What We Fund

Barbershop Books utilizes a child-centered approach that pays special attention to reluctant readers and the culture of Black barbershops. Learn More

A coalition of advocates has come together in Iowa to work towards establishing a system for children's behavioral health in Iowa. Learn More

The implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act will require system change in the child welfare system. Learn More

Our goal is to determine if our Count the Kicks app can be linked to not only lower stillbirths but also if we can reduce adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress utilizing and expanding on resources we already have. Learn More

A group of concerned community members and youth that have experienced homelessness came together in 2017 and following a year of collaboration and work, the Polk County Continuum of Care and the Youth Advisory Board released a plan to end youth homelessness. Learn More

To understand and counteract cultural and racial inequities inside the YWRC through research on expanded ACEs, internal data collection on trauma and resiliency, improved representation, and updated policies and practices. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award to focus on the impact of immigration policies on the health and well-being of Latinx families in Iowa. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship Award: Children's mental health in Iowa will be improved through a coordinated, collaborative effort to address the social determinants of health to prevent, treat and mitigate early indicators of disruptions in a child's social emotional development. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship Award will focus fellowship efforts on improving access to and the quality of care available to low-income children by promoting improvements to Iowa's Medicaid and CHIP (Hawki) program. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship Award will focus on expanding access to healthy food through systemic collaboration and innovation. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on expanding on the current pilot of the prenatal family engagement project, Nine2Thrive. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on leveraging Medicaid to support a key social determinant of health, children's asthma, by funding home assessment and housing remediation. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on reducing racial disparities that persist in birth outcomes. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on ACEs Continuum of Health Systems Change: Prenatal to Children’s Service Systems Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on building a coalition of providers who are committed to improving access and quality for the most at-risk pregnant and parenting families. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on a Vaccination Partners Advocacy Network. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on improving the lives of Latino youth through curriculum development and advocating for youth mental health taskforce recommendations. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on: Homelessness and School Systems - Working to better connect resources to homeless children/youth as well as improve educator interactions with youth to identify needs, risks, and resolutions. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on community health worker integration in schools. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on care coordination for farmworker families. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on increasing physical activity and safer streets through built environment changes that not just support, but encourage walking, biking, and rolling as part of daily life. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on a comprehensive, sustainable structure and framework for obesity prevention and promotion of healthy habits for ALL kids and families in Iowa. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on The Impact of the Climate of School and Out of School Programs on Chronic Absenteeism and Engagement. This project promotes social emotional learning and fosters connection by collaborative work between school districts and service providers. Learn More

HealthConnect Fellowship award will focus on ensuring youth have solid connections to people they can count on for support and nurturing as a strategy to prevent youth from aging out of foster care and to prevent homelessness. Learn More

This grant supported several initiatives including the Social Emotional Learning Activities Organizational Capacity Expansion, Technical Assistance for Trauma Informed Child Welfare and Juvenile Detention and Iowa ACEs Data Report. Learn More

With major funding support provided by the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, Iowa Public Radio will hire a full-time reporter to cover a health beat. Learn More

A community campaign to reduce stigma by starting conversations and increasing understanding about mental illness. Learn More

Partnership with Capital Crossroads/Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines to host midpoint review with Rich Hardwood Learn More

This project will be conducted at MercyOne Central Pediatric Clinic and includes employing a community health worker, implementing a social determinant of health needs screening tool, and collaborating with community partners to address children’s identified social determinant of health needs. Learn More

Planned Parenthood will conduct a Community Input Project to build awareness of the sex education needs and experiences of young people in Central Iowa, particularly those in populations vulnerable to sexual health disparity. Learn More

Increase sustainable school mental health systems and supports for schools, students, staff, families, and community providers. Learn More

The Department of Human Services (Department) is requesting assistance to support the State Board’s recommendation to effectively and efficiently provide Iowa children and their families’ access to screenings. Learn More

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Undesign the redline exhibit. Learn More

WellCome reduces health disparities and increases access to culturally and linguistically appropriate pediatric healthcare for New Iowan children. Learn More

The uVoice Youth Philanthropy Board mobilizes young people to actively influence the health and well-being of their community. Learn More

The goal of this project is to update and expand foundational curriculum for Iowa educators in alignment with SF2113. Learn More

