Misinformation about the Washington County Riverboat Foundation

I want to address some recent misinformation shared by State Sen. Adrian Dickey of Packwood about the Washington County Riverboat Foundation. The Riverboat Foundation supports only Washington County — not twenty counties as claimed. Our mission has always been to serve Washington County, and we have never identified nor been required to support any other county in Iowa.

Washington County voters passed the gaming referendum in 2004, which gave Washington County the QSO that receives funding from Riverside Casino. We are not obliged to provide grants outside our county. However, we often receive good applications and choose to support nonprofits in many other Iowa counties. Each QSO tied to Iowa’s 19 licensed casinos has its own guidelines for accepting applications and awarding grants. These rules are set locally and differ from one county to another. The Riverboat Foundation accepts grant applications from anywhere in Iowa.

The Riverboat Foundation has two grant categories.

· Municipal Grant Fund: 25% of our revenue from Riverside Casino goes directly to the eight cities within Washington County.

· Competitive Grant Fund: 75% of our revenue is distributed as grants based on applications reviewed and approved by our Board of Directors.

Fourteen board members personally review every grant application, evaluating both the project and the application’s quality. All grant awards are at the sole discretion of the board of directors. All board members must live or work in Washington County.

Since its founding, the Washington County Riverboat Foundation has awarded over $75 million to projects in Central and Southeast Iowa, serving Washington County and beyond.

To see a full list of grant recipients and learn more about our impact, please visit our website at www.washingtoncountyriverboatfoundation.org.

Patty Koller, Executive Director, Washington County Riverboat Foundation