Doris & Victor Day grants $800,500 to 44 organizations

Forty-four Quad Cities community organizations will be awarded a total of $800,500 this year from the Doris & Victor Day Foundation’s annual grants program designed to enhance the lives of Quad Citians.

The organizations the foundation selects each year are ones that have significantly impacted the Quad Cities, enhanced the lives of its residents and contributed to its development, the foundation said in a news release. 

The grants are made possible each year by a significant $10 million gift from the Doris Day Estate in 1987. It was intended to make the Quad Cities a “better place,” the foundation said.

As a result of that initial generous donation, last year, that organization contributed $750,000 to 56 Quad Cities nonprofits.

“The board had many difficult decisions to make with the grant docket this year,” Doris & Victor Day Foundation Executive Director Tyla Sherwin-Cole said in the release.

“In response to the unprecedented demand for funding, the foundation took a broad approach to our grantmaking to fund larger amounts to fund as many nonprofits as possible with the limited funds available,” she added. “We understand our critical role in providing general operating grants that are important to the organizations delivering the effective and impactful programs and services that contribute so much to the Quad Cities.”

Find more information about the Doris & Victor Day Foundation here. 

2024 grant recipients

This year’s Doris & Victor Day Foundation grant winners, their projects and programs, and the amount of funding awarded are:

• AKWAABA QC, general operating support, $12,000.
• All Saints Lutheran Church, Food Pantry Food Pantry and Clothing Closet, $7,500.
• Bethany for Children & Families, Giving Kids a Smile in Rock Island County, $5,000.
• Black Hawk College Foundation, Adult Education GED Testing Fees, $3,000.
• Café On Vine, Café On Vine Daily Readiness Program $3,000.
• Child Abuse Council, Every Child, Prevention Education Programming, $5,000.
• Children’s Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, 60 Units of therapy provided to Rock Island children, $3,000.
• Christian Care, Martha’s House Shelter and Community Meal Site, $12,000.
• Clock, Inc., Clock Support Groups, $2,500.
• Community Health Care, Inc., Improving Pediatric Dental Outcomes for Rock Island’s Children, $30,000.
• Family Resources, Inc., Program Support for Comprehensive Survivor Services, $3,000.
• Friends of Hauberg Civic Center Foundation, Plant and Art Based education/STEAM programming, $3,000.
• Friendship Manor, re-establishing Friendship 2024: End of Life Chrysalis Suites, $10,000.
• German American Heritage Center, General Operating Support, $4,000.
• Heart of Hope Ministries, Caring for the Residents of the West End of Rock Island, $5,000.
• Humility Homes and Services, Inc., Community Is Us-A Home for Every Person, $25,000.
• Iowa Abortion Access Fund. Abortion funding and development, $30,000.
• Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, Rock Island Children and Family Services, $4,000
• Nahant Marsh Education Center, Ensuring the Long-term Success of Nahant Marsh, $8,000.
• Narratives, Writing a New Narrative for Rock Island County Young Adults, $4,000.
• Nest Café (Nourish Everyone Sustainably Together), Responsibly Nourishing the QC, $9,000.
• Prairie State Legal Services, 2024 General Operating Expenses for PSLS Moline Office, $7,500
• Project Renewal, Project Renewal Expansion Project, $5,000. 
• Putnam Museum and Science Center, IMMERSE for Rock Island Center for Math and Science, $4,000.
• Quad City Arts, Inc., 2024-2025 Visiting Artist Series, $2,500
• Quad City Botanical Center, Supporting Growth through operations, $20,000
• Quad City Symphony Orchestra, QCSO Music Education Access Programs, $2,500.
• Rock Island Parks & Recreation, Outdoor Summer Camp Financial Assistance Program,  $5,000.
• Rock Island Public Library, Upgrading an Historic Beauty-Master Planning to Renovate the Downtown, $25,000.
• Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation, Partnering to Improve the Education of Rock Island-Milan Students, $3,000
• Rock Island-Milan Little League, New Batting Cage to Improve Program Delivery for Underserved Rock Island youth, $5,000.
• Rocky Resource Room, Rocky Resource Room, $2,500.
• Safer Foundation, Employment Services Program, $5,000.
• School Health Link, Operational support of community wide services, $3,000.
• Spring Forward Learning Center After School and Summer Program Support, $100,000
• St. Anthony Catholic Church–McAnthony Window, Expanding Distribution of Healthy Foods and Support Services at McAnthony, $7,500.
• Tapestry Farms, Invest Grow Welcome Quad City Refugees, $15,000.
• The Martin Luther King Jr. Center, MLK Center Operational Support, $10,000.
• Transitions, psychiatric services program, $30,000.
• Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Scholarship for Underrepresented Students, $15,000.
• Western Illinois University Foundation, Degree Attainment Assistance, $10,000.
• WVIK, Programming Support, $5,000.
• YWCA of the Quad Cities, Alan’s House-Youth Shelter, $50,000.
• YWCA of the Quad Cities, Capital Campaign, $150,000.