The Clive Community Foundation (CCF) is a conduit for connecting donors with causes they care about.
The CCF Community Priorities program focuses on three primary areas:
Quality of Life
Support for public art, parks and trails, and eductional programming.
Why Quality of Life?
Clive is fortunate to consistently rank among the top places to live in Iowa. Movoto blog – a site for realtors – ranked Clive as its No. 5 best community in Iowa. And web site AreaVibes.com rated Clive No. 6 on the list of Best Places to Live in Iowa with a “livability” index of 83 – keeping in mind the No. 1 pick had a livability index of 84! AreaVibes gives Clive an “A+” in amenities, crime and employment. Many factors contribute to Quality of Life, with “amenities” chief among the factors.
That is why the CCF is committed to investing in those enhancements which make our community home to nearly 16,000 residents. Low crime, excellent education, affordable housing and good jobs each play a role. But so do our community’s trails and greenbelts, parks and recreation opportunities, educational programs and public art. These are the key initiatives in which CCF seeks to expand and invest.
Ways Your Dollars Can Help:
• CCF works with community leaders to identify cost effective and impactful ways to locate public art on the greenbelts and bike and walking trails throughout Clive’s core. Some of the public art is permanent and some temporary, but it is a key part of CCF’s strategic plan.
• The City of Clive makes it a priority to keep our parks and trails in top shape, but can always use private and community funding to keep them picture perfect. CCF is seeking opportunities to invest in and improve our parks and pathways. Sponsoring 5ks, special events and biking opportunities are among many ways to get our citizens in our parks and on our trails.
• Educational programs also play a role in improving a community’s quality of life. That means developing new ideas and working directly with school administrators, community groups and Clive’s library to identify needs, create events and secure financial resources.
Your contribution to the Clive Community Foundation endowment can make a real difference as we work to carry out these quality of life initiatives today, tomorrow and beyond our lifetimes!
Community Health & Wellness
Includes food assistance, nutrition education and health management resources.
Why Health & Wellness?
The CCF endeavors to fund community service organizations whose mission is food assistance, nutrition education and proactive support of health and wellness for Clive residents. The Board believes a community thrives when all residents enjoy good health and wellness. We live in the world’s wealthiest nation. Yet 14.5 percent of U.S. households—nearly 49 million Americans, including 15.9 million children—struggle to put food on the table.
We estimate up to 15% of our community is food insecure which means they do not have access to or enough food to feed their family. This may be a surprising statistic in a city where residents enjoy the highest median income in the state of Iowa. For example, Crestview Elementary in Clive currently has 80% of students receiving free and reduced lunches.
CCF is committed to helping change this alarming trend. We believe that addressing food insecurity is critical in our community. With proper food, nutrition, health and wellness resources, our community will thrive.
Ways Your Dollars Can Help:
• CCF is working with local service providers to provide on-going food assistance available to qualifying families in the community of Clive.
• CCF is collaborating with local service providers to ensure proper nutrition education is provided to families receiving food assistance.
• CCF is actively identifying needed resources in the community and assessing the most progressive and efficient means of providing support. As details are identified, information will be posted to this CCF website.
Your contribution to the Clive Community Foundation endowment can make a real difference as we work to carry out these quality of life initiatives today, tomorrow and beyond our lifetimes!
Community Collaboration
Includes partnering with civic organizations, neighboring cities and foundations, and other non-profits with shared mission.
Why Community Collaboration?
The CCF has a primary focus on building and improving the long-term sustainability of our community. That means specifically understanding not only our strengths, but also our opportunities for improvement. By sharing our resources, ideas and plans with our neighbors, we not only strengthen Clive, but we strengthen our entire region. Toward that end, CCF endeavors to fund programs and initiatives that have a direct benefit to our community and our neighbors. Those projects include endowment funds which invest resources back into the region for the entire community’s greater good, as well as building relationships with other local civic groups – from neighborhood libraries to local police and fire protection – that are aligned with our mission.
The CCF Board believes a community thrives when it reaches out to others. Silo thinking does not work and we must not build walls around our individual communities. Rather, we must focus on defining opportunities that celebrate our strengths and successes in delivering valuable programs to the residents of the Greater Des Moines area.
The key point to building relationships with our neighbors is to improve community connection. Through connection, we establish dialogue, identify trends and understand the context for making progressive changes in our communities. Context establishes the cause of a problem that needs addressing, accountability (i.e. who is best positioned to implement change), and can help identify a system to move forward to mutual success.
Ways Your Dollars Can Help:
• CCF is working with other local communities to network, share ideas and define strategic efforts that elevate each of our communities.
• CCF is connecting with local service providers to prioritize needs and to fund programs that provide ongoing assistance to qualifying families in the communities of Clive and its surrounding area.
• CCF is actively identifying other critical resources in the community that could use help, and assessing the most progressive and efficient means to provide it.
Your contribution to the Clive Community Foundation endowment can make a real difference as we work to carry out these quality of life initiatives today, tomorrow and beyond our lifetimes!
The CCF:
» Identifies programs or services that are important to the continued prosperity of the city and its residents.
» Is an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines and is held to rigorous expectations and financial accountability. We have access to all the resources that currently hold assets exceeding $300 million in more than 1300 charitable funds.
» Facilitates the investment of financial resources to advance the city and optimize the living experience of the residents through a variety of programs and services.
» Is a resource that can amplify the contributions of donors and invest dollars for maximum return.
» Puts financial resources to work to better serve the community of Clive.
