2025 Grants Listing

The Community Foundation of Johnson County made 10 grants totaling $250,000 to local nonprofit organizations during the 2025 Community Impact Grant Cycle. Please find below a listing of all grant awards with a short summary of their project. Each grantee was awarded $25,000.

Domestic Violence Intervention Program & Rape Victim Advocacy Program

New Townhome Project

This grant will support the construction of six townhouses to prevent homelessness for individuals and their families fleeing domestic violence. These townhomes will provide survivors the opportunity for safe, stable housing for up to two years at an affordable monthly rent (fair market value or 30% of their income). When victim-survivors meet with DVIP/RVAP advocates, they receive information about emergency shelter and community housing resources. Advocates connect victim-survivors with a housing specialist and match them with appropriate housing and support services, including referrals to specific programs or shelters based on their needs and prioritization. When victim-survivors have access to safe and sustainable housing, they can reclaim their safety, restore their dignity, and create a future where stability and opportunity replace fear and uncertainty. Currently, there is no transitional housing program in Johnson County specifically designed for individuals who are without homes because they are fleeing domestic or sexual violence, making the need for this project urgent.

 

Early Explorers Childcare Center

Infant Care Room Conversion to Address Childcare Shortages in Johnson County

Our community is experiencing a critical childcare shortage. This shortage disproportionately impacts infants and toddlers, whose families often struggle to secure immediate, high-quality care. This shortage is compounded by difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified childcare staff, driven by low wages. This creates barriers to accessing care, contributes to workforce instability, and negatively affects family economic security. This grant aims to directly alleviate this crisis by funding the repurposing of underutilized pre-kindergarten classrooms into vibrant, nurturing infant care spaces. The project also includes redesigning the adjoining outdoor spaces, and training/certification of infant care staff. The project will also require modifications to every room in the center to accommodate the shift in age groups. This program responds directly to the urgent and growing need for infant care in our community, which is facing a significant shortage of accessible, affordable childcare options for its youngest children. This initiative is a key step toward strengthening Johnson County’s childcare infrastructure and fostering a thriving, inclusive community.

 

Healthy Kids School-Based Clinics

Providing Dental Care to Uninsured Teens

This grant will expand the Children’s Dental Clinic Pilot Program to serve uninsured and underinsured youth ages 12–18, while increasing efficiency and capacity for children under 12. This expansion addresses a critical Johnson County gap: there are currently no comprehensive dental services for uninsured children, no sliding-scale clinics for families unable to afford copays or deductibles, and no federally qualified or community health centers offering dental care. Healthy Kids is addressing that gap with a coordinated, sustainable system for children who would otherwise go without dental care. The Healthy Kids Dental Clinic provides comprehensive care—exams, X-rays, cleanings, fluoride application, and treatment for cavities, including fillings, crowns, and extractions. Interpreter services, transportation assistance, and oral health education (including diet counseling) will also be provided, along with toothbrushes and toothpaste. The Clinic minimizes the number of appointments per child by completing cleaning, X-rays, treatment planning, and treatment in one visit whenever possible, reducing time parents must take off work, time children miss school, lowering transportation costs, and lessening overall stress on families, while freeing capacity to treat more children.

 

Houses Into Homes

Express Bed Delivery Pilot Program

Houses into Homes provides beds, furniture, and household items to families and individuals in Johnson County who are experiencing furniture poverty. They believe everyone should have the basic comforts of home, especially a bed for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, the need for beds and furniture outpaces Houses Into Homes’ current capacity to deliver them. This grant will support an Express Bed Delivery Pilot Program, supporting updated procedures to more efficiently connect with heads of households to determine bed needs, make bed deliveries, and organize volunteers to assist with those deliveries. The program will also pilot a new pick-up process to keep the bed inventory at a level that can support ongoing needs. Houses Into Homes takes referrals from over 30 agencies who work directly with clients, identify a need for beds and furniture, and make a referral to Houses into Homes. The need continues to grow, and this pilot program will allow Houses Into Homes to shift their current practices to more effectively meet demand.

 

Iowa City Bike Library

Bikes Create Community: A Sustainable Future for Youth Bike Programs

In May 2024, the Iowa City Bike Library launched a $1M Bikes Create Community capital campaign structured around building a dedicated Youth Bike Coordinator into the organization’s operating budget. The campaign will fund two years of the Youth Bike Coordinator’s salary and benefits while completing infrastructure projects designed to reduce monthly expenses, making the Youth Bike Coordinator position sustainable. The Community Impact Grant will help fund the Youth Bike Coordinator position, which will allow programs such as the Outspoken Teens Build-A-Bike program, UpShift Program, and Bike Camp to continue and to grow. The Outspoken Teems program teaches teens to fix a bicycle with instruction from the Bike Library’s mechanics. In the UpShift program, teens can dive deeper into bike mechanics and receive an upgraded bicycle after sharing their knowledge with peers and continuing their own learning. Lastly, Bike Camp is a partner program with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, teaching bike safety, basic mechanics, and group ride etiquette alongside the delivery of new bikes, helmets, locks, and lights. These three programs would not be possible without the Youth Bike Coordinator.

 

Open Heartland

Keystone Project

Open Heartland develops and manages programs addressing a broad range of immigrant and refugee needs—including health education workshops, school readiness initiatives, English language learning, food insecurity assistance, and access to the basic needs of clothing and household goods in their “tienda” – all through volunteer support. While this volunteer-driven model has enabled meaningful service delivery and the establishment of impactful relationships, the scale of community needs and the imperative to implement equity-centered strategies require professional infrastructure to support the mission sustainably. Through the Keystone Project, Open Heartland will establish its first full-time, paid Operations Manager. The Operations Manager will play a pivotal role in strengthening Open Heartland’s operations by overseeing program coordination, volunteer engagement, data tracking and analysis, fundraising, and partnership development. The organization is committed to hiring an individual who shares the immigrant experience of the communities they serve. This hiring priority ensures that organizational leadership embodies cultural competence and lived expertise, foundational to advancing equity and fostering authentic community trust. This position will expand their capacity to serve more immigrant and refugee residents across Johnson County.

