United Way Quad Cities is seeking both applications for its Community Impact Grants as well as community volunteers to assist in the grant review process.
The annual grants are available for nonprofits, grassroots organizations and others serving residents in Scott and Rock Island counties. Last year, United Way Quad Cities awarded nearly $3 million to 51 organizations working to advance equity in the areas of education, income and health. Together, these funded partners helped close to 75,000 people in the Quad Cities, according to United Way.
The grants are made possible by the support and contributions to United Way from about 250 local companies and 9,000 Quad Citians.
This year, United Way also is looking for local volunteers to share their time to serve on one or more of the eight investment panels. Volunteers will carefully study requests for funding and recommend the programs and organizations that best align with United Way Quad Cities’ education, income and health strategies.
Grant recipients also will have the potential for the highest performance outcomes aligned with the Rise United 2030 community goals, the agency said.
“Local support means local impact,” said Rene Gellerman, United Way Quad Cities’ president and CEO. “Led by over 100 local volunteers, we find, fund and partner with the Quad Cities’ most effective social impact programs and organizations in the region.”
In 2020, United Way collaborated with a broad spectrum of community partners to develop its Rise United 2030 community goals, a set of 10-year objectives to build a future in which more Quad Citizens have the opportunity and access to thrive.
“Our Rise United goals are our North Star,” Ms. Gellerman said in a news release. “To drive progress, the Community Impact Grants will advance our three key levers and approach them as overlapping, interconnected issues.”
United Way’s Vice President of Community Impact Marci Zogg added: “While the Rise United 2030 goals are straightforward, we know the areas to influence or the barriers that need to be broken vary greatly. Therefore, in addition to these direct measures to track progress, there are a number of specific outcomes as well as indicators that we’re funding because they can impact progress on a particular goal.”
United Way’s Community Impact Agenda for funding includes eight strategies and 65 outcomes. “When combined together, all these indicators roll up to demonstrate the impact our work is having in our community,” Ms. Zogg said. “By strengthening education, income and health together, we can create lasting change for all Quad Citizens.”
The annual grant investment process is competitive and involves a rigorous application review led by panels of community volunteers.
“Volunteering is a powerful way to invest your time and talents to shape the future of the region,” Ms. Zogg said. “The funds raised by our United Way are invested in local programs to address the very real challenges that people face in our community, which is why it’s so important to us that local people help determine how those dollars are invested.”
United Way is seeking volunteers – anyone age 18 or older and committed to United Way’s goals – to register to volunteer here. Volunteers must be able to work collaboratively, make objective decisions, be open to compromise and maintain confidentiality.
In addition to helping make the Quad Cities a better place, volunteers gain knowledge of the community’s needs as well as of how local organizations “are aligning and working together to improve lives and strengthen the Quad Cities,” she added.
Volunteers will meet via Zoom five times between February and April 2023. Panel meetings will be held about every other week on the same day and time, with multiple options currently available, for a total of about 25 hours. Initial training and orientation will be provided by United Way.
Final grants will be approved by the United Way Quad Cities’ Board of Directors in May 2023. Grant awardees will be announced in May 2023 with distributions beginning in July.
For more information, call United Way Quad Cities at (563) 355-4310 or via email at info@unitedwayqc.org. To apply for the grant funding, visit www.unitedwayqc.org/apply.
The grant application deadline is 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13.
