BETTENDORF, IOWA (June 26, 2023) — The Quad Cities Community Foundation will launch a new Center for Nonprofit Excellence, a resource dedicated to strengthening the region’s non-profit sector.
The initiative will build on the Community Foundation’s long history of supporting non-profits by providing expanded resources that help local organizations advance their missions and grow their collective impact.
At the heart of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence lies a vision to become a place for the region’s non-profits to connect, build capacity, and champion issues of importance to the sector and our community. “The vision for the Center has grown naturally and intentionally,” said Sue Hafkemeyer, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO. “Now is the right time to move our efforts forward into something more holistic and accessible to organizations of all sizes.”
According to Kelly Thompson, the Community Foundation’s vice president of grant-making and community initiatives, donors, and non-profits have asked for this type of hub. “The Center will be a place to connect the dots,” she said. “Our local non-profits are deepening their work every year; that growth brings new questions, and for so many, they trust the Community Foundation to help them answer those questions. We want to build on that trust, and that’s where the Center comes in.”
As a capacity-builder, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence will bring together and add to the Community Foundation’s existing initiatives, which include capacity-building grant programs, fiscal-sponsorship support, and peer-learning groups for non-profit CEOs and fundraisers. These and other new capacity-building offerings will be organized and shared with wider audiences through workshops, programming, and other opportunities designed to further strengthen the operational capabilities of local non-profits and amplify their impact in the region.
The Center for Nonprofit Excellence is poised to become a permanent home for collective sector-specific knowledge. Hafkemeyer explained that the Center will provide a “common point of connection for our regional partners, allowing them to access our educational resources and work collaboratively with other local non-profits.” The Center will house CEOLink, DevelopmentLink, and other new peer-learning groups; extend the Community Foundation’s grant-making strategy offerings; and catalyze relationships between potential partners in the community. Some offerings will be led by Community Foundation staff, and others by local, regional, or national providers contracted to deliver various programs.
The Center will continue the Community Foundation’s six decades of championing regional organizations by amplifying the voices of Quad Cities non-profits and advancing their shared goals. Participants will gain access to valuable new learning opportunities, shared resources, and assessments of the strengths, needs, and opportunities in the local philanthropic sector.
A commitment to equity will shape the work of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. Recognizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are crucial elements for the progress and effectiveness of the non-profit sector, the Center will embed these principles into all aspects of its operations, including program design and evaluation.
“We know that the racial and other disparities that exist throughout society also affect our sector,” said Thompson. “Taking that into account means engaging organizations led by people of color and designing and delivering the programming they value, as well as weaving these principles into all programming. We also need to provide entry-points for organizations that are large or small, brand-new, or long-standing.”
The Center for Nonprofit Excellence will formally launch in the summer of 2023 with the hiring of a director and administrative assistant, along with the convening of an advisory council — made up of the non-profit leaders it serves — that will work to align existing Community Foundation offerings and partnerships through the Center. The Center is moving forward thanks to the recent commitment of the Regional Development Authority and the contributions of private donors; these supporters have provided a foundation for the Center’s long-term mission.
Through the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the Community Foundation aims to catalyze an already-vibrant and resilient non-profit sector by responding to the needs and desires of local organizations. As it embarks on this exciting project, the Community Foundation invites non-profit and philanthropic leaders and community members to help guide this collective effort by joining the Center’s advisory committee. Interested parties can learn more and register their interest here.
“We’ve studied successful models of similar projects across the country,” said Hafkemeyer, “and success depends on the Center reflecting — and being driven by — our local sector. That is our vision.”
