The Greene County Community Foundation held its 21st Annual Grant Award Ceremony Sunday afternoon where they gave away over $250,000.

GCCF President Patty Fisher said they handed out $256,229 to 24 recipients, including 20 that were from the $175,000 of funding allocated by Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, which is the non-gaming license holder for Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson, and five were awarded $81,229 from the organization’s endowment fund. Fisher noted GCCF can take up to five percent of their endowment to give for grants, which that fund has grown to over $1.72 million, 

One of those endowment fund recipients was the Greene County School District and the purchase of the short throw projector. Technology Director Brent Gerzema explained how the equipment helped make this past spring musical’s production of “Anastasia” to a heightened degree.

“Don’t ever short sell our students for the talent that they have because they were amazing. So you add that talent with the digital backdrop, some of the animations that we had going on and everything, it was a fantastic production. But in the future, we want the kids to build all the imagery in the back, concerts and things of that nature will use it as well, and it will all be student-driven. Which, talk about opportunities our kids to do stuff that they probably wouldn’t otherwise anywhere else. And that’s the stuff we get at Greene County High School because of the organizations like yours.”      

Some of the largest recipients were the city of Grand Junction for $23,250 to replace a generator for their sewer operations, the city of Churdan with $30,843 to replace the roof on the community room/fire station and the Jefferson Parks and Recreation Department with $34,100 to replace the diving board and pumps at the swimming pool. GCCF is responsible for grants that are $35,00 and less, while GGCGC handles grants that are over $35,000.

Fisher added that GCCF is looking for some additional board members. She said they like having representation from all of the communities in the county and they don’t meet very often, but the most important one is the deliberation in February of all the grant requests that they receive. 

“That’s just kind of fun. This year I read all of them, sometimes I don’t have a chance to read all of them, and it’s just fun to see what people are trying to do for the county. So, it’s just a very uplifting committee really to be on for the limited work that we have to do.”  

Fisher stated that if someone would like to be on their board to contact their organization via email at greeneccf@gmail.com. The full list of the grant recipients can be found below.

Funding Allocated from Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation

City of Churdan $30,843 – replacing roof on the community room/fire station

Food Bank of Iowa $7,500 – local food assistance in the county

Friends of Greene County Iowa Parks $1,200 for conservation books in the public libraries and the middle and high school libraries

City of Grand Junction $23,250 – to replace a generator for the stationary lagoon

Grand Junction Fire and Rescue $15,717 – to replace 12 air bottles for the air packs

Grand Junction Senior Living $21,000 – replacing all of the boilers in the complex

Greene County 4-H $4,200 – shooting sports equipment

Greene County Action Resource Center, food pantry $3,500 – security cameras and lights for potential security issues, as well as liability

Greene County Youth Athletic Association $8,421 – replacing the pitching area on the fields

Greene County Conservation Board $17,500 – electrical upgrade at Squirrel Hollow Park

Greene County Historical Society $4,500 – connector to the two buildings

Greene County Medical Center Foundation $12,000 – Wheelchair specific to MRI machine and replacing acute beds

City of Jefferson $3,400 – three new Automatic External Defibrillators

Lutheran Services of Iowa $2,000 – financial support for access to mental health services

Marchant Memorial Library in Scranton $3,000 – LED lighting upgrade

Paton-Churdan School District $7,131 – front facing book shelves for younger elementary students

Scranton Alumni Association $4,000 – tables and chairs

VFW Post #9599 $2,960 – for materials for Quilts of Valor

Paton Public Library $3,174 – desktop computer upgrades

 

Funding from endowment

Greene County Fair Association $7,425 – replacing air handler in kitchen area of Clover Hall

Greene County School District $10,000 – short throw projector

Paton-Churdan Early Learning Center $12,465 – kitchen appliances

City of Grand Junction $16,943 – pool canopy and a wading pool filler

Jefferson Parks and Rec $34,100 – replacing diving board and pumps at the pool