iQ Credit Union, a Northwest based financial institution, has launched an annual three-year grant program for local nonprofits through the iQ for Kids Foundation, a nonprofit fund that raises money for local charities aimed at improving children’s lives.
Three Clark County nonprofits are the first recipients of the three-year grants: Rocksolid Community Teen Center, Assistance League Southwest Washington and YWCA Clark County.
The grant recipients have all received multiple grants from the iQ for Kids Foundation in years past. The multi-year grant program is designed to provide additional financial stability while reducing organizations’ need to spend time reapplying for donations. Each recipient will receive $1,500 per year to support multiyear planning efforts.
“iQ is growing, and so are the needs in our communities,” said Trista Carbajal, executive assistant and administrator of iQ for Kids. “We saw an opportunity to support organizations for multiple years, allowing those programs to count on the funds and make a larger impact by potentially reaching more kids in the community.”
iQ Credit Union will award three-year grants annually to one to three organizations, with applications opening on Jan. 1.
One-time grants will still be awarded on a quarterly basis, with the iQ for Kids Committee meeting in February, May, August and November to make funding decisions. Since its founding in the early 1990s, iQ for Kids has donated more than $3 million to local charities. The foundation is funded with donations received from iQ Credit Union employees.
Rocksolid Community Teen Center, a Brush Prairie organization that provides after-school activities for fifth- through 12th-grade students, will use its three-year grant to support the organization’s fall 2023 Teen Takeover event. The grant will also be used to provide transportation from schools to the nonprofit’s teen center throughout the year.
“The iQ three-year grant program lets us do more long-term planning because we know that we can count on those funds for multiple years,” said Marcy Sprecher, executive director of Rocksolid Teen Center. “This money will support services that are vital to so many local children.”
Assistance League Southwest Washington will use its grant to fund multiple initiatives and programs, including assault survivor kits, school clothes for children in foster care and Operation School Bell, a program that provides new clothing and literacy supplies to children in 25 area schools.
YWCA Clark County is using its grant for its Y’s Care Children’s Program, which provides preschool education to children and families from homeless, transitioning or low-income circumstances.
In addition to the three-year grants, iQ for Kids has awarded more than $19,000 in one-time grants to 13 nonprofits this year, including six in Southwest Washington: Columbia River High School, TreeSong Nature Awareness and Retreat Center, Battle Ground Kiwanis Club, Mpowered Living Ministries, FIRST Robotics Team 2471, and Dialed Cycling and Triathlon Team.
