Alissa O’Connor, president & secretary of the Humboldt County Community Foundation

When I was asked to write a blog post to describe why I registered for the Rural Equity Leadership Series, my first thought was, “Why me?” From a small county of 10,000 people in rural northwest Iowa, what could I possibly lend to the conversation?! Then I asked myself, “Why not me?” Why can’t a small county of 10,000 people in rural northwest Iowa be a leader in rural equity? Why can’t we lead local conversations? I registered for the series to gain a better understanding of rural equity and to educate myself so I can be part of a larger conversation. What I learned from the first session is simple: regardless of our personal backgrounds, community demographics, or career pathways, we can ALL lead the conversation, we can ALL serve from a place of fostering rural equity, and most importantly — we can ALL be leaders in rural equity!

I believe we all want meaningful human interaction, valuable connections and true friendship and understanding, and ensuring rural equity is the vehicle for that. I want to be part of a greater vision for growth and sustainability in my community, and that means understanding rural equity, identifying resources, and implementing programs and initiatives aimed at gathering our community and igniting conversation! Together we can do this important work, but it starts with asking ourselves, “Why not me?!”=

It’s not too late to join us. Watch the first session recording and join us for the second and third sessions.

By Jenna Manders, Community Foundation Services Coordinator, Iowa Council of Foundations

Nearly every job description has that final line that we all know and love: “Other Duties as Assigned.” I’ve never been one to enjoy doing the same thing every day. I prefer to look at “other duties” as an opportunity.

After finding my passion in youth philanthropy, I started my journey in the community foundation field as an intern. Fresh out of college, I was eager to begin my full-time role at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. I quickly realized the opportunities I was presented could help shape my career in the community foundation.

Taking on these “other duties” helped me advance to new roles and leadership responsibilities at CFGD. Each new role integrated new responsibilities that were suited for my unique talents. My willingness to take on “other duties” created an opportunity for me to grow, leading me to conference speaking opportunities, skills I used to start my own business, and a deep understanding of the broader community foundation field. I use everything I gained in those roles in my role supporting Iowa community foundations with the Iowa Council of Foundations (another place where there are many “other duties as assigned”!).

Do you perform any “other duties as assigned” tasks at your organization? Human resources, cybersecurity, managing an event space, technology, etc.? If so, we hope you will join us for our Peer Learning Circle: Other Duties as Assigned conversation next Wednesday, May 4 at 10 am to connect with your peers so we can all learn together about the important, nuanced roles we play to help our community foundations succeed!

Laura Riordan Berardi, Administrative & Communications Coordinator, Iowa Council of Foundations

Even with the big headlines last year about major cyber attacks right here in Iowa, affecting Des Moines Area Community College and New Cooperative, it’s hard to imagine cybercriminals targeting a little ol’ nonprofit like ours. How would they find out about us? Why would they bother when there are bigger fish?

The unfortunate truth is the very thing that makes us think small nonprofits are invisible to cyber criminals makes us perfect targets. They know we are less likely to have IT staff or sophisticated firewalls. Nonprofit staff are famously stretched thin, perhaps making it easier for an innocent-sounding request to change a bank account number slip right through. And for our members working with sizable sums of money, the target is sweeter for those ne’er-do-wells looking for a pot of cash to go after. Increased chatter of cyber attacks coming from Russia have made the possibility even more real for some. So how do we protect ourselves?

About a year ago the Iowa Council of Foundations started doing our own work internally on cybersecurity practices and policies. With a small staff it may have taken longer than we would have liked, but we’ve made steady progress and have put into place new information security policies and have started implementing changes to increase security. We wanted to bring our members along with us on this journey. We invite you to join us on April 27 for a presentation on cybersecurity from Twin State Technical Solutions. Even if you’re like me and the idea of tackling cybersecurity seems a bit overwhelming, I encourage you to listen in. There are some easy steps even the smallest organization can take to protect your sensitive data, your donors, and your own operations.

