Des Moines-Area Nonprofits Receive Viking Foundation Grants

The Viking Foundation of Lincoln announced the funding of its first eight grants totaling more than $50,000 in support of nonprofit organizations in three states, including more than $28,000 in Polk County, Iowa. The following Des Moines-area organizations and their projects received awards:

• Gigi’s Playhouse; Urbandale—$10,506 to provide tutoring for individuals with Down Syndrome
• Holy Family School; Des Moines—$5,000 for new books for its library
• Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center; Des Moines—$5,000 for counseling for individuals and families with limited incomes
• Children and Families Urban Ministries; Des Moines—$5,000 to pay for school supplies for children from families with limited resources
• Metro Arts Alliance; Des Moines—$2,700 to pay for visiting artists to help children from diverse, urban elementary schools explore their creativity.

Sally Johnson Eggland, of Ankeny, an officer on the Viking Foundation Board of Directors, stated she was extremely pleased that the foundation was able to distribute grants to these deserving local organizations. “It was very clear to the foundation board that these select nonprofits work tirelessly to meet their worthy goals,” Eggland said. “Their projects were 100 percent in line with the foundation’s vision of supporting creative initiatives to help people, especially children, in need.”

The five local nonprofit organizations receiving funding provided details about the programs that will be funded by the Viking Foundation. "GiGi's Playhouse is very excited and honored to be a recipient of the Viking Foundation grant, said Daniell Bargstadt, president, GiGi’s Playhouse. “Our Literacy and Math Programs are designed to help make every individual who has Down syndrome succeed! Our one-on-one Educational Tutoring Sessions have proven to help increase test scores and make a difference in everyday life.”

Holy Family School Librarian and Math and Science Teacher Traci Rogo shared information about the school’s initiative to obtain new books (see photo). “The students, staff and faculty at Holy Family School are thrilled to have received the Viking Foundation grant, because it has given us the opportunity to purchase brand new books of a variety of genres to be put into our library,” Rogo said. “The grant has provided quality reading material to help meet school-wide reading goals, as well as promote the joy of reading to all students.”

“We are very pleased to have received this funding from the Viking Foundation, said Ellery Duke, Ph.D., executive director of the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center. “The grant will help ensure that individuals and families struggling with the challenges of their lives, and with very limited resources, will find hope and healing through quality affordable counseling at the Center.”

Carmen Lampe Zeitler, executive director, Children and Family Urban Ministries (CFUM), said the Viking Foundation award will help CFUM provide all students at one Des Moines school, Moulton Extended Learning Center, with school supplies to begin the next school year to “continue to achieve their potential through education.”

Zeitler also noted, “While everyone knows education is a tremendous key to achieving one’s potential, beginning school each year with the tools to learn is key as well.” She added that beginning a new school year can be “financially daunting” for families who live with stresses of poverty, especially when the school year begins in mid-July, before school supplies go on sale.

Executive Director, Metro Arts Alliance Kim Poam Logan, said the organization’s education and outreach coordinator is currently working with representatives of 14 Des Moines elementary schools to schedule their visiting artists (see photo) with funds provided by The Viking Foundation. “Thanks to the Foundation, central Iowa’s most urban and diverse elementary school students will have the opportunity to explore their creativity working with visiting artists from Metro Arts,” said Logan.

In addition to the Iowa grants, The Viking Foundation made the following awards:

• St. Monica’s Behavioral Health Services for Women, Lincoln, Neb.—$10,000
• Girls on the Run, Lincoln, Neb.—$4,800
• Sporting Women Community Fund; Denver, Colo.—$7,000.

The Viking Foundation was created in 2012 to help improve and enrich the lives of individuals, especially children, who are less fortunate. The foundation provides a minimum of $50,000 in charitable grants annually to 501(c)(3) organizations in three counties, including in Polk County, Iowa. The grants are directed to those who are challenged with education, poverty, housing, gender, mental and physical health, and other issues.

A native of Roland, Iowa, Dr. Steven Eggland, founder and president of The Viking Foundation of Lincoln, said the impetus for The Viking Foundation of Lincoln grew from his family’s long tradition of charitable acts and modest philanthropy. Eggland family stories abound describing the provision of food, shelter and financial assistance to Great Depression-era victims, wayward hired hands and elderly care-givers.

Eggland is professor emeritus of Vocational and Adult Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and retired executive director of The Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges in Washington, D.C.

For the proposal submission deadline and more information, visit http://vikingfoundation.webs.com.