A local foundation has awarded several groups in the Milan area more than $131,000 collectively in grants to help with various projects.
Every year, the Grant W. Brissman and Virginia M. Brissman Foundation awards grants for projects and organizations that improve the quality of life in MIlan. The Brissman Foundation is a private foundation administered by the Quad Cities Community Foundation. (Learn more about the foundation here.)
This year, foundation trustees awarded a total of $131,000 – the largest amount the foundation has ever awarded through its annual competitive grant cycle. “Grant and Virginia Brissman had a deep love for Milan, and their foundation is keeping that love alive,” said Steve Gottcent, grantmaking specialist at the Community Foundation. “The foundation has grown, and their giving has set another record this year. These 27 organizations are going to make an immediate impact in the area.”
Brissmans’ Milan roots deep
Mr. Brissman was a graduate of Rock Island High School and the former Brown’s Business College. He was a pioneer Milan business owner, opening Brissman’s Auto Supply in 1948. The business served Milan and the surrounding communities for almost 30 years before he retired in 1978. He also was a founding director and shareholder of Blackhawk State Bank in Milan, where he served on the board of directors for many years.
Ms. Brissman worked for Illinois Bell Telephone Company for 40 years, before retiring in 1977. They had been married for 60 years when Mr. Brissman died at age 88 in 2004. His wife died at the age of 94. The Brissman Foundation honors the couple’s legacy of generosity. The foundation was established through their estates, and the Community Foundation provides administrative and grant-making services for the Brissman Foundation.
This year’s grants range from $1,000 to $10,000. Next year’s grant cycle opens on Aug. 15, 2024. Nonprofits that work to enhance youth development, foster community development, support cultural activities, and relieve the suffering of underprivileged people in the Milan area are encouraged to learn more and apply at www.qccommunityfoundation.org/brissmangrants.
Two dozen-plus get grants
Groups awarded grants were:
- Alternatives for the Older Adults – $7,500.
- Augustana College – Advancement Office – $1,500.
- Ballet Quad Cities – $2,500.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley – $6,000.
- Children’s Therapy Center of the Quad Cities – $10,000.
- Community Health Care, Inc. – $5,000.
- EveryChild – $1,500.
- Family Resources, Inc. – Davenport — $5,000.
- Figge Art Museum – $5,000.
- Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, Quad Cities – $2,000.
- Humility Homes and Services, Inc. – $5,000.
- Junior Achievement of the Heartland – $2,500.
- Marriage and Family Counseling Service – $2,500.
- Milan Christian Food Pantry – $10,000.
- New Kingdom Trailriders – $1,000.
- Prairie State Legal Service, Inc. – $2,500.
- Project NOW, CAA – $10,000.
- Quad Cities Open Network – $2,500.
- Quad City Symphony Orchestra – $3,000.
- Rock Island – Milan Kiwanis Club First Day Fund – $2,500.
- Rock Island Milan Little League – $2,500.
- Safer Foundation – Quad Cities – $10,000.
- SAL Family and Community Services (Skip-a-Long) – $10,000.
- Spring Forward Learning Center – $7,500.
- Two Rivers YMCA – $2,500.
- Youth Service Bureau of Rock Island County – $6,000.
- YWCA of the Quad Cities – $5,000.
