Face of the Day Archives
2021
Mick McKinley | Board Member
Mick McKinley’s commitment to our community is invaluable to the Community Foundation. Mick has always believed in giving back to the community, and Community Foundation for Western Iowa gives him an opportunity to do just that as a Board member and Treasurer. “The Foundation enables donors to make a difference by making contributions that are used to fund community impact and field of interest grants,” shares Mick. “They can set up donor advised funds where they direct their contributions.”
In his two years on the Board, Mick feels the growth of the Foundation has been impressive. “Donna Dostal has done an amazing job raising community awareness of how donors can establish a legacy that will continue long into the future.” Mick shared that Board chair, Tony Tauke, has been instrumental in working with donors to fund scholarships for graduating Iowa students in both Treynor and Underwood School Districts, as well as scholarships for students throughout the state of Iowa. These generous gifts will have a positive effect on our future leaders for generations to come.
Mick feels it’s important to support the work of the Community Foundation for Western Iowa because the Foundation gives us all an opportunity to give back to our communities in a sustainable, amplified way. “Through our donors' generosity, our Women's Fund granted $57,000 this year to support six projects for women and families in southwest Iowa,” says McKinley. “And our Community Impact Grants committee awarded $60,040 to 40 area nonprofit or city organizations throughout Pottawattamie County! The more we, as a community, grow the Foundation, the more good we can do in Southwest Iowa.”
Liz Collins | Supporter and Fund Holder
Elizabeth became part of the Council Bluffs community in 1978, after she was hired as an elementary teacher in the Council Bluffs Community Schools District. Elizabeth’s teaching career spanned 35 years, including service at Madison, DeForest, Edison, and College View schools until she retired in 2013.
“When I became part of PCCF, I was impressed with the stated vision and emphasis on rural and urban Pottawattamie County,” shared Elizabeth. She had already established a fund through Omaha Community Foundation, but felt the time was right and she was ready to establish a fund through PCCF, as well.
Elizabeth first came to PCCF several years back, to discuss her desire to make a difference in our southwest Iowa community. “I met with Mr. (Jerry) Mathiasen to understand how to use my donations to best support our community,” she shared. “I started small and have been fortunate enough to continue to support a variety of community needs.”
Most recently, Elizabeth is contributing to the Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa, a field of interest fund with the Community Foundation. “I am giving to the Women’s Fund because of my interest to provide backing for projects developed and organized for women and families in crises,” said Elizabeth. “The need for services and programs is a growing concern in all communities. I also appreciated the insights of Donna Dostal and Judy Davis from the Women’s Fund Steering Committee, to bring this opportunity to my attention.”
Tamara Brunow | Brunow Contracting
The Community Foundation is thrilled to feature Tamara Brunow, CEO and Owner of Brunow Contracting, for her commitment to creating tangible impact and powerful positive change in our community.
Tamara Brunow has a passion for empowering women in our community. She shares freely about her desire to help lift women up out of poverty, encourage women to overcome their challenges and personal struggles, and her personal commitment to ensuring there are resources in our southwest Iowa community to make dreams of success a reality. That is why Tamara felt it was important to support the recent IMPACT for Women Summit on October 28, sponsored by the Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa.
“As a woman business owner, I feel that I have a duty to support the Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa as a way to give back to our local community,” said Brunow. “It is imperative that Southwest Iowa protects, identifies, and supports women, at all stages of life, education, and career. Keeping the women of Iowa empowered and healthy makes for stronger families and strong female role models for our future generations to look up to.”
Through purposeful planning, strategic insight, and a collaborative needs-assessment within the communities that make up southwest Iowa, the Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa was designed to improve the quality of life and well-being of women and their families in four key focus areas: Education for Women of All Ages; Accessible and Affordable Childcare; Women’s Health Safety and Well-being; and Aging in Place.
Evan Summy | Midwest Ag Services, Inc.
Established by Evan’s father Kelly in 1993, Midwest Ag Services, Inc., is a local, family-owned Farm Management, Farm Real Estate and Farm Appraisal firm located in Council Bluffs. Kelly Summy was also one of the founding board members for the Community Foundation for Western Iowa. Kelly instilled the importance of philanthropy in the community early on in his career, and passed that essential value onto Evan.
In 2020, Evan started a donor advised fund through the Community Foundation for Midwest Ag Services. Evan designed the fund to help grow and support youth in agriculture. In 2021, Midwest Ag Services granted to support 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) livestock show awards. “It’s important that we help grow and support the next generation of Iowa farmers”, he said. “I know programs such as 4-H and FFA will continue to inspire future farmers.”
The Community Foundation has helped to maximize the impact of the Midwest Ag Services donor advised fund. Through the partnership, the fund will benefit the community and future farmers for many generations. Evan encourages other business owners to consider this type of philanthropic tool to help maximize their charitable giving back into our southwest Iowa communities.
