The Benton County Community Foundation (BCCF)  would like to announce the distribution of  $151,165  to  17  projects of organizations serving Benton County through its 2025  grant cycle.    

Grant recipient,  organization, project the grant will fund,  and grant amount is listed below by funding area.  

Community Betterment  

  • Benton County ISU Extension & Outreach — Lose of Historical Funding Partners — $6,110  

  • Cedar Mt Auburn Community Club — Making Mount Auburn Accessible — $15,375  

  • City of Urbana — Urbana Central Crossing Park Story Walk — $8,000  

  • Shellsburg Area Community Group — Shellsburg Park Music Garden — $7,169  

Education & Youth Development  

  • Better Tomorrows Early Childhood Iowa — Benton County Dolly Parton Imagination Library — $7,000  

  • Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois — Leadership Program in Benton County — $10,000  

  • Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa — Pathways to Possibilities: K-8 Education Programs — $15,000  

Health  

  • Belle Plaine Area Ambulance — EMS FirstNet & Ambu-Pads — $14,318  

  • Blairstown Ambulance Service, Inc. — Ventilator — $14,700  

  • Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics — Community Connectivity and Mobility Initiative — $7,493.33  

Human Services  

 

  • Families Helping Families of Iowa — Support for Foster Children in Benton County — $6,000  

  • Freedom Foundation — Pantry — $5,000  

  • Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, Inc — Meal Delivery Vehicle Replacement — $10,000  

  • Iowa College Access Network — Future Ready: Engaging Parents for Success — $5,000  

  • Riverview Center, Inc. — Benton Sexual Assault Crisis Response Toolkit — $5,000  

  • Waypoint Services — Domestic Violence Victim Services Program — $7,000  

  • Wesley United Methodist Church - Vinton — Wesley Food Pantry — $8,000  
      

Decisions on grant awards are  determined  by a local committee, which consists of volunteers from  Benton  County. Committee members include  Brian McNulty (Chair), Teresa Cretin,  Mindy Fisher,  Kassie Mather,  Jackie McDermott,  Manda McKinley,  Phil Shaff,  Christine Turner,  and  Dusti Winkie.  BCCF funds  established  by generous donors contributing to the discretionary grant process include the Philip and Phyllis  Borleske  Community Impact  Fund,  the  Marlyn and Ann Jorgensen Community Impact Fund  and the Bill and Margaret Ramsey  Charitable Fund — Benton County.  

 

Grants are awarded through BCCF ¢â‚¬â„¢s competitive grant process to projects in the program areas of arts and culture, community betterment, education and youth development, environment and animal welfare,  health  and human service.  Grant applicants must be a 501(c)(3) designated organization or government entity serving Benton County  in order to  be considered for funding.  The 2026  grant cycle opens  September 1  with an application deadline of  October  15. The grant guidelines and application can be found at  www.bentonccf.org.