When we asked what you loved about living here – you said the sense of hometown pride and belonging. We agreed! In fact, we believe that when you feel like you belong, your community connection and engagement grows. For that reason, we are happy to invite you to participate in our Council Bluffs Belonging Mini Grants program.
If you are a Council Bluffs resident and you share a passion or interest with others in the community, this program can help! Grants are available to support projects that build community and strengthen connections. So, tell us – what is your idea about how to bring people together to share a passion, hobby, or interest? Please see our eligibility and application information below.
The Iowa West Foundation has partnered with a handful of trusted community organizations who will be administering the Belonging Mini Grants to groups of at least three unrelated people who reside in Council Bluffs. This program is a pathway for people and projects unaffiliated with a nonprofit/business to receive a grant of up to $200 that can help get their ideas off the ground.
Applications meeting the eligibility requirements will be awarded on a first come, first served basis through the following community organizations who are administering the program. All you need to do is get at least two other Council Bluffs residents (they can’t be part of your family) to join you and submit an application through one of the following:
Requests are reviewed regularly, so you will know if your application was approved within 2-3 weeks of your submission.
Once you complete your event or activity, you just need to tell us how your project went by sharing your project/event/activity on social media. Simply tag #LoveWhereYouLiveCB on Facebook or Instagram, with your photo and project summary as a short post or video – be creative. Feel free to tag Iowa West Foundation and your partnering community organization as well. We will be sharing more Belonging Mini Grants as they happen.
This is all about sharing and connecting. It is not about making money. To that end events your event may not be a good fit if you are trying to:
Grant money can be used to offset expenses needed for the project such as promotional costs, food/beverage, supplies, services or facility rental. Usage to date includes:
Grant money may NOT be used for the following:
You need a minimum of three Council Bluffs residents. That’s you and two others! But, they can’t be related to you.
Eligible Iowa West Foundation grantees and businesses may NOT apply.
Make sure to include a basic breakdown of your planned usage of the grant money (i.e. promotional costs, food/beverage, supplies, services or facility rental). If we can’t understand your budget, we can’t approve your project! So, we’ll need some detail.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, you will hear back from us within two weeks. Typically, you can expect to receive your grant via check within three weeks of your submission.
We want to reach as many people as possible, so we will look to fund others before we consider refunding a past recipient.
For more information, contact Stacey Goodman, Program Officer with the Iowa West Foundation.
