Upcoming Event: Better Together Fund Spotlight

Jan 13, 2025

It has been said that home is where the heart is and 2024 was a year of significant grant investments into nonprofit organizations focused on making Greater Des Moines a true home for many. Anawim Housing’s Monarch Apartments, ChildServe’s Des Moines Center, Ellipsis’ A Place for Girls and The Beacon Village will provide transformative support to youth, individuals and families at pivotal times in their lives.

Join us to hear directly from these 2024 Community Foundation Leadership Grant recipients about their projects and the impact they are having for our neighbors. Leadership Grants are made possible by the Better Together Fund and are centered around equity and support projects with the potential to create significant impact.   

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Anawim Housing's Monarch Apartments

A $200,000 Leadership Grant will support the construction of Monarch Apartments, which will provide 40 permanent supportive housing units in the form of one-bedroom and efficiency apartments to house individuals and couples experiencing homelessness in Greater Des Moines. The project will utilize the community-wide Centralized Intake system to prioritize the most vulnerable for housing.  

ChildServe's Des Moines Center

A $100,000 Leadership Grant will support a new ChildServe facility near the intersection of 48th and Franklin in Des Moines. The facility will expand the capacity from serving 60 children to 600, dramatically reduce waitlists for families and overall, expand services with the addition of 40 new specialized clinical staff roles.  

Ellipsis' A Place for Girls

A $110,000 Leadership Grant will address identified critical service gaps including Supervised Apartment Living (SAL), group foster care and equitable access for girls. The project results in a continuum of care for system-involved youth that will close 100% of the gap on services for girls in SAL and provide appropriate spaces that support healing and increased opportunities for real-world skill-building to improve well-being and long-term self-sufficiency. 

The Beacon Village

A $250,000 Leadership Grant will support the purchase of The Beacon Village facility. The Beacon is addressing the need for housing and support for women who have a history of homelessness and/or incarceration by expanding to The Beacon Village on Euclid Avenue. The new facility will have 32 individual apartments and utilizes a community-centered approach where women involved support one another in a neighbor-centric environment. 

The Better Together Fund is an opportunity to invest in our community’s most important issues, initiatives and needs for generations to come. The Better Together Fund supports grants that are centered around equity and significantly influence community outcomes and opportunities, as well as strengthen an efficient and effective nonprofit sector in Greater Des Moines. Join us to learn how we are Better Together.