Iowa West Foundation announces Cycle 3 awards for housing, food recovery and event sponsorships in Council Bluffs

Brenda Mainwaring of the Iowa West Foundation told the Council Bluffs City Council that the foundation’s Cycle 3 grant awards emphasized basic needs, including housing, food and items such as diapers.

"This cycle was kind of all about basic needs, housing and food and, diapers and things that people need to be able to take care of for their families," Mainwaring said during the study session.

Mainwaring said housing grants in this cycle included awards to New Visions, Habitat for Humanity for new construction and rehabilitation, and United Way for a school-district-partnered program aimed at preventing homelessness. She also cited funding for supportive housing via a local group (named in the presentation) and a new training partnership with the Corporation for Supportive Housing to help local organizations develop supportive-housing capacity.

On food access, Mainwaring said the foundation added a new local provider, Saving Grace, that specializes in food recovery from large events and casinos to ensure surplus food does not go to waste. The foundation also plans an annual contribution to Advance Southwest Iowa to support its operating expenses.

The foundation will again provide event sponsorship funds for Council Bluffs to support signature events such as Railroad Days and to assist the local CVB in leveraging state dollars to attract sporting events, Mainwaring said.

The presentation was brief and drew a general council expression of thanks. No council questions requiring follow-up were recorded in the meeting transcript.

The council did not take an action specifically tied to the foundation grants during the meeting; the presentation served as an informational update.