PLATINUM2022

Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation

Where charitable gifts multiply for community good

Cedar Rapids, IA   |  http://www.gcrcf.org

Mission

To strengthen our community through philanthropy.

Ruling year info

1952

President & CEO

Dr. Les Garner Jr.

Main address

324 3rd Street SE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 USA

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EIN

42-6053860

NTEE code info

Community Foundations (T31)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Nonprofit Network

The Nonprofit Network provides a point of connection and resources for local nonprofit organizations and professionals, with a focus on peer engagement, learning opportunities, information and mentors. Since 2005, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation has made a commitment to supporting and strengthening the nonprofit organizations in our area. The Nonprofit Network was formerly known as the Linn County Nonprofit Resource Center.

Population(s) Served

Where we work

Accreditations

Council on Foundations Accredited

Council on Foundations National Standards 2010

Council on Foundations National Standards 2016

Council on Foundations National Standards 2017

Council on Foundations National Standards 2019

Council on Foundations National Standards 2021

Awards

National Standards 2010

The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation is Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations by the Council on Foundations.

Outstanding Foundation of 2012 2012

Association of Fundraising Professionals

Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships 2018

HUD

Affiliations & memberships

Council on Foundations National Standards 2020

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Total dollar amount of grants awarded

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Total grants awarded.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our overall vision is a vibrant and inclusive Linn County where all people thrive.

Within our 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, our priorities and core activities fall under the following three strategies:

1. Asset Development Strategy: To become more efficient in transactional donor services, while becoming more effective in inspiring a small, but growing group of families to become more transformative in their philanthropy.

2. Community Impact Strategy: To enhance support of nonprofit efforts to create a vibrant community, while identifying and enacting strategies that catalyze our community to prepare for the future.

3. Strengthening our Capacity Strategy: To be growth minded about strengthening the Community Foundation’s capacity, while being proactive about the potential headwinds we face.

As a community foundation, our funding invests in local nonprofit organizations that contribute to improving the quality of life in our community. Our grants support innovation, sustainability and capacity building.

Our Community Impact Strategy is to enhance support of nonprofit efforts to create a vibrant community, while identifying and enacting strategies that catalyze our community to prepare for the future.

The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation helps donors give in meaningful ways by working with individual donors, families, businesses and organizations to establish charitable funds that will benefit the community forever. We help donors clarify their charitable intent and connect them to causes they care about. We provide personal service and professional advice, superior investment management and knowledge of the needs and opportunities of our community.

The Community Foundation strengthens nonprofit organizations that contribute to improving the quality of life in our community in three ways: we provide a variety of grant funding opportunities; we offer supportive resources through our Nonprofit Network programs; and we help nonprofit organizations establish and build endowment funds to create sustainable funding.

For more than 70 years, the Community Foundation has been providing leadership by working closely with donors, local leaders, and nonprofit organizations to address challenges and opportunities important to our community. We are a planner, convener and catalyst for community solutions that have lasting impact. We leverage our resources with others to support crucial community initiatives and create effective change. The Community Foundation is currently involved in a number of community initiatives that address emerging needs and opportunities in Linn County, Iowa.

Since becoming a public organization 1992, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation has awarded over $165 million to nonprofit organizations who work to meet the needs and opportunities in Linn County, Iowa. The organization holds over $223 million in total assets.

Each year, the Community Foundation welcomes new fund holders. As of December 31, 2021, the organization has 1,078 total funds. In 2021, $20.1 million was received through 1,292 contributions and 45 new funds were opened.

In 2021, the total grants awarded were $12.6 million to 501 nonprofit organizations.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Nonprofit organizations Donors Community At-large

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We have recently made changes to our grantmaking and scholarship application process to make them more accessible for more people we serve.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    This has made them more engaged and connected because they feel like their opinions matter.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently,

Financials

Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation

Board of directors
as of 07/25/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Okpara Rice

Tanager Place

Term: 2022 - 2022

Jasmine Almoayed

Kirkwood Community College

Charlie Schimberg

Schimberg Co.

Rodrick Dooley

Cedar Rapids Community School District

Salma Igram

Cedar Graphics, Inc.

Chris Lindell

Guaranty Bank

Molly Altorfer

Common Sense Advertising

Mike Sheeley

United Life Insurance Company

Okpara Rice

Tanager Place

Anthony Arrington

Top RANK, LLC

Patrice Carroll

ImOn Communications, LLC

Chris Casey

Wells Fargo

Jim Haddad

Community Volunteer

Jon Landon

Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, PLC

Diana Ledford

Forefold Ventures

David Little

CliftonLarsonAllen

Joe Lock

Eastern Iowa Health Center

Michelle Niermann

UnityPoint Health

Mary Junge

Farm Manager

Janice Kerkove

Bradley & Riley PC

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 7/25/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 07/25/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.