The American Water Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of American Water, recently awarded a total of $65,000 in grants to five nonprofit organizations supporting communities in Iowa American Water’s service area.
Foundation President Carrie Williams said in a Thursday, May 1, news release the foundation “is delighted to partner with eligible nonprofit organizations providing meaningful impact across Iowa. Funding for Water and Environment Grants supports projects focused on clean water, conservation, environmental education, climate variability, and water-based recreation.”
2025 grants awarded
The foundation announced these 2025 Water and Environment Grants awardees and grants:
- Nahant Marsh Education Center, Davenport, $25,000, for Nahant FREE: Equitable Access to Conservation and Water Education program for Quad Cities students.
- Vince Jetter Community Center, Clinton, $16,000, for its Bridging Access to Water program. The grant will help provide an outdoor bottle filling and handwashing station. It also will fund field trips and swimming for underserved youth in Clinton.
- Clinton Substance Abuse Council, $8,625, for its Monitor Secure Dispose program. It provides education on the proper disposal of medications to keep local waterways healthy.
- Bettendorf Public Library Foundation, $8,000, for its Aqua Explorers program. It supports the children’s library aquarium project, which teaches children about watersheds and environments.
- River Action, Inc., Davenport, $7,500, for its Flood Risk Mitigation Study that will support a surveyor’s work to measure and understand flood risk for homes in the floodplain of American Water’s Quad Cities service area.
Iowa American Water is a subsidiary of American Water, the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the nation. In addition, Iowa American Water is the largest regulated water utility in the state, providing water services to about 227,000 people.
Water education efforts
In the release, River Action Executive Director Kathy Wine said her organization and the community “have long benefitted from a collaboration with Iowa American Water that addresses water quality and education.”
“The American Water Charitable Foundation Water and Environment Grant will help provide funding for CoCoRaSH rain gauges and training for our high school and college students attending the Next Gen Summit in October 2025,” Ms. Wine said. “These students will become a network of volunteers reporting rain observations using their gauges, which will get reported to organizations like the National Weather Service to assess the data.”
The Water and Environment grant is part of the American Water Charitable Foundation’s Keep Communities Flowing Grant Program. It focuses on three pillars of giving: Water, People and Communities.
‘Meaningful impacts’
“We are proud to collaborate with the American Water Charitable Foundation and partner with these organizations that actively advance environmental stewardship and champion water conservation,” Brad Nielsen, the president of Iowa American Water, said in the release. “By working together, we make greater and more meaningful impacts achieving these shared goals and enhance the well-being of the communities we are part of and proud to serve.”
Learn more about Iowa American Water’s community impact here.
Since 2012, the American Water Charitable Foundation has invested more than $20 million in funding through grants and matching gifts. They support eligible organizations in communities served by American Water. The nonprofit is funded by American Water shareholders and has no impact on customer rates, the release said. For more information, visit amwater.com/awcf.
