
Three Quad Cities’ area businesses along with a collaborative effort of a local health system and veterans’ organization will be honored for their philanthropic work at the QCBJ’s second annual Connect for a Cause event.
The Connect for a Cause winners will be honored during a networking event, hosted by the QCBJ, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, at the Figge Art Museum in downtown Davenport. The event is sponsored by Quad City Bank & Trust.
The Quad Cities Regional Business Journal is proud to announce this year’s award winners:
- The Partnership Award 2024/Small Company – NextGen Motors of Muscatine. NextGen, owned by Denise Greenhaw, will be honored for its generous support and work in helping raise awareness of mental health. The eastern Iowa dealership has not only provided a platform to raise awareness but also will hold its third annual 5k Run for Mental Health Awareness in Muscatine this year. In 2023, the run raised $5,000, which was donated to two honorary foundations, The Gray Matters Collective and Micaela’s Hope, to advance their work in mental health awareness.
- The Partnership Award 2024/Large Company – Russell. The Davenport-based construction and development company is being recognized for the corporate culture it has built that has led to more than $1.5 million in donations to local nonprofit and community services agencies in the Quad Cities area. In addition, Russell employees devote countless hours organizing Russell’s Charity Golf Outing held each September. In 2023, the 35th annual golf outing raised a record-breaking $54,000 for that year’s chosen charity, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities.
- Corporate Citizen 2024 – American Bank & Trust. The Davenport-based bank is being honored for its longtime support of the YWCA Quad Cities, including construction of the YW’s new facility in downtown Rock Island. American Bank has donated $40,000 over two years to the building’s capital campaign and also committed to $20,000 for 2025 and 2026. In addition, it provided interest-free financing to the YW and serves as the lender for the New Market tax credits awarded to the new facility, which will open in May.
- Nonprofit Collaboration 2024 – UnityPoint Health – Trinity and Quad Cities Community Veterans Engagement Board (CVEB). The CVEB is a military advisory committee facilitated and supported by UnityPoint Health – Trinity. Designated a CVEB by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in 2018, the organization’s mission is to bring local community resources together to provide outcomes for veterans and family members of service men and women. Trinity, the CVEB and the VA hosted a Veterans Experience Action Center in September 2023 to provide services and resources to veterans in one place during the two-day, free event at the Iowa National Guard facility. The event brought together more than 60 VA personnel, eight Veteran Service officers, 23 community nonprofits and veteran organizations, 10 employers, six educational institutions, 26 financial and in-kind sponsors, 120 volunteers and 482 veterans. Nearly 4,000 services were provided during the event.
The QCBJ’s Connect for a Cause winners, selected from nominations by the public, were chosen by a panel of Quad Cities business and community leaders.
Read more about the winners in the QCBJ’s upcoming Giving Guide, which will be published in June.
In addition to the awards presentation, our Connect for a Cause event provides a networking opportunity to connect businesses and nonprofits that are committed to philanthropic work and giving. Copies of the QCBJ Giving Guide also will be distributed at the event. The QCBJ launched the Giving Guide and the Connect for a Cause Awards in 2023.
The 2024 Giving Guide and Connect for a Cause Awards are sponsored by Quad City Bank & Trust.
Tickets for Connect for a Cause are $50 per person if purchased before Wednesday, June 5, and $70 after that date, with $5 from each ticket purchase donated to a nonprofit in attendance. The event is open to the public.
To register for Connect for a Cause, visit quadcitiesbusiness.com/events. For more information, contact Lucas Hayes at (319) 665-6397 or [email protected].