Riverboat Foundation awards nearly $128K in grants

On Wednesday night, 27 area organizations got a financial boost from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation (WCRF).

The Riverboat Board of Directors met at Wooden Wheel Vineyards in Keota to award nearly $128,000 as part of the organization’s spring small grant cycle.

“Previously, we had done mini grants in the summer,” Executive Director Patty Koller said. “Because of COVID, we weren’t able to do that last year.”

Koller said that, in the past, mini grants were capped at $2,000 each.

“Because we couldn’t do them last year, we raised it to $5,000,” she said.

The total grant awards were above the $100,000 goal the board had set for this round of grants.

“We found 27 grants that we really wanted to fund,” Koller said.

The regular grants totaled $122,799, but the board approved an additional $5,000 surprise grant for the Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere Foundation, which was already awarded a regular $5,000 grant.

“We have been a supporter since its founding at the $10,000 level,” Koller said. “We wanted to maintain that level of support with this grant.”

Other organizations receiving grants were:

• Washington County Ambulance — Oxygen Refill Containment Station, $5,000

• WCDC. — WCDC Day Habilitation HVAC, $5,000

• Riverside Fire Department — Thermal Imaging Camera, $5,000

• City of Ainsworth — Ainsworth City Center Signage, $495

• Iowa City Area Home Builders Vocational Training Council — ACE Mobile Lab, $5,000

• Washington County Extension — Future Education Equipment, $3,910

• Keota Volunteer Fire Department Inc. — New Rescue Truck, $5,000

• Crawford Township Fire Association — Multigas Meter, $1,637

• Atrium Village — Atrium Village Generator Update Project, $5,000

• Parkview Home — INR & Safety Equipment, $4,005

• ChildServe Foundation — Helping Children Find Their “Voice,” $4,232

• Washington County Fair Association — Security Cameras, $5,000

• City of Hills, Iowa — City of Hills New firetruck, $5,000

• City of Letts — Letts Grain Bin Gazebo, $5,000

• Families Helping Families of Iowa — Celebrating Iowa Children in Foster Care, $5,000

• Columbus Community Schools — Track Hurdles, $4,100

• Washington Area Soccer Program — Goals for Washington Area Soccer Complex, $5,000

• Kalona Historical Society — Kalona Historical Society Summer Camp, $5,000

• Keota VFW Post 4716 — Keota VFW Flag and Cooler Replacement, $5,000

• WACO — Hearing Assist Project, $5,000

• Keota Unlimited — Kewash Trailhead — Keota Site Amenities, $4,800

• City of Crawfordsville — New Water Salesman, $4,620

• Riverside Elderly Development Corp. — Senior Village Security Improvement, $5,000

• LET’S Center for the Healing and Creative Arts — Art Mural on State Theater Building, $5,000

• City of Washington — Pickleball and Tennis Resurfacing Project, $5,000

• Louisa County Emergency Management — Louisa County sUAS — Thermal Image Unit, $5,000

The application for the round of large grants is June 5.

Those grants will be awarded during a ceremony at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort in November.

“This will be the only other grant cycle of the year,” Koller said.