One City United has a clear goal: to provide a pathway for all, regardless of their past, to thrive and succeed. The organization has been working to help end crisis, poverty, and addiction in Waterloo since 2018.

One City United nurtures potential and transforms lives through programs like Momentum, an employment program that teaches vital soft skills and provides knowledge to overcome barriers, and To Work, a program focused on transportation needs.

The only requirement for participants in One City’s programs is having two or more significant barriers to employment or life. Common barriers include criminal background, addiction, and homelessness. This model creates a diverse and equitable environment. “The simplicity of the model just creates equity. It creates inclusion. It creates diversity,” said Dean Feltes, One City United executive director.

But One City United isn’t just about finding jobs; it’s about helping people believe in themselves. Through partnerships with employers, they advocate for giving opportunities, not second chances. “You have some of the best employees you’ll ever find if you create an environment for them to be able to thrive and give them the opportunity,” said Dean.

Community partnerships are at the core of One City United’s success. The nonprofit has a clear identity and collaborates with other organizations to provide wrap-around services. “That’s always my dream, is to see more organizations partnering together and just making a bigger impact in people’s lives,” said Dean. The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa is a funding partner with One City, providing $39,000 in grants to the growing organization.

Dean’s ultimate objective is to make generational impacts that lead to a community where One City is no longer needed. “The goal is to create this amazing synergy where we’re not even needed anymore because people are thriving.”

Julie Molisho was born and raised in Congo. She has a bachelor’s degree and attended law school in her home country. Still, when she and her husband arrived in the United States to pursue more opportunities, she experienced the challenges many newcomers face. “I didn’t speak English. It was hard for me to navigate any system,” said Julie, founder of The River ARC.

In 2014, her family settled in Waterloo, where she began assisting fellow Congolese immigrants as a French interpreter at her workplace. Julie soon became an advocate for her community’s specific needs. “I was helping people with transportation, healthcare, food, clothes. That’s the reason I started The River ARC, to address all these needs, not only myself but having more people who can help,” said Julie.

Partnering with other organizations is vital to The River ARC’s ability to provide life-changing resources. The organization supplies education, awareness, and language support to identify needs, but Julie sees The River ARC as the bridge to partners who can deliver critical services. “Building partnerships is the key because I have the drive, I have the passion, but this is not enough to help this community,” Julie said.

The River ARC achieved nonprofit status in 2022 and received its first grant in 2023 through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa’s Black Hawk County grant process. “The collaboration with the Community Foundation is crucial. It will help us build capacity and keep doing the work we are doing to help the community of refugees and immigrants,” Julie said.

Julie is also a partner in Advancing Equity in the Cedar Valley, a community cohort, led by CFNEIA and Black Hawk County Public Health, collaborating to address barriers and eliminate inequities. She believes the community can be a place of belonging if residents take the first step in building relationships. “We are in this together. Your health is my health. When you strengthen me, you strengthen all those behind me.”

For 34 years, Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity has been helping families achieve homeownership and partnering with communities in Black Hawk, Butler, Bremer, and Buchanan counties. “Our core focus is building stability for families through affordable homeownership,” said Ali Parrish, executive director.

While this focus remains, a new approach to providing hope for entire neighborhoods has emerged as a prominent priority for the organization’s work in Waterloo. The nonprofit’s adoption of an asset-based community development approach is creating transformational change.

“It really starts with residents first and learning what their gifts are in their neighborhood, what concerns they may have, what their dreams are for their neighborhood, and then building out coalitions and connections,” said Ali.

Habitat began its engagement in true neighborhood revitalization when it became a partner in efforts in the Walnut Neighborhood in Waterloo, where residents and churches had already come together to do asset-based community development through Christian Community Development, another local nonprofit. Habitat has taken that knowledge and is now applying it to Waterloo’s Church Row Neighborhood. In each neighborhood, the people who live there are the catalyst for change.

“We can’t invest in all these areas if we don’t have residents at the table saying, ‘This is my neighborhood. This is what I care about,’” said Jenna Petersen, neighborhood impact coordinator.

The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa has come alongside Habitat as an early funder and collaborator in this initiative. “The Community Foundation has been engaged in this process since we began, not only through grants but by helping develop community connections,” said Ali.

A restoration of hope in neighborhoods creates ripple effects in the entire community.

Howard County is home to approximately 9,400 people on our state’s northeast border. It is the boyhood home of humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Norman Borlaug. However, in the home county of a man who saved millions of lives by preventing hunger and famine, 213,200 meals are missing, according to Feeding America. “Everyone is facing rising food costs, but in rural areas, the distance you have to travel to your grocery store can be significant, which is a barrier and an additional expense,” said Karli Schmelzer, operations and development director for Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC).

Thankfully, nonprofits are filling the meal gap for residents across the county. The NEICAC, Riceville Food Pantry, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, and Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging uniquely address area food insecurity while partnering to ensure the spectrum of needs, from child to senior citizen, is met.

In 2023, the Howard County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, provided funding to each of these organizations addressing food insecurity for a total of $25,000 in grants.

The organizations with a regional reach work alongside those based in Howard County to create local solutions to hunger. They partner to make resources go farther for the people they serve. “We’ve only got so many dollars, and there’s so much need out there right now that we want to make sure we’re leveraging what we are doing by talking to other organizations,” said Janet Buls, director of nutrition services for Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging.

These nonprofits work together to reach as many in need as possible by providing grocery options at the community pantry, gathering people to enjoy a hot meal, or having food delivered to someone’s door. “We support each other so we can do more,” said Diane Setka, Riceville Food Pantry board secretary. “Community collaboration is key to ending hunger in Howard County.”

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley has served local youth for over 60 years. Their mission – to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as responsible, productive, caring citizens – means nurturing the community leaders of tomorrow. “These kids running around here in the Club are the ones who will be the mayors, the senators, the city council people, the school board members. They are the kids who will be running this community in the future,” said Bryan Burton, the Boys and Girls Clubs CEO.

Fulfilling that mission starts with showing youth the range of their potential and the possibilities available to them. Kids who come to the Club come from diverse backgrounds. By exposing them to what is possible through programming and community connections, the Club opens their eyes to opportunities. “Our job is to show them potential for the future,” said Bryan.

The Club also partners with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, receiving nearly $1.5 million in grants through the Foundation since 2003. “Eighty percent of our budget is staffing, and it’s beneficial to have the Community Foundation understand what general operations mean and how important it is to have good staff for youth,” said Rebecca McCarty, Boys and Girls Clubs’ director of development. The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley Youth Development Fund, held with CFNEIA, also provides a trusted charitable opportunity for people to support the Club. “The history of the Community Foundation and its reputation all make it easier for people to trust that their money’s going in the right direction,” said Bryan.

Ultimately, investing in youth is an investment in the Cedar Valley’s future. “If we do our job right, then a lot of the issues that you see in the Cedar Valley won’t be happening anymore,” said Bryan.

It’s about giving every child the opportunity to realize their potential, showing them that it’s not just a dream but a tangible possibility.