The ACEs Prenatal Collaboration seeks to support the planning and development of coordinated prenatal strategies in central Iowa. The project will engage key research and implementation partners to establish content, design and evaluation for the primary strategies of childbirth education and community support coordination. Learn More

Healthy Birth Day, Inc. will contribute to the reduction of stillbirth among women of color in central Iowa and lead the effort to eliminate racial disparities in stillbirth through the Count the Kicks public health campaign. Learn More

The goal of EyesOpenIowa’s project is to work with seven Des Moines metro schools to reduce the social stigma directed toward pregnant and parenting teens and assist schools in creating a more culturally sensitive and empowering environment to help young parents stay in school, graduate, and move toward self-sufficiency. Learn More

The work to end youth homelessness in Polk County will serve youth and young adults under age 25 who are unaccompanied or parenting (and their children) and meet any federal definition of homelessness. Learn More

Implement a nationally-recognized tool that assesses specific high-risk patient populations, including central Iowa adolescents and pregnant women, assets, risks, and experiences around social determinants of health within an FQHC in central Iowa. Learn More

Using time-tested relational organizing practices, AMOS will build and strengthen relationships among neighborhood institutions and residents working together to identify solutions and act to improve the health of children and families in Des Moines. Learn More

With major funding support provided by the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, Iowa Public Radio will hire a full-time reporter to cover a health beat. Learn More

Funding will support the presentation of Mental Health: Mind Matters exhibition in early 2019. Learn More

We seek to improve the quality of life and mental wellness for every youth through education, training, and school mental health system building. Our ultimate goal is that every student and staff feels safe, happy, and excited to be at school. Learn More

DMPS is embracing a whole-child approach. Goals include: 1. to increase social emotional skill instruction and assessment; and 2. to gain access to resources and support through the National Council’s TraumaSensitive Schools Learning Community Learn More

The uVoice Youth Philanthropy Board mobilizes young people to actively influence the health and well-being of their community. High school students are provided with an avenue to directly impact health-related issues through service, leadership development, and the administration of a grant making process. Learn More

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Advocacy for children of high-conflict divorce (1) lessens children’s exposure to toxic parental conflict, (2) strengthens family relationships, (3) connects families to needed resources and (4) makes children’s voices heard. Learn More

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This collaborative project will bring together up to 40 partners, led by Iowa Homeless Youth Centers and the Continuum of Care Board, to develop a comprehensive plan to solve the community-level challenge of ending youth homelessness in Polk County. Learn More

Fuel Up First seeks to transform the lives of students at East High School through a Monday morning hot breakfast program that reduces hunger and builds positive, supportive relationships between students, local police, and community members. Learn More

The goal of this project is to create a dynamic, multi-lateral Health Education Collaboration to explore and address social determinants of health that impact STI rates and sexual health issues in Polk County youth. Learn More

Children’s mental health and well being in Iowa will be improved through a coordinated, collaborative effort to address the social determinants of health and prevent and treat early indicators of disruptions in a child’s social emotional development. Learn More

Make sure that children in Iowa have access to high-quality healthcare that provides them with the necessary resources and supports to grow up to be healthy adults. Learn More

Advocate for more inclusive and specific policies and practices in our school districts to address the mental health needs of Latino students whose chronic stress is affecting their ability to be academically successful. Learn More

A “housing vaccine” for pediatric asthma Learn More

Strengthening Early Warning and Response Systems for Surveillance, Developmental Screening, and Follow-up Services in Iowa. Learn More

Housing safety and stability for youth aging out of foster care. Learn More

The goal of EyesOpenIowa’s program is to help 14 school districts and communities in central Iowa fully support their young people to make healthy, empowered, and knowledgeable decisions about their sexual health and relationships Learn More

The goal is to provide a comprehensive and sustainable mental health educational opportunity to the third-year students of Des Moines University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. It is designed to transform the ways psychiatric care is delivered. Learn More

Using time-tested relational organizing practices, AMOS will build and strengthen relationships among neighborhood institutions and residents working together to identify solutions and act to improve the health of children and families in Des Moines. Learn More

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Scavo aims to support the unique health needs of students, through the development of a trauma sensitive environment. We take into consideration traumatic experiences of students and the importance a supportive environment plays in their learning. Learn More

