Skip to main content
Menu

Grants At Work

Since its inception, the Iowa West Foundation’s grant program has awarded more than $400 million to improve the quality of life in our region. The following Grants at Work stories highlight some of these grants and show the impact they make on our community.

Back to All Articles

Without Meals on Wheels, Council Bluffs Resident Would Go Hungry

October 27, 2016

Every morning without fail, Jeannie Grim-Ford wakes up and makes two lists. Both are “to-do” lists, however, one is a “have to” and the other is a “want to.” For the Council Bluffs resident who prefers the term “recycled teenager” to “senior citizen,” energy is finite. So dishes “have to” get done, along with clearing the kitchen […]

Read More

Field Trip to the Omaha Children’s Museum

March 31, 2016

In my position as the Director of Communications for the Foundation, I am privileged to tell the stories of how our grantees benefit southwest Iowans. In the past two years, I’ve written about a single mom who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees thanks to a STARS scholarship, the Food Bank for the Heartland’s backpack program that sends meals […]

Read More

Cochran Park Installation Goes Beyond Simple Signage

July 17, 2015

“Art in the Park” is an Iowa West Foundation initiative to replace weathered park identification signs at six community parks. The project is being coordinated by the Council Bluffs Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department with assistance from the City Public Art Commission. These signs, all created by area artists, were developed with public input […]

Read More

Big Lake Park Sign Marries Art and Nature

March 27, 2015

“Art in the Park” is an Iowa West Foundation initiative to replace weathered park identification signs at six community parks. The project is being coordinated by the Council Bluffs Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department with assistance from the City Public Art Commission. These signs, all created by area artists, were developed with public input […]

Read More

C.I.T.I.E.S. Program Big Deal for Small Towns

March 15, 2015

“A town can get older and die or it can get better and thrive.” – Pete Sorensen, City Councilman, Neola Perhaps truer words have never been spoken. Residents of small-town southwest Iowa know all too well the story of rural decline. They watch as high school graduates stamp one-way tickets out of town. They see business […]

Read More

Children’s Square: Creating Better Spaces, Brighter Futures

March 11, 2015

Vision. Courage. Will. These are the attributes the Christian Home Association–Children’s Square U.S.A. seeks to instill in children and families who call its campus home. From children staying in the emergency shelter to youths seeking help for mental health issues, Children’s Square is there. The staff serves families from Pottawattamie County and 29 other western Iowa counties. Up until now, they’ve […]

Read More

OUR VISION is a community where families choose to live, and businesses choose to locate, because of its quality of life and standard of living.

Newsletter

Enter your email address to receive updates from the Iowa West Foundation directly in your inbox.