Letter to the Editor
Today I am writing to celebrate ONE YEAR of the Odebolt Community Foundation! We’ve been able to accomplish quite a lot in our first year, and I’m excited to share these achievements with you.
In this first year we:
Officially kicked off the Odebolt Community Foundation with an unforgettable farm-to-table dinner, where we raised over $76,000!
Donated $2,400 to the Richland Robins 4-H Club as a thank you for their members who did an excellent job serving at our farm dinner.
Created the Odebolt Revival Grant, and awarded $3,750 in grant funds to local projects and new businesses that align with our vision for community improvement. The 2023 recipients of the Odebolt Revival Grant were the Odebolt Swimming Pool, the Odebolt Avenue of Flags, Sunrise Coffee, and Lil’ Wranglers Childcare.
Hosted three ribbon cuttings for new Odebolt businesses.
Facilitated an engineering assessment for the variety store building.
Welcomed and arranged visits in January from the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Region 12 to determine next steps with grants for the variety store building.
In partnership with the City, we applied for three grants and were successfully awarded all three grants for the variety store building. We were a recipient of the Iowa DNR Derelict Building Grant in the amount of $41,000, with the City providing an additional $29,068 in matching funds and the Odebolt Community Foundation providing $10,000 in matching funds, for a total of $80,068 towards the variety store restoration project. We were also a recipient of the Community Catalyst Grant in the amount of $100,000, with the City providing an additional $10,000 in matching funds. This is a total of $190,068 in funding toward the variety store restoration project!
Pledged $13,750 in matching grant funds.
Published a community Christmas gift list featuring local businesses.
Created an Instagram presence for Odebolt.
Conducted a community-wide survey.
We want to express our utmost gratitude to each and every person and business who believes in the vision and is committed to making this a reality. Anyone wishing to contribute to our efforts can donate and find out more at odeboltcommunityfoundation.org. We’re looking forward to even more progress in year two!
Danna Larson
Odebolt Community Foundation