Grinnell Education Partnership Receives $250,000 to Expand Program Offerings Focused on Workforce Development and Financial Literacy from the John M. Campbell Trust Fund
The city of Grinnell will designate funds from the John M. Campbell Trust to Grinnell Education Partnership (GEP) in the amount of $50,000 annually over the next 5 years ($250K total) beginning in August 2023. The funding will help GEP broaden their focus from exclusively youth-based projects to economic empowerment interventions aimed at the whole family. The mission is to support youth and families in Grinnell by aligning community efforts and infusing support for early literacy enrichment activities, equity and inclusion, family engagement, workforce development and financial literacy to interrupt intergenerational poverty.
“We are excited about the expansion of GEP’s efforts and look forward to finalizing the funding and beginning to put the programming in-place. These funds will help the community network to create opportunities through transformative educational partnerships for all ages across the Grinnell community,” shared Melissa Strovers, director of collective impact at Grinnell College in the office of Community Partnerships, Planning, and Research.
GEP’s approach aims to support the whole family to ensure the success of Grinnell’s next generation. GEP program leaders are still in the fundraising and research phase of this project. Their plan is to work with local and regional partners to co-create solutions that make social infrastructure resources more accessible to families needing assistance and helping adults secure a job that could sustain a family while reducing debt, establishing savings, and breaking the cycle of poverty.
Grinnell College President, Anne F. Harris, shared, “Demonstrating measurable improvements in student success, the Grinnell Education Partnership has transformed the way the College partners with our community’s nonprofits and how those organizations work together especially as they continue to adapt to the current social, economic and health challenges of our time. The College is proud to serve as a backbone agency for this important community wide initiative dedicated to the common good.”
Supported by a team of GEP staff and AmeriCorps Members, this work is grounded in gathering and reviewing data, focusing on systems change, shifting power within the collaborative, listening and acting with community, and building capacity, equity, leadership, and accountability.
About Grinnell Education Partnership
The Grinnell Education Partnership is a “collective impact” project utilizing the research-based national Campaign for Grade Level Reading and Center for Working Families frameworks to better align community resources so ALL kids and families in Grinnell benefit from additional resources and opportunities. Supported by a team of GEP and AmeriCorps members working organizations across the community, the partnership aims to interrupt intergenerational poverty. Grinnell College and the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation perform “backbone” functions such as facilitate, coordinate, communicate, connect, resource and evaluate initiatives for the network while community organizations bring their respective resources, skills, credibility, influence, access, and knowledge to the table. Since the 2015–16 school year, the Grinnell Education Partnership has engaged more than 20 local organizations and 189 AmeriCorps members who have piloted, enhanced, and sustained many community-based programs to help support kids and families in Grinnell.
About Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation
The Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation (GPCF), located in Grinnell, Iowa, assists donors in efficiently and effectively supporting nonprofit organizations that make life better for people in the area. Through the Foundation, donors are able to make long-lasting positive contributions without being burdened by administrative or legal complexities. GPCF also provides grants to charitable organizations across Poweshiek County. For more information about GPCF, visit www.greaterpcf.org.