MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Community Foundation has awarded $109,872.67 to Cerro Gordo non-profit organizations. The awards were announced Monday during a ceremony at the North Iowa Regional Commerce Center.
Governing Committee Chair Casey Callanan was quoted as saying “We always have many deserving non-profit organizations apply for our grants, and this year was no exception. A total of 64 grant requests equaling over $355,000.00 were received. Our governing committee had to make difficult choices to award the available $109,872.67. We’re happy to be able to help out these non-profit groups, and look forward to continuing the grant process next year.”
The following is a list of Cerro Gordo discretionary grantees and the program or fund that received a 2014 grant award from the Cerro Gordo County Community Foundation.
Arts & Culture: Charles H. MacNider Museum, $1000; Mason City Foundation, $1000.
Community Betterment: Rockwell Public Library Summer Reading Program, $300; Mission Thornton Disc Golf, $870; Mason City Cannonball Gardens, $1500; Parker’s Woods Playground Surfacing Project, $2,000; Swaledale Town Hall Renovation, $2,500; North Iowa Events Center All Season Lighting, $2,500; Rockwell Aquatic Center, $2,600; Mason City Volunteer Center, $3,000; Clear Lake Dog Park, $3,135.47; Ventura Public Library Computers, $3218; Meservey Operation Facelift, $3,500.
Education: Mason City Public Library Summer Reading Program, $1,000; Mason City Community Schools Garden, $1,000; North Central Iowa Ag in the Classroom, $1,700; Mason City Schools Instrumental Music Boosters Foundation, $2,407.
Health: Salvation Army Bariatric Chairs, $2,120; Cerro Gordo Public Health Department, $3,500.
Historic Preservation: River City Society for Historic Preservation, $850.
Human Services: Charlie Brown Preschool and Childcare Center, $1,000; Caring Pregnancy Center, $1,500; Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank, $1,500; Opportunity Village, $1,500; Mason City Police Department, $1,595; Community Kitchen of North Iowa, $1,990; Swaledale Fire Station, $2,000; Clear Lake Community School District Backpack Project, $2,000; Four Oaks “Assuring Success” program, $2,000; United Way of North Central Iowa, $2,000; Ventura Firefighters Association, $2,129; Crisis Intervention Center, $2,250; Camp Tanglefoot, $2,315; North Iowa Vocational Center, $2,500; North Iowa Area Community College Foundation, $2,500; Rockwell-Swaledale Emergency Medical Team, $2,975; City of Thornton Equipment Upgrade, $3,000; North Iowa Transition Center, $3,300; Francis Lauer Youth Services, $3,500; Habitat for Humanity, $4,500; Thornton EMT’s, $5,000.
People who run these charities are self aggrandizing blowhards, who work it out so they look good, rather than working on policies which would self empower people to not need charity in the first place. The same types try and buy their ticket into heaven. Rich are rich because they are ruthless, and at the beginning of all wealth lies force and deceit. Who gets the 40 acres and a mule? Trace it from there, you’ll begin to realize how these guys got where they are.