Jennifer Green | Charles E. Lakin Foundation
This week, we celebrate people active in the philanthropic community and dedicated to the enrichment of our world. The Community Foundation for Western Iowa is delighted to feature difference maker, Jennifer Green with the Charles E. Lakin Foundation, for her commitment to creating impact in our community.
Jennifer manages the grant activities of the Charles E. Lakin Foundation and serves on the Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Substance Abuse Fund committee at the Community Foundation. “After learning about all of the great things the Community Foundation was doing through their various grants…and seeing how they build up the community, who wouldn't want to be involved?” shared Jennifer. She feels that Community Foundation for Western Iowa builds up local nonprofits through grant funding and lends their expertise on how to fundraise and garner community support, which is vital for nonprofits to build upon their missions.
Jennifer’s previous work in the Child Welfare and Public Health fields guides her desire to assist with the Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Substance Abuse Fund at the Community Foundation. Jennifer appreciates that this fund not only provides financial resources for bolstering mental health education and awareness, but it also helps encourage collaborations among nonprofits, which is key to helping communities. “This Fund has already impacted area nonprofits throughout southwest Iowa in providing education and awareness to the community,” shared Jennifer. “I hope this Fund continues to grow and that nonprofits working with us continue their collaborations to expand their services, education, and awareness throughout southwest Iowa.”
Jennifer shared that the Charles E. Lakin Foundation fully supports the initiatives of the Community Foundation. This is evident through their financial support to create the new Florence M. and Charles E. Lakin Center for Community Giving. “Further, we illustrate our support through the Lakin Foundation developing a Donor Advised Fund with PCCF, demonstrating our continued partnerships and working relationships to strengthen all of Southwest Iowa with both funding and resources. Our Board feels that the Community Foundation for Western Iowa is a vital tool in the community to help build out individual philanthropy, as well as ensure that there is future investment in Council Bluffs and Southwest Iowa.”
Amanda Lebeck | Walnut Community Center
Agency funds at the Community Foundation for Western Iowa are a simple and efficient way to build an endowment that will help create sustainability for an organization, while providing dollars to meet agency needs.
Amanda Lebeck, Director of the Walnut Community Center, and her Board of Directors decided to create an account with the Community Foundation to help build a sustainable plan for the future of the Center. By creating the fund, they hope to ensure long-term financial stability for the center by building assets for a flexible, unrestricted funding option for future projects and operations.
The Walnut Community Center has also received Community Impact Grants from the Community Foundation to support its mission. “Community Impact Grants from the Community Foundation for Western Iowa have been a huge benefit to the Walnut Community Center,” said Amanda. This year is not the first Community Foundation for Western Iowa Community Impact Grant, however, that the Community Center has leveraged toward progress and achieving community goals. Amanda shared, “The grants have allowed us to start and finish projects sooner than we expected. They have also helped the Walnut Community Center get more publicity, as well as support from the the Community Foundation staff.”
“The Community Foundation assisted us with three major projects,” Amanda shared. “The first project was starting our Wellness Center. We were able to purchase commercial grade fitness equipment and convert two classrooms into a Wellness Center. Currently we have 60 active memberships and are serving 136 people in our community. The second project was the purchase and installation of basketball hoop extenders to help members of the Walnut Wellness Center use these hoops more easily. Members use them every day, as do our little league teams from the AHSTW School District. This year’s grant of $5,000 helped us install handicap accessible doors throughout the wellness facility and will help folks of all abilities access the Center with ease.”
2020
Heidi Lunn, Kids Place
Pottawattamie County Community Foundation (PCCF) has identified several significant challenges facing women in our communities, and as a result of purposeful planning and strategic insight, created The Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa.
In its inaugural grant cycle in July 2020, PCCF awarded $48,640 in project funding to organizations whose programming and projects are focused on improving the quality of life and well-being of women and their families in southwest Iowa.
Kids Place, a childcare facility in Glenwood, was awarded $10,000 to support classroom repairs and renovations. The mission of Kids Place is to provide a safe, comfortable environment for all children to learn, love, and grow, and to offer peace of mind to parents through equal, dependable, quality childcare. Renovations to Kids Place will provide larger classrooms to increase the number of children served, while continuing to provide a quality and safe environment for students.
“Our goal is to provide care to as many families as possible in our community and surrounding areas now and for many years to come,” said Heidi Lunn, director of Kids Place. “Our priority is to use our facility to its fullest potential, and give families a safe, nurturing, quality center for their children to grow and learn in.”
The Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa was designed to improve the quality of life and well-being of women and their families. The field of interest fund at PCCF will support eight counties in southwest Iowa: Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby. The goal of the fund is to reach out and work closely with organizations to identify needs and design tangible solutions that deliver measurable impact. Four focus areas include: Education Initiatives for Women of All Ages; Accessible and Affordable Childcare; Women’s Health, Safety, and Well-being; and Aging in Place.
Kimberly Kolakowski, FAMILY, Inc.
Pottawattamie County Community Foundation created the “Make It Happen” workshop series as an innovative way to build philanthropic efforts throughout southwest Iowa and to help nonprofit organizations grow and better serve our community.
“Make It Happen” is a seven-month process focused on different aspects within a nonprofit organization including: annual fund, board member engagement, volunteers, donors, and professional strengths within the workplace. The workshop series launched in January 2020 with seven area nonprofits, including Family, Inc., an organization that provides public health and family support services to women, children, and families in Pottawattamie and Mills counties.
Kimberly Kolakowski, executive director of Family, Inc., was honored to be a member of the inaugural cohort and found the program to be incredibly effective. She appreciated how organizations could include their board members in the program, which allowed for collaborative learning and planning. Additionally, Kimberly found that the unique blend of nonprofit organizations and being able to share experiences through orchestrated conversations contributed to the success of the “Make It Happen” program.
Kolakowski indicated that information learned surrounding: the elements of philanthropy, case-statement building, donor engagement, designing fundraising pieces, and successful event planning were beneficial to the future of Family, Inc. She added, “The information is everything a novice organization, like Family, Inc., can use as we dip our toes into the fundraising water.”
“PCCF is an incredibly valuable asset to our community,” said Kolakowski. “Donna Dostal and her team are incredible connectors who each have their finger on the pulse of our community. They work hard to stay informed about what’s going on, where the needs are, and who might be able to fill them as they work to help nonprofits build sustainability. Donna knows from experience the hard work of a nonprofit and brings that understanding to all that she does.”
Dr. Behrouz and Christiane Rassekh
Love for humanity is at the root of philanthropy. On November 15, National Philanthropy Day recognizes the great contributions of philanthropy – and those people active in the philanthropic community – toward enrichment of our world. Pottawattamie County Community Foundation (PCCF) is pleased to feature Dr. Behrouz and Christiane Rassekh for their commitment to creating impact in our community.
Dr. Rassekh came to the community of Council Bluffs in 1972 and started his practice in neurosurgery. He and Mrs. Rassekh thoroughly enjoy our community, and chose to create a private educational foundation in 2011 to provide scholarships for students in our area to attend community college. Dr. Rassekh also worked with Dr. Vicki Murello, superintendent of the Council Bluffs Community School District, to bring the District’s vision of a Tradeworks Academy Program to reality. This unique educational program is designed to help students achieve both a diploma and trade-related certificate from the Tradeworks Academy upon completion of high school.
Dr. and Mrs. Rassekh feel honored to have great philanthropic partnerships with Council Bluffs Schools and with Dr. Dan Kinney and Iowa Western Community College that create educational opportunities in our community.
The Rassekhs also want to thank Donna Dostal and her team at PCCF for their contributions to our community and for helping them create a fund at the community foundation. They feel they are able to be supportive to community needs through their charitable fund at PCCF, and appreciate how the foundation is a conduit for others to create impact.
The Rassekhs generously, yet humbly, support projects that address the most urgent needs facing families and individuals in our community today. Dr. Rassekh recognizes how our community is very philanthropic and Christiane is grateful that they are able to provide support to initiatives that are important to their family.
On November 15, a day dedicated to philanthropy, we applaud and celebrate the Rassekhs for their true ‘love for humanity.’
Tom Emmett, The Historic General Dodge House
Agency funds at PCCF are a simple and efficient way to build an endowment that will help create sustainability for an organization, while providing dollars to meet agency needs.
The Historic General Dodge House, a fourteen-room, three-story Victorian mansion, was built in 1869, and stands on a high terrace overlooking the Missouri Valley. The beautiful mansion displays such architectural features as parquet floors, cherry, walnut and butternut woodwork, and a number of modern conveniences quite unusual for the period, such as central heating and hot and cold running water. Tom Emmett, the Executive Director of the Dodge House, created a fund in 2020 to support critical emergencies and capital construction that would be life-changing for the Dodge House.
Emmett has found that the Dodge House endowment with PCCF is attractive to donors because it is a long term declaration. The organization wants to have a way for donors to give to a fund that will mature and grow while creating a better opportunity to provide tax advantages for supporters. Donors amplify their impact with matching dollars for the Dodge House, courtesy of PCCF’s 10% charitable giving incentive program for endowed funds.
“It is a clear symbol that our institution has long-term plans, objectives and intentions,” said Emmett. “An endowment fund at PCCF is also attractive to potential donors because they can see their gift grow over the long term.”
