Recent Leadership Grants

The Community Foundation is proud to provide Leadership Grant funding to these critical community projects.

Blank Park Zoo Foundation – ZooPlex

The Blank Park Zoo serves as a leader in conservation and education by seeking to inspire a deeper appreciation of the natural world in all they engage. A $25,000 Community Foundation Leadership Grant supports a new indoor facility that will activate year-round opportunities to explore countless new worlds in our own community.  Connect.

Easterseals Iowa

Easterseals Iowa will be doubling the enrollment capacity of its Child Development Center to provide childcare to those with and without disabilities. The Community Foundation's investment in Easterseals Iowa through a $75,000 Leadership Grant helps to address our community's childcare gap and provide quality education in an environment that celebrates inclusion amongst our youngest learners. Connect.

Great Outdoors Foundation

Activating more than 150 miles of waterways over the next decade through the Central Iowa Water Trails is a once-in-a-generation opportunity the Community Foundation is proud to support with a $250,000 Leadership Grant. From water quality to workforce attraction and retention, this collaborative initiative will improve quality of life throughout the region. Connect.

Orchard Place

The Community Foundation's support of Orchard Place with a $250,000 Leadership Grant is funding a broad-based, collective effort to provide critical resources to children and their families faced with a mental health crisis. By funding a coordinated hotline and mobile crisis response system, our community is beginning to fulfill the needs identified in the Children's Mental Health Crisis Plan. Connect.