The Doris & Victor Day Foundation has awarded $800,000 in grants to 58 nonprofit organizations throughout the Quad Cities it said are designed to make a positive difference in the community, especially in Rock Island.
Foundation leaders received an unprecedented 96 applications this year, totaling $1.4 million in requests. The widespread interest, the foundation said, underscores the significant need within the QC community and the grant process’ competitive spirit.
The awards are in these key areas: Human Services, Arts, Culture & Community Resources, Youth & Education, Health (with special focus on behavioral health) and support for seniors.
The grant contributions reflect the foundation’s deep-rooted commitment, which began with a generous $10 million gift from the Doris Day Estate in 1987. That gift was intended to make the Quad Cities an even better place and continues to empower a diverse array of programs meeting the community’s needs.
2025 grant recipients
These are the 2025 grant recipients, their grant programs along with the grant amount from the Doris & Victor Day Foundation:
AKWAABA QC, general operating support, $10,000; All Saints Lutheran Church, food pantry/clothing closet, $7,500; Augustana College, speech and language therapy fee reduction for needy families, $1,500; Ballet Quad Cities, academic and social enrichment for Rock Island elementary students, $5,000; Black Hawk College Foundation, Adult Education GED testing fees, $3,600; Café On Vine, Daily Readiness Program, $5,000; Child Abuse Council/EveryChild, prevention education programming, $6,000; Children’s Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, NFP 100 units of therapy for Rock Island children, $5,000; Christ United Methodist Church of the Illinois Quad Cities Inc., food pantries in East Moline and Silvis , $4,000; Christian Care, emergency shelters – Rescue Mission & Martha’s House, $20,000; Church of Peace, UCC, Rock Island, food pantry, $3,500; Clock, Inc., Life-Saving High School Group, $1,500; Community Caring Conference, Community in our Uncertain Future, $1,000; Community Health Care, Inc., oral health care for Rock Island’s vulnerable children, $25,000; Dress for Success Quad Cities, operational support, $750.
Also, Family Resources, Inc., operational support for emergency shelter for survivors of violence, $10,000; Figge Art Museum, art education programs for Rock Island students, $1,200; First Tee of the Quad Cities, program support for partnership with Spring Forward, Skip-A-Long, & The Martin Luther King Jr. Center, $1,500; Friendship Manor, charitable care needs for seniors, $15,000; German American Heritage Center, general operating support, $1,500; Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, bridging educational gaps through Girl Scout leadership programs in Rock Island and Scott counties, $1,000; Heart of Hope Ministries, direct service provision to strengthen Rock Island’s West End, $10,000; Humble Dwellings, Beds for New Beginnings, $10,000; Humility Homes and Services, Inc., multi-option navigation for Affordable Housing Program, $10,000; Iowa Abortion Access Fund, abortion funding and development, $30,000; Iowa Black Doula Collective, 2025 support for Culturally Responsive Maternal Health Programming, $750; LivWell CARES, operational support, $3,500
Also, Milan Christian Food Pantry, hygiene supplies, $4,500; Nahant Marsh Education Center, protecting QC essential natural resources, $5,000; NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley, critical support for individuals and families living with mental health diagnosis, $1,000; Nest Cafe (Nourishing Everyone Sustainably Together), $10,000; One Eighty, Develop Residential Recovery Program, $7,500; Planting Books – Seeds 4 a Better Future, literacy support, $750.
Others include Prairie State Legal Services, 2025 general operating expenses for PSLS’ Moline office, $7,500; Quad City Arts, Inc., general operating support, $4,000; Rock Island County Children’s Advocacy Center, Reducing Trauma for Children Who are Abused, $7,500; Rock Island Parks & Recreation, adaptive and special recreation program supplies and equipment, $3,500; Rocky Resource Room, $5,000; Sacred Heart Catholic Church, No Empty Shelves: Meeting the Growing Food Insecurity Need in RI, $5,000; Safer Foundation, Employment Services Program, $5,000; SBC Music Outreach Music Academy, Learning Through Music and Art, $3,500; School Health Link, operational support, $15,000; Soles For Children Inc., 10th annual Coats & Shoes Giveaway, $5,000
Also, Spring Forward Learning Center, Building on Success: Sustained Support for Out of-School-Time Learning, $85,000; St. Anthony Catholic Church, McAnthony Window Program, $5,000; Tapestry Farms, strengthening support for refugee empowerment in QC, $17,500; Testimonies of Hope, Inc./Argrow’s House, emergency housing needs, $3,500; The Bloom Project, postpartum care packages for BIPOC moms, $500; The Community Resource and Learning Center Inc, $3,500; The Literacy Connection, start up expenses for TLC’s 2025-2026 school year, $750; The Martin Luther King Center, operations, $10,000; The Third Place QC, Inc., meeting basic needs, building community, $30,000; Transitions Mental Health Services, TMHS psychiatric services program, $30,000; Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences, scholarships for underrepresented students, $12,500; Unity House, Restoring Lives, Sustaining Recovery: supporting Rock Island men’s journey through sobriety, $1,000; Western Illinois University Foundation, degree attainment assistance, $5,000; Western Illinois University Foundation, on behalf of WQPT for youth education and outreach services, $3,500; WVIK, operational support, $10,000; and YWCA of the Quad Cities, capital campaign, $150,000.