Kari McCann Boutell, President, Iowa Council of Foundations

As we look ahead to the Community Foundations Legislative Breakfast on March 30, I wanted to share some tools and resources with you to help prepare you for conversations with your legislators. As you know, the $6M in 2022 Endow Iowa Tax Credits have been allocated and tax credit certificates will be distributed to donors in May. The 2023 Endow Iowa Tax Credit wait list is already nearing $6M. For 2022 we have two asks, one of which was already approved:

• Reduce the maximum amount of tax credits awarded to an individual taxpayer to $100,000 annually. This was included in the tax bill that the Governor signed on Tuesday, March 1.
• Increase the annual tax credit allocation from $6 million/year to $10 million/year. We are still pursuing this ask.

We invite you to help us communicate with legislators the positive impact the program is having in your communities and counties. Endow Iowa is working. Be sure to thank your legislators for their past and current support of Endow Iowa. Here are some stats and facts you may wish to share.

Please be sure to also communicate your appreciation for their support of the County Endowment Fund Program. The House has a bill (HF2286) to direct sports wagering receipt dollars to CEFP. Since 2004, this program has resulted in 32,466 grants providing $125 million to nonprofits and charitable causes across Iowa. Additionally, participating CEFP counties now hold over $386 million in assets, which will support Iowans – forever. Here are some additional stats and facts. Please reach out to your legislators to ask for their support of this bill and directing the sports wagering receipt to the CEFP.

There are several ways you can demonstrate the impact these programs have had in your county and community:

• Attend a Town Hall meeting or Legislative Breakfast when your legislators are in your community.
• Write an Op-Ed in your local newspaper explaining how the County Endowment Fund and Endow Iowa programs have benefited your communities and county. Let me know if you’d like ICoF to co- author!
• Visit the Capitol for face-to-face interactions. 10-15 minutes can be the best way to communicate with your representatives.
• Make a call to your representatives. This can be an effective way to be engaged around issues that are important to you professionally as well as personally.

However you choose to advocate, please engage. Your local voice, perspective and opinions are important to our state legislators. As we seek to protect and preserve policy that helps philanthropy do its best work in Iowa and around the country, we are asking you, our valued partners and members, to join us.

Jason Neises, Community Development Coordinator, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

The old, lazy narrative about the “brain drain” continues to vex those of us working in rural Iowa communities. “All the kids leave!” “Why would anyone live HERE?” We hear those things so often that we start to believe they are true. To make any meaningful progress in rural vitality, we need to address the reality in our small towns and write a new, hopeful narrative about the future of life in rural Iowa.

While the latest census numbers do show that almost every community in Iowa experienced population declines among 18- to 24-year-olds, these statistics actually reflect the desire of youth to leave temporarily and gain valuable experience and knowledge. They don’t mean that young people dislike living in their small Iowa towns. In fact, research shows that in the long run, small towns benefit from the ideas, energy and wisdom young people gain in those faraway places — as long as town leaders have done a good job creating a vibrant, attractive place where they can return and raise their families.

Look more closely at census numbers and you’ll see that towns often see population increases among certain age groups, especially 25- to 44-year-olds. To benefit from these gains, leaders need to be intentional about creating the type of town where young families want to live. The best way to do this is by getting the entire community involved: Identify your town’s assets and work together to enhance them. This asset-based approach will ensure that your town develops a positive narrative about its future and breaks free of the old “brain drain” narratives that focus on what’s allegedly ‘broken’ in our communities.

Our small towns don’t need to be fixed. They need to be strengthened, supported and inspired to be places where youth want to return. There are many tools available for small town leaders who want to be intentional about this work, including “reverse scholarships,” Community Heart & Soul®, and Hometown Pride.

These are all initiatives that are entwined with my work at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. We and other foundations across Iowa play a key role in rural vitality efforts by providing the resources to do the visioning and action planning that will keep small towns strong. Think about how your town is taking advantage of these types of programs to create its own hopeful, welcoming story. Learn more from Jason and other rural leaders at our next connect session, February 22 at 10 AM.