At its first annual grant celebration event, the Cass County Community Foundation honored 32 nonprofit organizations and community projects that received grants throughout the past year. These honorees included both spring and fall grant recipients, who were awarded a collective sum of over $137,000.

Spring 2021 Grant Recipients:

  • 309 Club – $2,500 , Interior Wall Completion
  • Anita Child Care Center – $2,000 , Room Updates
  • Anita Health and Wellness Center – $6,000 , Flooring
  • Anita Public Library – $6,000 , Commercial Front Windows
  • Anita Shooting Complex – $1,000 , Lights for Trap and Skeet Fields
  • Anita Volunteer Fire Association – $2,000 , King Vision Video Laryngoscope
  • Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center – $8,000 , Improvements to Existing Equipment
  • Atlantic Lions Club – $3,000 , Cedar Park Basketball Court Reconstruction
  • Atlantic Public Library – $5,000 , Adult Computer Tables
  • Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE) – $2,300 , LED Lighting
  • Cass County Fair Association – $5,000 , Building a New Concession Stand
  • Cass County Health System Foundation – $2,000 , OB Central Monitoring System
  • Cass County Historical Museum – $2,000 , Museum Lighting Refurbishment
  • City of Griswold – $2,500 , Community Center Dance Floor
  • Crossroads of Western Iowa – $1,000 , Defibrillators for Supported Living Home
  • Cumberland Public Library – $3,000 , Automatic Doors and Windows
  • Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department – $10,000 , Updating Bunker Gear
  • Griswold Rescue – $3,525 , Stryker Stair Chair
  • Griswold Volunteer Fire Department – $3,000 , Rescue Saw
  • Hitchcock House Advisory Board – $2,000 , 2021 Touring Season Advertising
  • LC Clinic – $3,500 , Atlantic Clinic Education Program
  • Massena Public Library – $3,000 , Renovate Restroom and Repair/Repaint Walls
  • Massena Visionary Committee – $4,000 , Main Street Commons
  • Nishna Valley Family YMCA – $17,500 , Pool Water Heater Replacement
  • SHIFT ATL – $2,000 , SHIFT Building Rehabilitation
  • Southwest Iowa Fishing Team, Inc. – $2,500 , Fish Habitat Conservation Project

Fall 2021 Grant Recipients:

  • Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center – $1,000, Operational Support
  • ARISE – $2,690, Tables for Rock Island Depot
  • Cass County Fair Association – $2,000, Replacement of Goat Stalls
  • Cass County Historical Museum – $1,000, Museum Lighting Refurbishment
  • Cass County Library Association – $850, Imagination Library in Cass County
  • City of Griswold – $5,000, City Park Revitalization
  • Friends of the Griswold Public Library – $1,000, Computer Upgrades
  • Griswold Pickleball – $2,000, Griswold School Pickleball Project
  • Griswold Rescue – $1,000, Reeve’s Stretcher
  • Griswold Volunteer Fire Department – $1,300, Firefighter Flashlights
  • Hitchcock House Advisory Board – $2,000, 2022 Touring Season Advertising
  • Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) – $3,000, Career Pathways for Underserved Youth
  • LC Clinic – $2,000, LC Clinic Atlantic Laboratory Furnishings
  • Massena Historical Society – $1,500, Country School Windows Project
  • Massena Public Library – $1,000, Outdoor Book Return Box Replacement
  • Nishna Valley Family YMCA – $1,500, Family Programming Event Coordinator
  • SHIFT ATL – $2,000, The Telegraph Community Mural
  • Southwest Iowa Fishing Team, Inc – $1,000, Fish Habitat Conservation Project
  • Trivium Life Services – $800, Technology Resources for Expanded Learning
  • West Central Community Action – $560, Emergency Clothing Room Shelving

Throughout 2021, the Foundation received a total of 48 grant applications from community organizations, with over $280,000 requested. As a part of its two grant cycles, the Cass County Community Foundation awarded $137,525 to 46 of these 48 applications. “In 2021, we’ve been able to fund a wide array of projects and programs,” said Board Chair Kristi Burg. “Grants were awarded to support a variety of recreational opportunities and building renovations, as well as many more projects that will have a positive effect on our community members—both young and old. We’re proud of the impact of the Foundation, and we’re glad to have this opportunity to celebrate the important work of these organizations throughout Cass County.”

Each year, the Cass County Community Foundation holds two grant cycles with an objective to fund projects that will have a lasting impact in the county. “Since the Foundation was established in 1998, it has distributed over $2.4 million in grants and scholarships,” said Iowa Foundations Director Stacey Goodman. “Through the generosity of donors and charitable funds allocated through the community foundation, along with our participation in the County Endowment Fund Program, we are able to continue to invest valuable resources back into communities across Cass County.”

The Cass County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Omaha Community Foundation, which meets National Standards for Community Foundations, and is one of nine county members of the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa. It annually receives funds from the State of Iowa County Endowment Fund Program for endowment building and grantmaking throughout the county. The spring grant cycle is made possible through the County Endowment Fund Program and is funded by a percentage of the state’s commercial gaming tax revenue, which is distributed annually to participating community foundations associated with counties without a state-issued gaming license. 

The Foundation’s fall grant cycle is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Cass County Community Foundation. The Foundation works with individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to create permanent and expendable funds that address changing, vital community needs and interests. Gifts to permanently endowed funds through the Cass County Community Foundation may be eligible to receive a 25% Endow Iowa Tax Credit. 

The Cass County Advisory Board Members are Chair, Kristi Burg of Massena; Vice Chair, Mark D. Kyhnn, CPA of Atlantic; Secretary/Treasurer, Sue Hunt of Atlantic; Sandy Bierbaum of Griswold; and Gaylord Schelling of Atlantic.

For information about donating or establishing an individual foundation/fund, please contact Stacey Goodman, Iowa Foundations Director, at 800-794-3458 or stacey@omahafoundation.org.