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It is the goal of the YWRC to have a profound impact on the lives of girls and young women locally through incorporation of resiliency skills and protective resource building in program curriculum, development of data systems to track long-term impact, and recording of lessons learned to share with the community. Learn More

To engage youth in philanthropy and leadership development efforts, provide opportunities for youth to learn about the inner workings of grant-making and management, complete assessments of community health needs, create strategies to address those needs, and connect with community leaders to influence change. Learn More

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Children and teens in foster care should be seen early and more often to assess for signs of abuse and neglect, illnesses, and mental health problems; to monitor adjustment to foster care; to ensure access to medical drugs and equipment; and to support parents, both foster and biological. Learn More

Prevent Child Abuse Iowa’s project will identify and implement effective strategies to engage a wide range of audiences in responding to the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Study. Learn More

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The Central Iowa ACEs 360 Learning Expansion project seeks to expand and enhance learning events in response to Adverse Childhood Experiences data, accelerating efforts to advance knowledge and inspire collaborative response in central Iowa. Learn More

A three-year expansion is currently underway at YESS to increase capacity and triple the number of children served by 2017. Learn More

The project offers high quality, culturally-competent and affordable mental health counseling services to the most vulnerable (uninsured, low-income) Latino immigrant residents of Polk and Dallas Counties by providing access to mental health services regardless of their financial situation (sliding fee scale based on income and number supported in family). Learn More

The rapid rise of obesity—especially among populations without adequate access to healthy food—is a public health epidemic. Among those affected, children are perhaps the most vulnerable. Learn More

Grant to support several projects including Facilitative leadership around child health and well-being in Iowa and Kids Action Agenda Planning and Facilitation. Learn More

When it comes to healthcare, many Hispanics/Latinos experience disparities due to language barriers, medicine costs or cultural beliefs tied to superstition or home remedies. Learn More

This grant addresses the five social determinants of health. Eyerly Ball can treat a client’s mental health, but quality of life goes beyond medication and treatment. Learn More

We seek to bring together a broad coalition of service providers to develop a comprehensive plan to identify existing services, gaps in service, and a full range of children’s mental health crisis services needed to address children’s mental health crisis in Polk, Warren and Dallas Counties. Learn More

The goal of the MCM oral health specialty training pilot project is to improve access to and quality of oral health for older Iowans who are homebound or live in nursing homes. Learn More

The Des Moines Health Center will continue partnership with the Des Moines Public Schools to provide dental care as part of a Full Service Community School initiative on-site at Scavo High School. Learn More

Primary Health Care, Inc. (PHC) has provided health care services at CISS since 1988 and is proposing to add a nurse care management program to improve the quality of care delivered to this vulnerable population. Learn More

ICCC proposes to adapt and pilot a training curriculum for frontline workers who engage with patients. Learn More

uVoice Youth Health Philanthropy Initiative grant for September 16-17 Suicide Prevention Symposium at Des Moines Area Community College. Learn More

The Wellness Program ensures access to culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services for refugees who experience difficulty navigating healthcare systems. Learn More

Visiting Nurse Services will continue to facilitate the Medicaid Modernization Strategic Planning Group during Phase Two of the project. Learn More

Provide appropriate, timely and affordable high quality skilled nursing services, health care information, referrals to mental and dental providers, and social service system navigation assistance to clients Learn More

The YWRC proposes to drive the next steps of incorporating TIC into agency programming, and in the local community, by researching and developing an inclusive and youth tailored tool that could measure change in resiliency over time. Learn More

Youth Violence is a critical and persistent problem in Polk County and the trend is toward increasing violence. Learn More

The uVoice Youth Philanthropy Board mobilizes young people to actively influence the health and well-being of their community, combating feelings of disengagement or powerlessness. Learn More

Broadlawns Medical Center is going to build a new clinic facility that will house Outpatient Behavioral Health, Oral Medicine and the Family Health Center. Learn More

It is the goal of the Young Women’s Resource Center to improve resiliency and optimism in young mothers and their children whom have been impacted by adverse childhood experiences and/or trauma. Learn More

The goal of Centralized Intake, operated by Primary Health Care, Inc. (PHC), is to directly help individuals and families experiencing homelessness or who are near homelessness, by connecting them to the right resources in the most timely and efficient way. Centralized Intake has become a permanent piece of the homeless service fabric in the community Learn More

