T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Players of the Marshalltown Little League gather to collect a grant from the Community Foundation of Marshall County for facility improvements. The grant ceremony was held yesterday at the Marshalltown Community College.

Twenty-five Marshall County entities — nonprofits, school districts and cities — were recognized and awarded for their hard work in bettering their communities and serving their clients during the annual Community Foundation of Marshall County (CFMC) grant ceremony on Tuesday evening.

The foundation gave double the amount of grants this year — 12. The three Marshall County student philanthropy groups — Students Teaching and Empowering Philanthropy (STEP) of Marshalltown High School; Leaders Uplifting Our Community with Charity (LUCC), West Marshall; and Students Empowering and Leading (SEAL), East Marshall — presented a total of 20 grants.

CFMC Executive Director Julie Hitchins said it was a record-breaking year for the foundation. She acknowledged she says that every year, but this time, “we really blew the doors off.”

First, the value of the assets. Every foundation has funds held by individuals or organizations, Hitchins said.

“We host about 115 right now. We added 11 last year and our fund value is at an all-time high of over $11 million,” she said. “If you look back to 2018, we’ve almost doubled in size in terms of our value. I’m very proud of that.”

Coming into the CFMC this past year was $2.5 million from individuals and organizations. While that is good, HItchins said she is more interested in dollars that are going out.

“Again, we blew the doors off at $1.5 million. Those are the dollars that left our funds this year,” she said. “That is truly incredible, but I’ve got even better news. . . . This year, $1.4 million were gifted to organizations in Marshall County. Think of the impact that had on our local economy. Those dollars stayed here, which is really important, but more importantly, they support our nonprofits which right now the need is the most.”

Recipients getting more than one grant were and the groups providing them were:

• Marshalltown Community School District, CFMC, SEAL and STEP. The hygiene care closets have been fully funded with the awarded $10,000. The district also received a grant for city bus passes for students;

• Marshalltown Youth Foundation, LUCC, SEAL and STEP, scholarships and instrument repair;

• East Marshall Community School District, STEP and SEAL, backpack program and the care closet;

• Heart of Iowa Big Brothers Big Sisters, LUCC and STEP, Elevating Youth Voices and BBBS Family Fund;

• Child Adolescent and Parent Support, CFMC, STEP and SEAL, Crisis Intervention Program and food and transportation assistance

• Outreach, Inc., STEP and SEAL, meal packaging and;

• Marshalltown Area Soccer Club, LUCC and CFMC. scholarships and equipment and field expansion.

• Recipients of one grant, and the groups providing them were:

• Marshalltown Little League, CFMC for facility improvements;

• Ferguson Bulldogs County Ball, CFMC, ballpark fencing;

• Senior Citizens Center CFMC, bingo board system;

• Ferguson Community Center, CFMC, playground maintenance;

• Remix Dance Studio, CFMC, studio renovation and curriculum;

• Central Iowa Fair, CFMC, horse arena improvements;

• ARC of Marshall County, LUCC, monthly activities;

• Mosaic Church, SEAL, Marshalltown backpack drive;

• House of Compassion, STEP, soup kitchen;

• City of Melbourne, CFMC, playground project;

• City of Rhodes, CFMC, picnic tables;

• Mid-Iowa Community Action, LUCC, service learning projects;

• West Marshall Community School District, LUCC, speech and debate team expansion;

• Emergency Food Box, SEAL, Marshall County little free pantries;

• Quakerdale Family Services, LUCC, Paws, Hooves and Healing program and;

• Pioneer Heritage Library, SEAL, indoor little free pantry.

Hitchins told the crowd to get ready for next year. She is not sure the CFMC will beat those figures, but she is proud of what was accomplished by the people who support Marshall County.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrespublican.com