The Moline Foundation has been growing for 70 years, and on Wednesday morning, the nonprofit literally grew its name.
A 70th-anniversary breakfast celebration at Moline’s University Club announced that while its mission remains the same, it is rebranding as Moline Regional Community Foundation (MRCF) with the new tagline, “Your Giving in Action.”
With 102 partner funds, more than $49 million in grants have helped the vital work of area nonprofits over seven decades, including over $1.5 million in 2022 for fiscal partnerships, community grants, nonprofit partner funds and scholarships.
The new name more accurately represents the geographic region served, as the foundation supports individuals and organizations in the counties of Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Henderson and McDonough in Illinois and Scott County in Iowa.
“Some of the challenges we faced with the name that we had, was that people thought maybe we only served Moline or only supported Moline,” MRCF president/CEO Paul Plagenz said Wednesday. “We’re more of a regional presence so we wanted to make sure that that was in there.”
The MRCF is not a private, corporate foundation but an accredited Community Foundation offering the traditional type of funds — such as non-profit partner, donor advised, scholarship, field of interest, designated, and fiscal sponsorships. Adding the word “Community” helps further define the function of the MRCF.
“We’re not a private foundation,” Plagenz said. “We’re not one of those and we are a community foundation offers a lot of different funding options for donors.”
Though founded in Moline, with a significant number of donors from Moline, the foundation’s regional focus in areas far beyond Moline’s borders has been over the past 20 years, he said.
The new tagline “Your Giving In Action” was chosen to encourage and invite more people to get involved in changing our community through philanthropy.
The MRCF Board on Wednesday announced a Community Challenge Match of $70,000 for those who establish a new endowment fund. This match is 50 cents on every dollar with a maximum match per new fund of $25,000.
“Everyone is passionate about something in our community,” Plagenz said. “Ask yourself, what cause, or change would I like to see happen. Then let’s talk about how your giving can be put into action.”
Founded in 1953, MRCF receives and administers charitable gifts for citizens in a six-county region including Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Henderson and McDonough counties in Illinois and Scott County in Iowa.
Examples of 2022 grant recipients are:
- The new East Moline Public Library
- The new Junior Achievement Inspiration Center in Moline
- A new Ballet Quad Cities studio in downtown Moline
It has granting cycles in the fall and spring, with its fall grants to be announced in mid-October. Its office is at 1601 River Drive, Suite 210, Moline, and phone number is 309-736-3800.
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