-September.

Outreach Workers have around 20-25 clients at any time who have been identified as high-risk and choose to be part of the program. Clients received support in working towards individual goals, such as finding stable employment, figuring out safe housing, pursuing educational opportunities, or meeting court requirements.

Foundation 2 has hired Lisa Jordan as the permanent Program Coordinator. “I am looking forward to meeting with community members, the various partners, and so many others invested in this program who share the same goal of keeping people safe, alive, and out of prison,” Lisa said. “I am excited to use my experience and knowledge of working with nonprofits and families in a new way.”

The Community Foundation will continue to support violence prevention work being done throughout this transition as well as make grants that support SET goals established in the 2017 Task Force report.

Community Foundation Hires Firm for President & CEO Search

In August, Dr. Les Garner, President & CEO of the Community Foundation since 2010, announced his retirement. During his tenure, the organization’s assets and grant distributions more than doubled. His leadership has created a solid foundation for the organization to continue supporting Linn County well into the future.

Les plans to retire in June 2023, which has allowed time for the Community Foundation to prepare for his departure.

Okpara Rice, Board Chair and Diana Ledford, ChairElect, are leading a search committee of other Board members including Jasmine Almoayyed, Rod Dooley, Jim Haddad, Salma Igram, Jon Landon, Chris Lindell, and Michelle Niermann. The committee recently hired

Kittleman & Associates, an executive search firm with extensive experience in community foundation CEO searches. The committee is working with the firm to gather input from constituents to finalize a job description in the coming weeks.

“The Community Foundation is an important connector and convenor for our community,” said Okpara Rice, Board Chair. “Because of this community leadership role, we are pleased to have the expertise of Kittleman. We have been impressed with their process so far and we look forward to the next steps.”

The job is expected to be posted in January 2023. Kittleman will be conducting a local and national search.

STAFF NEWS

to New Role on Development Team

of Learning

After 14 years of providing guidance and support to nonprofits applying for grants, Elizabeth Cwik will be changing positions at the Community Foundation. Effective January 1, 2023, she will transition from her current full-time position of Senior Program Officer on the Program Team to a part-time position of Senior Development Officer on the Development Team. In this new role, Elizabeth will assist corporate donor-advisors and families with their philanthropy. The Program Team will share updated assignments for Elizabeth’s grant portfolios later this month.

Effective January 1, 2023, Carrie Walker will be the Community Foundation’s Director of Learning. As Nonprofit Network Manager, Carrie has worked for eight years to connect nonprofit organizations and professionals to resources and one another. In this new role, Carrie will continue to manage the Nonprofit Network while also leading the Community Foundation’s internal and external learning efforts.

Elizabeth Cwik Transitions

Carrie Walker Promoted to Director

324 3rd St. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401-1841 319.366.2862 / gcrcf.org

Where charitable gifts multiply for community good.

UPCOMING EVENTS

FEB 2023 MAR 2023

Scholarship Deadline

February 15, 2023, 4:30 p.m. CST

Because of support from donors who care about education, the Community Foundation distributes over $100,000 in scholarships to deserving students each year.

Spring Grant Deadline

Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 4:30 p.m. CST

Last year, the Community Foundation distributed $12.6 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. Information about 2023 grant deadlines is inside.

Visit gcrcf.org for information on available grants and scholarships and how to apply.

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