The Quad Cities Community Foundation and the Clean River Advisory Council (C-RAC) will award $315,000 in QC River Connections Grants to 12 organizations working to strengthen the relationship between people, place, and the Mississippi River.’
The 2025 awards announced by the community foundation in a Monday, Dec. 22 news release, were made possible by the Walton Family Foundation. They were guided by C-RAC leaders.
The QC River Connections Grant Program supports community-led efforts to address environmental challenges along the Mississippi River. It does so through equitable engagement and nature-based solutions. The projects the foundation and C-RAC invested in use the power of nature to improve both ecosystems and quality of life.
“These grants reflect the creativity and leadership of local organizations that see the river as central to both environmental health and community well-being,” Kaleigh Trammell, the foundation’s director of grantmaking and community initiatives, said in the release.
“We’re proud to support projects that not only protect the river, but also celebrate its role in culture, education, and equity,” she added.
This year’s grantees include projects that bring together environmental stewardship, education, art, and community revitalization. Funded projects include green space development, youth-led watershed exploration, STEAM-based environmental learning, and initiatives that build community capacity for sustainable, equitable environmental action.
Grant recipients
The 2025 grant recipients and the amount they will receive are:
- Her Voice Media — $15,000 for Rooted: Girls, the River & the Fight for Environmental Justice.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Inc. — $20,000 for Nature + Nurture: Environmental Learning Field Trips.
- Moline Public Art Council — $14,220 for Connections: A Sculpture Celebrating the Mississippi and Its Pollinators.
- Nahant Marsh Education Center — $50,000 for Expanding Nahant Marsh: Restoring Land, Honoring History, and Building Community Resilience.
- Project Renewal Inc. — $25,000 for Mississippi River Explorers! – Youth Watershed Connections.
- Rock Island County Extension & 4-H Education Foundation — $38,920 for Growing the West End: A Community Green Space Initiative for Health and Revitalization.
- Rock Island County Soil & Water Conservation District — $10,080 for Backyard Bloom Boost.
- Spring Forward Learning Center — $25,000 for Building Generational Equity and Connection to “Our River” through Environmental Education.
- STEAM on Wheels — $36,000 for Exploring Locks, Dams, and Careers.
- Tapestry Farms — $50,000 Engaging community in regenerative agricultural methods by growing fresh produce.
- Together Making A Better Community (TMBC) — $23,780 for Flow Lab: STEAM + Sustainability Hub at TMBC Lincoln Resource Center.
The QC River Connections Grant Program was launcehed in 2025. It is part of a long-term effort to advance the Mississippi River Equity Vision. The vision centers the voices of communities historically underrepresented in environmental work and decision-making.
