2025 Year in Review

Mid-Iowa Health Foundaiton strengthens central Iowa by elevating data-driven community informed, system change initiatives.

Support for innovative and bold projects and initiatives rooted in the best available evidence, analysis and science to improve community health outcomes.

View Grants
$602,702

went to initiatives focused on improving community health in 2025.

2025 Strategic Investments

Expanding Knowledge

  • Capital Crossroads: Connect diverse stakeholders and unite efforts acrossfour Cornerstones: Economic Opportunity and Prosperity;Community and Cultural Connections; ThrivingNeighborhoods; and Youth Investment.
  • My City My Health Conference: Convene community leaders, healthcare presidents to address the social and systemic fachealth inequities.
  • Maternal Health Symposium - Healthy Birth Day: Bring together leading experts, advocates, andorganizations to highlight maternal health bestracaddress critical challenges in prenatal care, and shareactionable solutions.

Shifting Systems

  • Improving Pathways for Program Access - DMARC: Engage Iowa advocates in administrative advocacy to driveimprovements in program access forthe SupplementalNutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid programs.
  • Central Iowa Direct Services and LeadershipDevelopment - Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice: Impact the economic health and well-being of immigrantsand refugees through legal services, advocating to addresssystemic change by identifying rootcauses and barriers tothe health and well-being of immigrant families andcommunities, and cultivating leadershipto address thosebarriers.

Community Development

  • uVoice - Community Youth Concepts: Promote youth leadership and engagement throughuVoice, a youth philanthropy board focused oncommunity health issues impacting central Iowa youth.
  • Iowa Vital Voices Project - University of Iowa: Engage with central Iowa Latino community members tocollect actionable data to advance civic engagement andcommunity health in Iowa.

Cultivates Engagement

The Foundation collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders in its goal to address the social drivers of health.

Funded Collaborations

  • UpLift – The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot engaged the central
    Iowa community by providing education and awareness on basic
    needs topics. Sessions included a panel on creating stability and
    opportunity in Iowa’s workforce and hosting an economic mobility
    research presentation by Camber Collective in partnership with
    Capital Crossroads. Publications which focused on topics like
    economic mobility and understanding state and federal taxes were
    developed alongside community partners and used across the state.
    Working with an advisory board of local housing experts,
    communities throughout Iowa were engaged through The
    Community Crate: Making Central Iowa Home, a museum-style
    exhibit on affordable and accessible housing issues.
  • HealthConnect Fellowship: welcomed Cohort 4, bringing the total
    network of advocacy fellows to 35. HealthConnect Fellows have
    engaged with the Improving Pathways for Program Access initiative
    expanding their network statewide. Following in the success of the
    HealthConnect fellowship for nonprofits, MIHF established the MIHF
    Small Business Fellowship     to empower small business owners to
    address community issues focused on the social drivers of health.
UpLift Project Coordination Team, July 2025

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HealthConnect Fellows Cohort4

Foundation Highlights

HealthConnect Fellows & Facilitators, September 2025

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MIHF Board & Staff, March 2025
  • Convened community partners in efforts to advance
    strategies outlined in the 2025-2027 In Good Health
    Regional Plan     by facilitating a Community Health Needs
    Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan
    update panel featuring the Dallas, Polk, and Warren county
    public health directors at the My City My Health Conference.
  • Raised Awareness by participating in local and national
    panels and workgroups on topics such as community health
    needs assessments, philanthropic practices as well as public
    health and human services strategies.
  • Strengthened relationships with national and local partners
    through attending national conferences and presenting on
    national and regional public health panels such as American
    Public Health Association’s Rural Health webinar series and
    the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas (MINK) Regional Public
    Health Association convening.

View Past Reports

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