Foundation Programs:

GRANTS

A vital part of the Community Foundation's mission is making charitable grants to non-profit agencies. The Foundation does not ?do? programming. It supports agencies which do programming for the public good. Grants are made in the following areas of charitable activity: Arts & Culture, Community Affairs & Development, Education, Environmental Education and Protection, Health, Historic Preservation and Human Services. Click here to learn more?

SCHOLARSHIPS

The Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa awards over 50 scholarships to graduating high school seniors throughout Northeast Iowa. These scholarships have been established by generous donors who simply want to help young people achieve their dreams, and most have been established as endowments, so that students will continue to benefit long after the donor's passing. Scholarship awards vary in size from $200 to full tuition. Click here to learn more?

TEEN TRUST (link to main page on this topic)

The Community Foundation of Waterloo/ Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa's Teen Trust program is a model for youth philanthropy. Each year, a diverse group of students from area high schools allocate $10,000 to 501(c)3 agencies in Black Hawk County. Using a grant application system, site visits, and training seminars, the Trustees work as a team to decide which organizations to assist through financial aid or volunteerism. The program, which began in 1993, is directed by a local college student. Click here to learn more?

WOMEN IN PHILANTHROPY

Women In Philanthropy is a program developed by the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa to promote the intellectual and economic growth of women. Membership is open to all women interested in making a difference in the lives of women and girls through philanthropy. The program also grants dollars from the Women's Fund at the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa to benefit projects supporting women and girls. Click here to learn more?

LEGACY SOCIETY

The Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa's Legacy Society recognizes donors who have made arrangements through their estate planning (such as a bequest, a trust, a retirement plan, insurance policy or some other form of deferred gift) that support the Community Foundation. Since estate gifts are often made after the donor's death, the Legacy Society allows the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa to recognize those individuals who are planning to make a difference in this community in perpetuity. Click here to learn more?

OPPORTUNITY WORKS

Opportunity Works, a project of the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa, is a strategic planning movement aimed at increasing opportunities and reducing conditions of poverty in a six county region in Iowa (Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Grundy and Tama Counties as well as the Meskwaki Nation). The ten-year strategic plan has five main focus areas (economic empowerment, education and care for children, shelter and community livability, safety, and health), four areas of common action (knowledge and information, effectiveness for all, leadership and empowerment, and policy and systems change), and that ultimately help to build upon five main assets (human, social, financial, physical, and natural). Click here to learn more?

LEAVE A LEGACY ®

The Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa is the coordinator for the Northeast Iowa Region for LEAVE A LEGACY® Iowa: a program sponsored by the Iowa Planned Giving Councils in Partnership with the Iowa Council on Foundations and the Iowa Chapters of the National Society of Fundraising Professionals. The goal of LEAVE A LEGACY® is to increase public awareness and interest in charitable estate and gift planning. Click here to learn more?