 

Shelter House

A Fresh Start for Fresh Starts

Shelter House’s Fairweather Lodge (FWL) program serves individuals experiencing homelessness who have a diagnosed mental illness such as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, major depressive disorder, etc. The FWL model is based on the understanding that people who live and work together – and have significant control over their lives – can overcome homelessness and recover from mental illness. The FWL program not only provides housing, it also provides scheduled sessions including: stress management, life skills, shared house chores, activities in the community, and participation in groups such as self-empowerment or illness management. Another pillar of the program is Supported Employment – employment in which employees’ supervisors also function as their case managers, helping individuals achieve and sustain their recovery. Shelter House provides Supported Employment for clients through Fresh Starts Janitorial Services, a Shelter House owned and operated janitorial company that employs clients and has cleaning contracts throughout the community. Supported Employment ensures that all people who want to work are offered work; services are integrated with comprehensive mental health treatment; personalized benefits counseling is provided to every client; and clients receive job support for as long as required. The Fresh Starts crew travels as a group in a 12-passenger van which is no longer drivable. This grant will assist in the replacement of the Fresh Starts program’s transportation, ensuring the program can continue.

 

Table to Table

Johnson County Food Access Network – Collective Food Sourcing Pilot

Across Johnson County, food access partners work tirelessly to meet the needs of neighbors facing hunger. In the face of unbelievably challenging times, eighteen emergency food access partners have been working together as a Johnson County Food Access Network that includes pantries, meal sites, and hunger relief programs in identifying shared challenges and opportunities. Partners unanimously agreed that inconsistent access to food was a critical issue affecting the entire system. Building on strong relationships and commitment to equitable food access, the network prioritized a collective food sourcing project. With demand on the rise, the way food access organizations currently source purchased food leaves many agencies at a disadvantage. The Johnson County Food Access Network is launching a pilot to establish a collective food sourcing program to leverage the strengths of each partner to benefit the entire network, build equity into how purchased food is distributed, and work toward consistent access to staple pantry items for every agency, regardless of size or budget. With the support of this grant, the Johnson County Food Access Network can take the first steps toward a collective model that will make the entire network stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to ensure that no neighbor goes without the food they need.

 

The Housing Fellowship

Affordable Housing ICCSD Student Build

This grant will support the Student Build Project, which is an exciting partnership between the Iowa City Community School District, The Greater Iowa City Home Builders Association, and The Housing Fellowship who will construct an energy efficient, affordable home while training the next generation of skilled home builders. This project addresses community goals including: affordable housing, job training/economic development, youth education, climate action, and historic preservation. The Student Build program trains students from all four high schools in the construction trades to construct a new, energy efficient, four bedroom house for an income qualified family. The site is near an elementary school, parks, bus lines, and will train high school students as part of their curriculum at school. Students also earn a pre-apprenticeship certificate in addition to school credit – this is not a job shadowing program; students build the homes.

 

United Action for Youth

SPARK Talks

The SPARK Program is a youth engagement programming initiative serving youth ages 12–18 in Johnson County. Designed to foster personal growth, social connection, and emotional well-being, SPARK offers safe spaces and enriching experiences through recreational activities, creative exploration, and facilitated group discussions.  A key component of the program is SPARK Talks – a series of structured conversation groups that encourage youth to reflect on their lives, share perspectives, and build skills for the future. Topics center around issues relevant to youth development, including peer relationships, goal setting, and mental health and wellness. Participants will strengthen peer relationships by developing skills including navigating friendships, communication skills, conflict resolution, and building trust. Participants will identify personal goals, create action plans, and curate sources of internal and external motivation. To ensure individualized support, all SPARK Talks participants will be referred for case management services providing youth personalized guidance, resource navigation, and supports tailored to their unique needs. The Community Impact Grant will support program delivery at four area high schools and three area middle schools in Johnson County.

The Community Foundation of Johnson County made 13 grants totaling $25,000 to local nonprofit organizations during the 2025 Capacity Building Grant Cycle. Grants were awarded in the areas of Software/Technology Updates, Infrastructure Upgrades, and Marketing/Promotional Materials Support. Please find below a listing of all grant awards by type of request and then listed alphabetically by organization name.

Technology and Software Requests

4Cs Community Coordinated Child Care – Capacity Grant – $684

ChildServe Foundation, Inc. – Enhancing ChildServe Services Through Technology – $2,100

CommUnity Crisis Services – Strengthening Cybersecurity at Healing Prairie Farm – $2,500

Coralville Community Food Pantry – Essential Upgrade for Intake and Client Management Software – $2,500

Iowa City Free Lunch Program – Core Technology & Communications Infrastructure Upgrade – $2,500

Open Heartland – Technology Empowerment Project – $2,216

 

Infrastructure Requests

Christian Culture Community – Global Food Project Farmers Market Infrastructure – $2,000

Johnson County Agricultural Association – Project Cool and Safe in Building A – $2,500

 

 

Marketing Support Requests

Inside Out Reentry Community – Inside Out Printing Support – $1,000

Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa – Building Capacity through the Power of Storytelling – $715

Midwest Chinese Academy – Culture on the Go Initiative – $2,000

North Liberty Community Pantry – Marketing and Promotional Materials – $1,785

TRAIL of Johnson County – Website Consolidation and Enhancement Project – $2,500