Fiscal Year 2006 Grant Awards

African American Heritage Foundation, Cedar Rapids
$9,000
Improving Awareness of African American Culture in Iowa
The African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa proposes to improve the awareness of African American Culture in Iowa by hiring a part-time events coordinator to increase the number of programs and events of various kinds both held at the AAHMCCI's Cedar Rapids’ building or sponsored at other locations throughout the state of Iowa.

Clear Lake Arts Council: Clear Lake Arts Center, Clear Lake
$13,000
Relocation/Expansion of Clear Lake Arts Center
Funding is needed to renovate an existing building that will be the new, permanent home for the CLAC. Specifically, funding would be used for architectural design, initial construction costs, promotion of the expansion and increased staff time to manage the process and plan for programming expansions that will result.

Dubuque symphony Orchestra, Dubuque
$15,000
Magic of Mozart Festival
The DSO proposes to present a Mozart Festival in January 2006, the 250th anniversary of his birth. The festival will include two ticketed concerts (one symphony orchestra and one chamber orchestra), several pre- concert lectures, an Arts Trek education concert, a master class, and an adult education course.

Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Co., West Liberty
$7,000
Documenting the Art
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Company, together with video artist/filmmaker Bob Hurst, will produce a series of DVDs documenting the multi-faceted process of creating a puppet production as well as the art and excitement of the performance.

Fort Des Moines Memorial Park and Education Center, Des Moines
$15,000
Curator of Education and History Intern
The Fort Des Moines Memorial Park and Education Center, Inc has had extraordinary financial support from the Department of Defense to rehabilitate a 100 year old structure on the old Calvary post at Fort Des Moines. The infrastructure is soundly in place. In order to bring the history to life that encompasses the magnificent structure, Fort Des Moines Memorial Park and Education Center, Inc Museum must develop an education program starting with local adults and children and then expanding statewide.

Four Mounds Foundation, Dubuque
$5,000
Restoration of White House doors, windows and floors
Funding would allow us to hire a 3rd-generation master woodworker and refinisher to accomplish the following work in the Four Mounds White House: refinish original maple floors, refinish exterior doors, restore 25 and refinish 4 unpainted interior doors and install storms and screens in the sleeping porch.

Grout Museum, Inc: The Grout Museum District, Waterloo
$18,000
Outreach Assistant/Expanded Services
The Grout Museum District is requesting an ICCG grant to expand its outreach efforts in Northeast Iowa. Funds will be used to hire a full-time Outreach Assistant develop new programs and demonstrations, and to renovate the museum district's school bus into a "mobile laboratory.”

Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum, Burr Oak
$2,900
Cataloging the Museum Collection
This project will provide a Museum employee one day a week, archival storage supplies, updated computer hardware and "Past Perfect" software. These tools will enable the Museum to proceed with cataloging the complete collection and preserving the collection and information for posterity. The collection has never been cataloged.

Legionaries Drum and Bugle Corps, Inc Colts Drum and Bugle, Dubuque
$15,000
World Percussion
World Percussion will create a year-round Steel Drums ensemble and will provide the finest percussion equipment and instruction available to local band programs. Students in grades 3-12 (beginner or experienced) will participate, and we will hire a full time teacher for the ensembles and in-school instruction.

Midwest Old Threshers, Mt. Pleasant
$7,000
Tractor Exhibit Headquarters
Midwest Old Threshers seeks funds to build a new permanent Tractor Exhibit Headquarters. As a leader in antique tractor shows in the nation, the facility and expanded staff will strengthen our ability to attract new markets year round by offering additional events, permanent exhibits and space for classes.

Montgomery County Historical Society, Red Oak
$19,000
Providing Professional Staff for our County History Museum
This year will bring great changes to MCHS. To manage this change, we must employ a professional Director with the experience to oversee museum construction and to set up and move us into our new facility. We also need a trained Educator to develop a new K-12 educational curriculum.

Muscatine Symphony Orchestra Association, Muscatine
$15,000
Muscatine Symphony Orchestra Phase 2 Development
A $25,000 ICCG will sustain the MSO through its second year of independent operation and professional leadership. It will also give sufficient opportunity to further develop and solidify its funding streams and raise its community visibility and function.

Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science, Davenport
$12,000
Traveling Trunks of Regional History
This project funds the half-time salary and mileage for an Iowa educator and educational materials for the research and development of two new school outreach programs on the history of Iowa's first railroads and the impact the railroad had on communities along the rail routes.

Quad City Arts, Rock Island
$16,000
Summer Youth Employment Program
In a summer employment program that emphasizes creating community art and building employable skills, professional artists will mentor 72 regional teens to create art. Youth and senior apprentices are expected to come from 27 rural and city high schools and colleges. They are expected to come to work on time, have perfect attendance and create art for the enhancement of the community. They receive payment for this as do the lead artists who mentor them. Our request will go toward Iowa adult artists only.

Red Cedar Chamber Music, Marion
$12,000
Reaching Out: Rural Outreach Concerts
Reaching Out: Rural Outreach Concerts takes four creative concert programs on the road to serve 12 tiny rural Iowa communities in Eastern Iowa during the 2005/06 season. A total of 12 concerts accompanied by 6 educational programs brings high quality

Spencer Area Arts Council: Arts on Grand, Spencer
$13,000
pARTicipation
pARTicipation: Creating Connections provides access to the arts for area residents, special populations, artists and visitors by bringing arts programming to offsite locations in addition to the on-site programming at AOG. Onsite programming uses the facility's lower level studios and provides a venue for artists to market their work.

Swedish Heritage Society, Swedesburg
$2,100
General Store
The purpose of this project is to improve the interpretation and enhance the preservation of artifacts in the General Store, a replica of the general store found across Iowa in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century era.

The Felix Adler Memorial Association, Inc.; Clinton
$19,000
Center Director - Eye on the Future
Funding requested will be utilized to employ a full time Center Director for the Children's Discovery Center. The Center Director will be responsible for the daily operation of the center, scheduling cultural. Historical, arts and science programs and exhibits. The Director will also be responsible for establishing development plans and activities that will secure ongoing operations funding for the center. Funding of 25,000 is requested to establish the Director position.

VSA arts of Iowa, Des Moines
$10,000
The Governor's Very Special Arts Festival
Held as part of the Iowa State Fair, The Governor's Very Special Arts Festival is the largest festival in the United States for professional artists with disabilities. Held over all 11 nights of the State Fair, it features singing, dancing, and visual arts from 69 Iowa artists with disabilities.