A three-year expansion is currently underway at YESS to increase capacity and triple the number of children served by 2017. Learn More

To make high quality, culturally-competent and affordable mental health counseling services available to the most vulnerable (uninsured, low-income) Latino immigrant residents of Polk and Dallas Counties by providing access to mental health services regardless of their financial situation (insurance or sliding fee scale based on income and number supported in family) and by providing outreach through community contacts/presentations reaching consumers about our services and in providing information about mental health/wellbeing. Learn More

To increase refugees’ access to health care and to improve health and wellness by empowering, engaging and training refugees as “Health Navigators” to provide education, resources and support to their fellow community members. Learn More

CISS recently began community conversations about a significant increase in emergency shelter needs. Learn More

The Iowa Department of Human Services (IDHS) contracted with managed care organizations (MCOs) for Medicaid Modernization, moving Iowa toward risk-based managed care. Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) aims to improve quality and access, promote accountability for outcomes, create a more predictable and sustainable Medicaid budget. Learn More

The Child and Policy Center will continue to educate and inform with the goal to build a knowledge and action base improving the health of Iowa children and families and others in need and preventing and mitigating childhood adversity. CFPC will engage coalitions and influence decision-making and planning related to child health and wellbeing. Learn More

The purpose of the Healthy Families America (HFA) Refugee expansion project is to administer intensive in-home visitation services to provide parental awareness of child health, development and facilitation of family self-sufficiency and stability to access resources for Refugee & over burdened families in order to improve child outcomes by improving parental involvement. Learn More

The goal of Healthy Homes East Bank is to improve children’s respiratory health using a collaborative, two-pronged approach that emphasizes housing modifications to promote indoor air quality, and health education for asthma self management and behavior change. Learn More

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To decrease teen and unintended pregnancy, STI and HIV rates among at-risk and homeless youth and to increase access to health services for youth who are homeless, or at-risk. Learn More

Central Iowa ACEs 360 has led the promotion and dissemination of knowledge on the impact of adverse childhood experiences in the greater central Iowa region. Learn More

ALICE, a United Way acronym which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, represents the growing number of individuals and families who are working, but are unable to afford the basic necessities of housing, food, child care, health care, and transportation. Learn More

Goal: Visiting Nurse Services will develop a partnership with providers, community-based organizations, Polk County Health Services and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise to address the needs of the community’s most vulnerable populations through the transition to Medicaid Modernization. Learn More

This project aims to more deeply integrate legal aid resources into the workflow of health center staff by focusing on Certified Application Counselors, who are the first responders and possess a significant and detailed understanding of patient financial and social conditions due to their role within the health center. By doing so, the goal will be to improve health care outcomes by removing legal barriers to health, safety and stability. Learn More

Our goals are to continue to increase public awareness of the resources available for mental health, offer educational opportunities and support for persons with mental illness, family members, providers and the community, advocate with other stakeholders to address the lack of parity, workforce capacity, multiple levels of services, and children’s mental health system and facilitate community forums (with partners like AMOS) where the wider community can become aware of the issues and become involved. Learn More

The Des Moines Health Center will be partnering with the Des Moines Public Schools to provide dental care as part of a Full Service Community School Initiative on-site at Scavo High School. Learn More

Des Moines Public Schools has recognized the need to serve the whole child through the Full Service Community School Model. Learn More

Children and Families of Iowa (CFI) will continue to partner with Mid-Iowa Health Foundation to assist teens dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues through outpatient, preventative, and clinical treatment services at CFI’s Cornerstone Recovery Center. Learn More

The EFR Counseling Program aims to provide easily accessible and high quality counseling services to individuals (youth and adult) and families in a safe and confidential setting to address issues of depression, anxiety, addiction, family or marital conflict, and/or other concerns that impact daily functioning and quality of life for all members of our community Learn More

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The Health Advocate will provide cultural and linguistic support to refugees served by the USCRI - Des Moines Refugee Wellness Program and increase access to holistic healthcare and resources. Learn More

The uVoice Youth Philanthropy Board exists to engage metro area youth in philanthropy and leadership development efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of the community. Learn More