A pair of initiatives from the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque are helping residents of local towns identify and fund efforts that are important to them.
On a foggy morning, Denise Grant, Denise Simms and Judy Knowler walked into the Red Roof Diner in Peosta, Iowa, and scanned the room for a table.
Anyone who has lived in a small town has probably visited a place like the Red Roof Diner. It’s a hub for neighbors to gather and discuss what’s important to them, from grandkids to politics. On this day, locals have come together to talk about Peosta Today, Tomorrow, Together, an initiative built on the grassroots visioning process Community Heart & Soul®. Through this initiative, the people of Peosta are codifying what’s important to their community and determining “value statements” to guide programs, services, development and fundraising.
“The work we are doing now could be critical to where Peosta goes in the future,” Judy says.
Impact Through Engagement
As the facilitator of Heart & Soul in Eastern Iowa, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque supplies tools and training for small-town residents to engage their neighbors. What do they love about where they live? What are their hopes for the future? What are their concerns? The goal is to involve everyone in the participating community.
“A lot of times, local leaders have good intentions when planning projects, but it can be the same people coming to the table each time,” says Jason Neises, the Foundation’s community development officer. “With Heart & Soul, everyday residents are at the helm of the planning process. One of the tenets of the process is that they intentionally reach out to both the people who are highly engaged and those who aren’t.”
Jason has coached 14 other towns to do the same. The Peosta Today, Tomorrow, Together leaders have welcomed the support.
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