Meet Our 2021 Grantees
Previous Next Help us celebrate these amazing grant partners across the state of Iowa who are daily working to break down the barriers that keep woman and girls from achieving economic self-sufficency. Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa Smart Girls Location: Polk County Barrier: Education/Training The SMART Girls program strategically focuses on providing academic
LSI’s Refugee and Immigrant Services Train, Empower Child Care Providers
For many parents who arrive in the U.S. as refugees, it is difficult to find quality child care. Families are adjusting to American life and may feel hesitant leaving their child with a stranger who doesn’t speak their language, or is unfamiliar with their culture. Lutheran Services in Iowa’s (LSI) Child Care Development Program trains
IWF to Spearhead Regional Effort to Bolster Women’s Economic Mobility
The Iowa Women’s Foundation (IWF) will lead the state of Iowa as part of a new national effort to support women and girls amidst the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, the Women’s Funding Network (WFN) announced they are launching the Regional Women’s Economic Mobility Hub project to increase the support and resources
Watch the 2020 OVATION Unveiling Ceremonies
2020 Online Unveiling Receptions Click to watch the Iowa City Area unveiling Click to watch the North Liberty-Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Area unveiling Click to watch the Des Moines Area unveiling Click to watch the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Area unveiling Join us for the 8th edition of OVATION unveilings, where we’ll shine a spotlight on the Iowa
St. Mark Youth Enrichment Provides Before & After-School and Summer Programs
St. Mark Youth Enrichment provides safe places for kids in the greater Dubuque area with before and after school and summer programs. These programs fill a gap for working families and students in need of support with reading, math, and social emotional skills. With a philosophy of inclusion, safety, and trust staff make connections with
Women’s Funding Network announces ‘Signal for Help’ program for those trapped at home with abusers
The Iowa Women’s Foundation is proud to support the Women’s Funding Network in launching a new online initiative, “Signal for Help,” to assist those experiencing gender-based violence during pandemic stay-at-home orders. Signal for Help is a simple single-hand gesture that can be visually and silently displayed during video calls to alert family, friends, or colleagues
LINK Grinnell Develops After-School Program and More
Grinnell, IA Community members and business leaders convened for months to address the childcare desert in Grinnell. A collaboration between the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, Pow-I80 and JMP Early Childhood Iowa yielded a feasibility study that confirmed the Grinnell area had a severe shortage of child care spaces to serve the community. Since the initial
For Essential Workers, Nothing Is More Essential Than Child Care
This guest column from IWF Executive Director, Dawn Oliver Wiand was originally published in the Gazette Thursday, April 2nd. For the last three weeks, our country has grappled with the question, “In a crisis, what can’t we live without?” We’ve had to make tough calls in our attempts to answer this question—millions of Americans are
The Marita Theisen Child Care Center is the Latest Development in the Steeple Square Project
The overall Steeple Square project has been focused on restoring an historic church campus while revitalizing what is arguably the city’s most vulnerable neighborhood. The most recent addition to the campus is the Marita Theisen Childcare Center, housed in the former church rectory. Plans for this center were formulated in response to a critical
The Montgomery County Child Development Association, Inc. Works Towards Opening the Red Oak Child Development Center
In the fall of 2018, after Red Oak was identified by CCR&R as having insufficient childcare availability, a small group of citizens joined to address providing quality, affordable childcare for our community. The group quickly expanded to form a board governed 501c3 non-profit corporation, the Montgomery County Child Development Association, Inc. (MCCDA). MCCDA is now