Annie Esterling, Thriving Titans
The Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response fund was established in March 2020 to support the many and varied ongoing local efforts of our nonprofit partners to address challenges brought forth by COVID-19, as well as focus philanthropic efforts to ensure resources are available to the nonprofit organizations serving our community.
The Response fund, a partnership between the Iowa West Foundation and Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, leverages Foundation funds with outside donations that are collectively channeled to provide everything from internet access for our school children to COVID-19 testing equipment for local healthcare organizations. To date, the Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response Fund has granted $1,071,620 to 47 projects and initiatives.
Thriving Titans, one of the nonprofit recipients, was granted funding to provide weekend food bags to Lewis Central families facing food insecurities. Thriving Titans is a group of dedicated families and businesses with a common goal of ensuring all students in the Lewis Central school district have everything they need to thrive in all areas of life. The organization provides food, personal care items, clothing and other emergency needs for Lewis Central families.
The weekend food bags were distributed to students accessing the free breakfast and lunch program during the school closure and summer months. The Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response funding allowed Thriving Titans to purchase and pack 3,926 bags for students, with an average of 400 bags handed out weekly.
“Our families were extremely grateful to be able to utilize the free breakfast and lunch services that LC provided, plus the weekend bags that Thriving Titans provided,” said Annie Esterling, Thriving Titans president and founder. “We are so thankful for Pottawattamie County Community Foundation’s generosity and the Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response Fund for providing us the funds to serve our families on a larger scale.”
Donna Schoeppner
An essential group working towards innovative and effective solutions facing our community is the PCCF Board of Directors.
Donna Schoeppner’s involvement with PCCF started as a member of the grants committee where she witnessed the impactful work being done by nonprofit organizations throughout Pottawattamie County and she was inspired. Donna was excited for the opportunity to join the PCCF Board of Directors to further promote and support the Foundation’s mission to improve the lives of all residents in our southwest Iowa communities.
Donna, a Council Bluffs native and owner of Schoeppner Organizing Solutions, continues to make a difference in our community with projects and initiatives through the PCCF Board. An initiative that Donna has most recently found rewarding is the Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa. The Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa identifies issues not being addressed in our communities and where resources may be lacking, and grants program funding to eight counties throughout southwest Iowa.
Individuals can serve PCCF in a variety of capacities, such as committee members, focus groups, and board roles. Donna appreciates that individuals of any giving level can play an integral role at PCCF and to make a difference in our community. “We can all be philanthropists -- you can donate to existing funds that supports causes you care about most, or if you have the means to create your own fund, you can choose where those donations can go. It is a great vehicle to use to create a lasting impact for generations to come.”
2019
Judy and Mick Guttau, TS Community Foundation
In October, PCCF was delighted to announce its newly acquired affiliate partner, TS Community Foundation. As an affiliate of PCCF, TS Community Foundation will continue to assist and grow its donors and organizations throughout our community and southwest Iowa, while gaining the internal strength, strategic vision and leverage of the national accreditation that PCCF provides. Read more.
Michelle Wodtke Franks
PCCF has identified several significant challenges facing women in our communities, and, as a result of purposeful planning and strategic insight, created The Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa. Michelle joined the Women’s Fund Committee to be a voice for the unique needs that smaller communities and rural spaces have, and to invest her time and resources through PCCF to make positive change. Read more.
Julie Strohfus
With mental health, drug and alcohol abuse or addiction, teen suicide, and stigma all at the forefront of community conversations, it was clear that there is a need for solutions that will create lasting and positive impact. The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Fund of Southwest Iowa was created to address these concerns in our communities. Julie joined the committee to make a difference. Read more.
Tony Fahrenkrog
An essential group working towards innovative and effective solutions facing our community is the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation Board of Directors. Tony is currently the PCCF Board vice chair and joined the board when his mentor and longtime family friend, Dean Fischer, completed his final board term in 2015. Tony continues to make a difference in our community with projects and initiatives through the PCCF Board. Read more.
Dr. Ted and Polly Hoff
PCCF is delighted to feature difference makers, like Dr. Ted and Polly Hoff, for their commitment to create impact in our community. The Hoffs were inspired to create endowment funds at PCCF in 2013 and 2015 as a way to financially help area nonprofits in a long-term capacity, and to provide scholarship support to area students pursuing a college degree. Read more.
Brent Dillinger, Crossroads of Western Iowa
Agency funds at PCCF are a simple and efficient way to build an endowment that will help create sustainability for an organization, while providing dollars to meet agency needs. Brent Dillinger, Chief Executive Officer at Crossroads of Western Iowa, created an agency fund with PCCF to ensure long-term sustainability, and due to the potential reality of decreased funding for the individuals they serve. Brent has found that the endowment is a benefit for donors, and they are responsive to the fund matching programs offered by PCCF. Read more.