MCCF Annouce 2014 Grant Awards
Mahaska County Community Foundation
The Mahaska County Community Foundation (MCCF) is pleased to announce its 2014 round of grant awards. The total amount distributed was just over $95,000 and benefitted 23 different projects throughout Mahaska County.
Once again, the MCCF had far more in grant requests than funds available, with all applications totaling just under $270,000 in requests. Board Chair Mike Broerman, an Oskaloosa attorney, commented “The number of grant applications and requests for assistance continues to show the abundance of worthwhile projects in the Mahaska County community. The MCCF is certainly pleased that it can assist it getting these projects off the ground.
The funding source for these grants comes from the Iowa Legislature, which passed a law that required a distribution of a portion of all gambling revenue to those counties that do not have a gambling facility within its borders. Calvin Bandstra, a banker at Leighton State Bank and MCCF Secretary stated “This legislation has allowed gambling profits to be spread throughout the entire state, not just those counties in which casinos, racetracks, or riverboats are located. This has proven to be a real benefit to local charitable and non-profit organizations, with the State Legislature acknowledging this as over time the percentage available has been increased by statute.”
This year’s grant allocation encompassed projects in several Mahaska County communities, including Barnes City, Leighton, Eddyville, University Park, and Oskaloosa. One of the larger grants was to the Mahaska County YMCA to assist in centralizing and streamlining this organization’s food service program. As the YMCA and Kids Corner Child Care now have merged the administration of their child care operations, over 300 hundred children are served daily, creating the opportunity to have some economies of scale for meal preparation. This grant will assist the YMCA’s campaign to raise $62,000 for food preparation improvements that will result in significant annual savings with its task to provide meals and snacks for a large number of area youngsters.
The following projects were awarded funding:
10,000 Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation—University Park Recreational Trail
6,000 Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter—Multipurpose Room in New Facility
4,500 Mahaska County Izaak Walton League—3D Archery Course
1,764 Mahaska County 4-H—Summer Day Camps
5,000 William Penn University—Video Scoreboard
2,887 Nelson Pioneer Farm—Accessibility Improvements
2,500 Eddyville Historical Museum—Seed Capital for New Museum Project
3,000 City of Barnes City—Playground Improvements
3,000 City of Leighton—Launch of Community Design Program
4,000 Oskaloosa Chamber & Main Street—Community Branding Initiative
5,000 City of Eddyville—Log Cabin Renovation
4,000 George Daily Auditorium—Creative Writing/Theatre Workshops for Students
1,885 Christian Opportunity Center—Vocational Program/Outdoor Classroom Seating Area
2,000 Oskaloosa Police—Radar Speed Traffic Sign
11,000 YMCA—Food Service Equipment Upgrade
5,000 City of Oskaloosa—Seed Capital for New Bus Service
2,200 City of Oskaloosa—Edmundson Park Disc Golf Improvements
2,500 Oskaloosa Christian School—Climate-Control Improvements for Band/Music Room
2,800 ISU Extension—Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
4,000 KAOS Wresting Club—New Wrestling Mat
6,000 William Penn University—Equipment Purchase for Exercise Science Lab
4,000 Pathfinders RC&D—Oskaloosa Farmers Market Expansion/Continuation
3,500 Mahaska County Agency on Aging—Internship Cost to Explore Grants/Funding
$96,536 Total
