Keokuk Area Community Foundation

About Keokuk Area Community Foundation

The Keokuk Area Community Foundation’s giving shows a clear emphasis on local infrastructure and community services, with a single 2025 grant of $250,000 to Lee County for the Lee County EMS bay in Keokuk standing out as the largest recent award. That scale sits alongside support for schools, youth programs, housing-related projects, and community spaces, reflecting a funder that works across both public-serving facilities and direct nonprofit support. Recent gifts also include $173,475 to Keokuk Catholic Schools for capital improvements and repeated support for Holy Trinity Catholic School and related educational entities in Fort Madison and West Point. The foundation’s grantmaking reaches a mix of institutions and community-based organizations, including school foundations, YMCAs, churches, food programs, and local service providers. Recent awards suggest an interest in practical needs that affect daily life: emergency services, student learning, recreation, and basic support systems. Several grants are tied to capital improvements or capacity-building purposes, while others fund scholarships and general support for ongoing work. With annual grants of $1.7 million and assets of $32.9 million, the foundation operates at a meaningful local scale in the Tri-State area, but its recent grant record remains tightly centered on Lee County and nearby communities.

What Keokuk Area Community Foundation Funds

Education is one of the foundation’s most visible areas of support. It gave $67,510 to Southeastern Community College Fdtn in 2025 for scholarships, and $19,000 to Central Lee Comm School Fdtn in 2023 for an outdoor classroom leadership team. Scholarship programs also appear as a formal part of its work through annual awards for high school graduates and continuing education students. Youth and recreation show up in multiple forms. Lee County Youth Services received $31,977 in 2023 and $29,577 in 2024 to support youth programs in Lee County, while Kplay Playgrounds for All received $32,642 for a handicap accessible splash pad. The foundation also funded a Westview Park trail project in Donnellson with $25,000 in 2025. Basic needs and shelter-related work are another thread. In 2024, Iowa 2x4s for Hope received $13,150 to support tiny homes for at-risk veterans, and Domestic Violence Intervention Prog received $13,500 in 2025 for direct aid.

How Keokuk Area Community Foundation Gives