(Council Bluffs, IA) The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently awarded $6.6 million in grants and initiatives for the second cycle of 2015. The funding will assist 22 nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with projects and programs that directly impact southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska. The City of Clarinda received $55,975 for a downtown façade revitalization while the Audubon Recreation Foundation received $50,000 toward their proposed recreation center. The towns of Corning, Neola, Red Oak and Shelby also received grants toward placemaking projects.

Healthy families was another recurring theme for this cycle of grant funding. Heartland Family Service received $300,000 to administer years two and three of the Children’s Mental Health Initiative in Lewis Central Community Schools — a 3-year pilot program based on the high need for school-based mental health services as identified by local superintendents. MICAH House received $45,000 for general operating funds and Council Bluffs” Vocational Development Center (VODEC) was awarded $25,000 for residential home renovation.

The second funding cycle also included initiative dollars for the construction of a new veterans building in Council Bluffs. The Iowa West Foundation and the Charles E. Lakin Foundation each awarded $275,000 to the project, which broke ground in August. The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors also awarded $113,000 to the Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services for the continuation of their successful drug court program. The Fourth Judicial District would have been forced to cancel the program on Oct. 1 due to insufficient funding had the Foundation not stepped in.

This is the second grants and initiatives funding announcement of 2015 after the Foundation restructured its grant cycles in late 2014 to be three times per year rather than four. The Letter of Inquiry period for the third cycle opened October 1. Those grant recipients will be announced in February of 2016.

Funding for the Foundation’s grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA), which receives contracted license fees from casino operators, Ameristar and Harrah’s. IWRA distributes funds to the Iowa West Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 organization under the IRS Code. The Foundation makes grants throughout southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

The complete list of grant/initiative recipients and their projects/awards are as follows:

• Angels Among Us, Inc./Financial Aid for Families of Children w/Cancer – $20,000.
• Audubon Recreation Foundation/Recreation Center in Audubon – $50,000.
• Blue Barn Theatre/Expanded programming for the 2015-16 season, $9,200.
• Carstens 1880 Farmstead/Restoration – $15,750.
• City of Clarinda/Downtown facade restoration, $55,975.
• City of Council Bluffs/Communications Officer, $152,000; Rental Housing Inspection, $64, 202.
• Community Education Foundation/Classroom grants for 2015-16, $25,000; STARS Scholarship Program Initiative, $369,526,
• Council Bluffs Housing Trust Fund/Affordable Housing, 2015-16: $45,058.
• Downtown Omaha, Inc. Foundation/2015 Holiday Lights Festival: $15,000.
• 4th Judicial District/Dept. of Correctional Svc./Drug Court: $113,000.
• Heartland Family Service -Lewis Central Children’s Mental Health Program initiative: $300,000; Housing Emergency Assistance Task Force: $170,000; Iowa Family Works; $77,500; Substance Abuse Services: $37,500.
• Habitat For Humanity/General Operating Funds: $100,000.
• Hearts and Hugs Day Care, Inc./Facility renovation: $10,000.
• Heritage Services/Riverfront Study initiative: $95,500.
• Iowa West Foundation initiatives: Mid-America Center revitalization, $2-million; Park Landing at River’s Edge Park, $1.15-million; Public Art/Interactive Children’s art for Riverfront Park, $1-million.
• Justice For Our Neighbors – Legal assistance for low-income immigrants in southwest Iowa, $32,500.
• Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc./RSafe program: $15,000.
• MICHA House Corp./General Operating Funds: $45,000.
• Montgomery County Family YMCA – indoor tennis lighting/court enhancement, $20,000.
• Neola Area Community Center/Stronger community, $10,000.
• New Community Development Corp./Mynster Townhomes Development, $250,000.
• Omaha Theater Company/Rose Theater Field Trips for Council Bluffs Students: $9,452.
• Opera Omaha/2 productions: $30,000.
• Pott. County Board of Supervisors/Veterans Admin. Bldg. initiative: $275,000.
• Vocational Development Center (VODEC)/Residential Home Renovation: $25,000.