The Quad Cities Community Foundation has awarded another round of Nonprofit Capacity Building Grants to assist the region’s nonprofit sector in strengthening their operations as well as expanding their impact.
The grant program, which is fueled by support of donors, has awarded $171,218 to 10 local organizations. The Community Foundation announced the recipients in a news release Thursday, July 10.
Capacity Building grants, the organization said, invest in the systems, structures, cultures, and skills necessary for long-term health and sustainability of nonprofits doing critical work across the region.
“Capacity building takes many forms, and it’s absolutely essential to nonprofit success,” Kaleigh Trammell, the Community Foundation’s director of grantmaking and community initiatives, said in the release. “Thanks to donors who believe in the power and potential of our local nonprofit sector, these grants give organizations the tools to grow with purpose. Each of these nonprofits is already making a difference – and now they’re better equipped to do even more.”
This year, donors had the opportunity to support these projects directly through the Community Foundation’s grant catalog. Donors stepped up to give more than $38,000 to fund capacity building projects.
The foundation said 2025 grantees represent a broad spectrum of missions, from arts and education to public health and social services. Capacity building efforts can include initiatives such as strategic planning, technology improvements, leadership development, and governance enhancements.
Who received funding?
The recipients of the spring round of 2025 Nonprofit Capacity Building Grants are:
- Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Inc.: Strategic planning, website upgrade, and knowledge management to strengthen organizational effectiveness, $20,000.
- YWCA of the Quad Cities: Technology upgrades to improve financial and data management, $19,375.
- Robert Young Center: New eating disorder intensive outpatient program to increase program capacity and equitable access, $17,100.
- Humane Society of Scott County: Contract consulting to sustain its animal services and expand community programs, $19,375.
- Empowering Abilities: Smart Home Initiative to advance independence for individuals with disabilities through innovation, $20,000.
- Figge Art Museum: Endowment consulting to improve the Figge’s fundraising and financial management capabilities, $20,000.
- Putnam Museum and Science Center: Assessing technology/software needs and processes to improve data management and fundraising capacity, $17,000.
- Mercado on Fifth, Inc.: Strategic planning and fund development to strengthen long-term sustainability, $13,000.
- World Relief Quad Cities: Consulting and technology to build fundraising and engagement capacity, $15,000.
- River Bend Food Bank: New software solution for more effective and efficient warehouse management, $10,368.
Nonprofit Capacity Building grants are made from the Quad Cities Community Impact Fund, a permanent endowment fund supported by donors across the region to address high-priority needs and opportunities as they arise.
Impact Fund supporters
The Community Impact Fund grants also are supported by these charitable funds: the Bill and Helen Iten Family Endowment, Carol and John Willard Endowment, Duncan J. and Dianne R. Cameron Community Impact Fund Endowment, Elise A. Brett Fund, Henry and Linda Neuman Community Impact Fund, Hofmann Family Community Impact Endowment, Irma L. Jepsen Community Impact Fund, Jean and Rex Hutchison Endowment Fund, John & Pat Lujack Community Impact Endowment.
Louise Gerbers Community Impact Fund, Maggie Tinsman Fund, Marsha and Don Pedersen Community Impact Fund, Mary Hubbell Waterman Community Impact Endowment, Mary Rose Hawkinson Endowment, Memorial Endowment, Paul and Beverly Eckert Community Impact Endowment, Potter Family Foundation Fund, Ralph E. and Betty J. Levetzow Endowment, Ray and Jill McLaughlin Community Impact Endowment, Richard and Sally Muller Endowment Fund,
Robert Cowles Community Impact Fund, Susan S. Skora Community Impact Endowment, Wilbert Schaff Community Impact Fund, and Wilma A. Zabel Endowment.
The foundation will award another round of Nonprofit Capacity Building Grants in the fall. Pre-applications are due by Monday, Sept. 1. To learn more, visit here.
