(Council Bluffs, IA) The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently approved $6.4 million in grants and initiatives funding to 35 nonprofit organizations and government entities in southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska. 2019 Cycle 1 Grants and Initiatives (*denotes Multi-Year Funding Grantee) include:

• *American Midwest Ballet – General Operating Funding, $125,000
• *Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands – General Operating Funding for Council Bluffs Club, $85,000
• Carson Volunteer Fire Department – Personal Protective Equipment, $10,000
• City of Council Bluffs – Furthering Interconnections, Revitalization, Streetscapes, Transportation, and Aesthetics for a Vibrant Economy, $500,000
• City of Council Bluffs – Loessfest 2019; River’s Edge activation, $250,000.
• Council Bluffs Soccer Club – Iowa West Sports Plex, $768,809.50
• *Durham Museum – General Operating Funding, $25,000, Exterior Restoration Initiative $50,000.
• *FAMILY Inc. – General Operating Funding, $120,000.
• *Green Hills AEA -Preschool funding, $1,100,000.
• Hancock Volunteer Fire Department – Gear and Equipment, $10,000.
• *Heartland Family Service – General Operating Funding supporting Iowa Family Works, substance abuse services, and homeless services, $330,000.
• *Immigrant Legal Center – General Operating Funding supporting immigration legal services in southwest Iowa, $65,000.
• Iowa Legal Aid – Community Stabilization Project, $15,000.
• Iowa West Foundation Initiatives – Downtown Cultural Trail, $50,000; Riverfront Revitalization, $500,000.
• *Iowa Western Community College Foundation – General Operating Funding for the Performing Arts Center, $30,000.
• *Joslyn Art Museum – General Operating Funding supporting Joslyn’s Kent Bellows Mentoring Program, $25,000.
• *Lauritzen Gardens – General Operating Funding, $12,500; Railroad Days, $25,000.
• *Lutheran Family Services – General Operating Funding to support child abuse prevention and sexual abuse treatment in Council Bluffs, $50,000.
• Manning Betterment Foundation – Playground Safe Surfacing Update, $3,000.
• *Micah House – General Operating Funding supporting homeless families, $90,000.
• Neola Betterment Corporation – Senior Housing, $200,000.
• New Visions Homeless Services – General Operating Funding, $100,000.
• Omaha Bridges Out of Poverty, Council Bluffs Poverty Alleviation Initiative $100,000.
• *Omaha Children’s Museum – General Operating Funding supporting field trips, outreach visits and low-cost memberships for families in southwest Iowa, $45,000.
• Omaha Community Foundation – Pottawattamie Gives! Incentives, $29,000.
• Omaha Development Foundation – Entrepreneurial Development for southwest Iowa, $100,000.
• *Omaha Symphony Association – General Operating Funding supporting Adventures in Music for southwest Iowa students, $25,000.
• *Opera Omaha – General Operating Funding, $25,000.
• Pheasants Forever, Inc. – Strengthening Quality of Life and Rural Economies through Growing Outdoor Recreation Opportunities, $44,759.60.
• *Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment (PACE) – Harvester II Arts & Culture District, $2,000,000.
• Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors – 2019 CITIES Program, $93,765; Art on the Frontier Trails (ArtFITS), $20,000.
• SHARE Omaha – General Operating Funding for Pottawattamie County launch, $50,000.
• The 712 Initiative – General Operating Funding/Placemaking Consortium, $500,000.
• *The Rose Theater – General Operating Funding for School Field Trip Program for southwest Iowa students, $25,000.
• Treynor Volunteer Fire Department – Ambulance Cot, $10,000.
• Underwood Volunteer Fire Department – Thermal Imaging Camera, $8,650.
• United Way of the Midlands – Community Care Fund, $255,500.

The Iowa West Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the Midwest. It has distributed more than $484 million to nonprofits and governmental agencies through southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska since the inception of its grant program. Funding for the grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives contractual fees from casino operators, Ameristar and Harrah’s.