The newly launched Better Health Foundation recently announced nearly $700,000 in grant awards to improve community health throughout the Quad Cities region.
“Our community, like many across the nation, faces serious health challenges. It’s our goal to invest in the work of nonprofit organizations that share our vision for prevention and wellness,” Dr. William Langley, president of the Better Health Foundation Board of Directors, said in a news release.
“As partners, over time, we can increase and enhance the mission-based services individuals receive, adding both quality and longevity to thousands of lives.”
The Better Health Foundation held its public launch in September. The organization is mobilizing philanthropy to measurably improve community health for all the people of the nine-county Quad Cities region. The private, independent foundation seeks to engage members of its communities in improving their health and the health of their neighbors.
The inaugural grants for Capacity Building and Service Support range from $10,000 to $75,000 for programs and services aligned with the private foundation’s current funding priorities. They include: mental and behavioral health, maternal and child health, and risk reduction of obesity and diabetes.
The foundation’s investments total $683,980 and include:
- $25,000 to Argrow’s House/Testimonies of Hope, Inc. to provide mental health services at the Esperanza Center, Moline, for women survivors of violence.
- $75,000 to EveryChild for program support essential to children and families healing after violence; and to prevent recurrent abuse and neglect.
- $75,000 to Family Resources to increase fundraising capacity to meet the growing demand for services.
- $75,000 to Gilda’s Club to build fundraising capacity to meet the increasing need for the psychosocial services offered to Quad Cities cancer patients, survivors, and their families.
- $25,000 to Heart of Hope Ministries to expand the food pantry with healthier options for the food insecure and elderly.
- $17,600 to Hero Haven to offer First Responder Mental Health Retreats for emergency responders who have experienced various levels of trauma in their service to the community.
- $40,000 to the Iowa Black Doula Collective for business development planning and expanded services to birthing families within the black community.
- $25,000 to the Midwest Cardiovascular Research Foundation to support free dietary consultation for a cardiovascular health promotion and prevention implementation project.
- $75,000 to NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley, Inc. to build staff capacity and skills to increase revenues for long-term sustainability.
- $18,000 to Narratives to underwrite the cost of offering group mental health support to vulnerable young adults in the Quad Cities. The support will help them to find hope for the future and feel empowered to set and achieve life goals.
- $11,400 to One Eighty for a media campaign to help break the stigma of addiction. It is aimed at reaching people before an overdose, broken marriage or prison sentence derails their lives.
- $17,400 to Rock Church Ministries to offer on-site behavioral and mental health counseling at Covenant House for men coming out of incarceration or other crises.
- $58,330 to Tapestry Farms to increase staffing to assist the increasing number of refugee moms, infants and young children arriving in the Quad Cities.
- $75,000 to Transitions Mental Health Services to support 7th Judicial Mental Health Court, an intensive diversionary program that provides an alternative to incarceration for persons with chronic mental and behavioral health needs who commit crimes.
- $71,250 to Youth Service Bureau of Rock Island County to provide individual, family and group counseling for underserved at-risk children and families.
Better Health Foundation accepts requests from qualified 501(c)3 organizations in Cedar, Clinton, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott counties in Iowa, and Henry, Mercer, Rock Island and Whiteside counties in Illinois.
The next round of foundation grants for Innovation will open in the Spring of 2024. Award criteria and instructions on how to apply can be found at www.thebetterhealthfoundation.org.
For more information about applying for a grant, contact Elaine Schilling at eschilling@thebetterhealthfoundation.org, or call the Better Health Foundation at (563) 383-6065.
