The Legacy Foundation is pleased to announce awards totaling $150,000 to Cycle 40 Bright Ideas Community Enrichment Fund grant recipients and $10,000 awarded to seven local nonprofit projects to help assist with youth development through our Legacy Youth Alliance. Recent grant money awarded will help nonprofits improve public safety, community development and vitality, arts, and culture, healthcare, and education. At the Legacy Foundation, we are excited to watch our nonprofits continue to grow and help improve many aspects of the community. 

Since the first Bright Ideas Community Enrichment Fund grant cycle in 2011, the Bright Ideas Community Enrichment Fund has awarded $5,771,179 to 126 nonprofit organizations that serve Wapello County. The most recent Wapello County nonprofit organizations to receive BICEF grants are:  

• Jacobson Institute at University of Iowa to host the Design Dash school competition in Ottumwa. 

• Sparky Claus for Ottumwa Fire Department technical equipment. 

• Food Bank of Iowa to assist with Veteran’s Mobile Food Distribution. 

• Wapello County Rural Fire Department to assist with purchasing thermal imaging camera and self-contained breathing apparatus. 

• Four Oaks Family & Children Services to assist with cost barriers for     recruitment of foster families.  

• First Resources Corp. to upgrade Courtview Apartments. 

• Greater Ottumwa Vocal Arts Project for stage lighting expansion project. 

• Pathfinders RC&D for the EmpowerHER Pathways programming.  

• The Wake Foundation to assist with Veteran’s Honor Flight event. 

 

The Legacy Youth Alliance awarded six grants totaling $10,000 in their Fall 2024 grant cycle. Legacy Youth Alliance members live in Wapello County and attend Cardinal, EBF, Pekin, and Ottumwa High Schools. All grant proposals submitted to the Legacy Youth Alliance must be for a youth-led project or a youth-serving program. Funding priorities of the Legacy Youth Alliance are impactful projects that address literacy, reading proficiency, post-secondary education, and physical, mental, or social wellness. The organizations and projects funded are:  

• American Home Finding Association for recreation center upgrades. 

• Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont CSD to create a safe space for student mental health services. 

• Four Oaks Family and Children Services to support their Welcome Home program, opening doors for more kids in need of foster families in Wapello County. 

• Ottumwa CSD Gateway High School to assist with Gateway Volunteerism Project. 

• Ottumwa CSD Gateway High School for flexible seating in classrooms. 

• River Hills Community Health Center for Mindful Moments Kits. 

• River Hills Community Health Center for Brain Work and other education materials to help youth understand parts of the brain and trauma. 

At the Ottumwa Legacy Foundation, we recognize and embrace the critical role that we can play in the community as a catalyst for positive change. We are doing this by initiating and advancing promising ideas, making grants, convening conversations, promoting collaboration, providing sound information, and celebrating success. 

We are always looking to support new and innovative ideas and efforts that can have measurable impacts on the residents and communities in Wapello County. We highly encourage all local nonprofits to submit applications to Bright Ideas Community Enrichment Fund and Legacy Youth Alliance.  The next online Bright Ideas application cycle opens on February 1st, 2025; the next Legacy Youth Alliance application cycle opens January 1st, 2025. Head to our website www.ottumwalegacy.org to view all grants available.