Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, the local nonprofit corporation that holds the state gaming license in Greene County, distributed more than $1.2 million worth of grants at its third annual Awards Night last spring. In the three years since the casino opened, Grow Greene has awarded more than $3.5 million.
Grow Greene released the application for the fourth round of competitive grants in Greene County Oct. 1. The application can be found on the Grow Greene County website, www.growgreenecounty.org, along with guidelines regarding what Grow Greene will fund.
Completed applications must be postmarked by Feb. 14, 2019. The Grow Greene board of directors encourages projects that will impact the county in years to come.
This fall to assist organizations with the writing of their grant application, Grow Greene, in conjunction with Greene County ISU Extension and Outreach, is offering a free grant writing workshop on Nov. 29.
Grant Writing 101 will provide hands-on training in seeking and writing successful grant applications. The workshop will be presented from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at the Greene County Community Center meeting room, 204 W. Harrison St, Jefferson. There is no fee for the workshop, which includes a light meal served at the start of the program. However, pre-registration is required and class size is limited. Register by calling the Greene County Extension office at 515-386-2138 by Nov. 26.
In the spring of 2018 Grow Greene competitive grants were awarded to: Paton for a trail from Main Street to John Deere; Jefferson park and recreation for a new gym floor at the community center; Scranton for the Memorial Park shelter; Jefferson Matters: Tower View Team for Arch Alley; and Rippey for the repurposing of the former school gym to the city shed & fire department. These projects will influence a cross section of communities, ages and interests in the county.
Grow Greene last spring also awarded funds to each municipality in the county and Paton-Churdan School. Grow Greene announced a long-term pledge of $4.5 million to fund the performing arts and athletic facilities at the new Greene County High School.
Under agreement with Wild Rose Entertainment Inc, Grow Greene receives 5 percent of the local casino’s adjusted gross gaming revenues to distribute to nonprofit, governmental and charitable organizations. Of that total 4.1 percent went to projects in Greene County and 0.9 percent was shared equally by the community foundations in the six counties contiguous to Greene County.
The Grow Greene County board of directors includes president Norm Fandel, vice president Craig Marquardt, secretary Peg Raney, treasurer Bob Allen and board members Lori Mannel, Brenda Muir, Kate Neese and Rick Morain. Board attorney is Mike Mumma. Grantees with questions may be interacting with Grow Greene’s administrative assistant Cindy Duhrkopf.
