Funding for the foundation’s grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives contracted fees from casino operators, Ameristar and Harrah’s. The IWRA distributes funds to the Iowa West Foundation, which is an independent 501(3) organization under the IRS Code. The foundation makes grants throughout southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska. Requests for Iowa West grant applications for the third quarter of 2013 will begin June 1, 2013, and will be accepted through July 1, 2013. Completed applications will be due July 15, 2013. The deadline to request applications for the second quarter has passed. For more information including deadlines, interested organizations may visit the foundation’s website at www.iowawestfoundation.org or contact Deb Debbaut, grants manager, at 712-309-3003. Guidelines and procedures can be viewed at the website, and applicants can apply online.

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The following organizations in southwest Iowa shared in $3.8 million in grants from the Iowa West Foundation awarded for the first quarter of 2013:

• Bluffs Arts Council, music and film series in downtown Bayliss Park, $10,000

• City of Griswold, main entrance awning at public library, $2,250

• Community Education Foundation Inc., grants for improved educational opportunities in Council Bluffs classrooms, $33,500

• Community of Christ Caring Ministries Corporation, transitional housing for Council Bluffs youth aging out of foster care, $40,000

• Community Opportunities Inc., start-up parenting program in Audubon County, $6,000

• FAMILY Inc., capacity building program for agency in Pottawattamie County, $115,000

• Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development, Loess Hills Visitor Guidebook and mobile website development, $40,000

• Green Hills AEA, preschool programs in Pottawattamie County school districts, $1,100,000

• Heartland Family Service, “Iowa Family Works” – residential substance abuse treatment, $275,000

• Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, capacity building program. $18,000

• HOPE-Net Ministries Inc., community re-entry support system for southwest Iowa women, $6,500

• Iowa West Foundation, “Art in the Park” initiative with city of Council Bluffs, $200,000

• Iowa Special Olympics Inc., special events in southwest Iowa, $7,500

• Merrymakers Association, entertainment in southwest Iowa nursing homes, $6,000

• Omaha Community Playhouse, tour of “The Fantasticks” in southwest Iowa, $50,000

• Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, regional six-county collaborative planning process, $75,000

• Planned Parenthood of the Heartland Inc., STD prevention education program in Omaha area, $50,000

• Pottawattamie County Development Corporation, support for downtown revitalization fund, $500,000

• Pottawattamie County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Network, general operating support, $50,000

• Santa Monica Inc., half-way house services for Pottawattamie County women, $21,504

• Southwest Iowa Families Inc., new entrance for disabled at Clarinda facility, $2,000

• Southwest Iowa Mediation Center, mediation services in family law cases, $50,000

• The Christian Worship Center, general operating support for New Visions/Mohm’s Place in Council Bluffs, $50,000

• The Kent Bellows Foundation, young artist mentoring program in Omaha area, $3,000

• Underwood Memorial Building Association, reconstruction of basketball/tennis courts in Underwood, $3,000

• Visiting Nurse Association of Pottawattamie County, “Shelter Nursing Program” for local homeless, $50,000

• Wings of Hope Cancer Support Center, southwest Iowa services for persons touched by cancer, $47,600