Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation celebrates 75 years

CEDAR RAPIDS — After more than seven decades of supporting the community through philanthropy, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation celebrated its past and future Wednesday by christening a new mural on the side of its building.

The mural was unveiled during the foundation's Block Party, one of two days of celebrations to recognize 75 years since the foundation's inception. Day two of the celebration will take place Saturday when residents are treated to free admission to local arts and culture organizations, including the African American Museum of Iowa in Cedar Rapids and the Granger House Museum in Marion, and many more.

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Founded in 1949, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation helps donors meet their philanthropic goals by issuing grants and establishing funds for local nonprofits and organizations. The foundation primarily receives its funding through donations from individuals, families and organizations.

"The foundation was started by community leaders who recognized the importance of supporting the community and wanted to make it easier for residents to support important organizations and causes," said Karla Twedt-Ball, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.

Contributions include direct donations, endowments and other forms of planned giving, which the foundation then manages and distributes to support community initiatives related to innovation, resiliency and social services.

Since its inception, the foundation has awarded over $190 million in grants. In 2023, the foundation, at 324 Third St. SE in downtown Cedar Rapids, distributed $11 million in grants to over 600 nonprofits.

"We fund across a whole gamut of organizations," Twedt-Ball said. "Much of our work is ensuring people have what they need to succeed personally and economically in the community."

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For the first 40 years of its existence, the foundation operated under a different name — the Community Welfare Foundation of Cedar Rapids. Twedt-Ball said the name change was due to a challenge made by Cedar Rapids media pioneer William Quarton to change the foundation's IRS status from private to public, with a change in the organization's name to reflect that.

After passing away in 2007, Quarton gifted $35 million to the foundation through his estate, the largest gift in the history of the foundation.

"We were a very small private welfare society when we first started, and after going public in 1992 and changing our name, our organization has continued to grow," she said.

Twedt-Ball has been president and CEO of the foundation since July 2023. When she joined it in 2007, she said the foundation had roughly $62 million in total assets.

The foundation “is at $212 million in total assets at this point," she said.

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She said what got the ball rolling for the organization in terms of its ability to issue grants came in 1972 when the foundation received a donation from Minnie Rubek, a retired member of the cleaning staff at Iowa Electric Light and Power Company.

"When Minnie passed away in 1972, she left her estate to the foundation, which was over $300,000“ or the equivalent to $2.2 million in 2024, Twedt-Ball said. "That donation put us on the map and grew our grant-making from a few hundred a year to more than $20,000."

Over the past two decades, the foundation has taken on the role of helping create more significant community initiatives in Linn County, including the Save the Art Fund, which purchased art pieces from the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and relocated them to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and the Safe, Equitable and Thriving Fund, which looked to examine the root causes of gun violence in the community and what solutions could be funded to solve them.

"We need the help of many different groups to fulfill our mission, whether that's individuals, corporate entities or foundations," said Sean Ulmer, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art's executive director. "We really couldn't operate without any of these partners, and that includes the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.“

In recent years, the foundation has shifted toward disaster recovery, establishing funds to purchase and plant trees in response to the August 2020 derecho and granting more than $437,000 to the community from the COVID-19 Disaster Response Fund.

"No matter what the situation, the community foundation will be there to answer the call," said Jon Landon, board chair of the foundation. “I'm really proud of the foundation and how nimble it is in creating and establishing funds for immediate needs in the community."

Since most of the community foundation's resources are endowed, Twedt-Ball said the organization is fortunate to fund long-term initiatives.

"What are some of the big issues that the community will be facing 20-50 years from now, and how do we make sure the foundation is as relevant then as it is now?" she asked.

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