Four Polk County Nonprofits Awarded Grants

The Viking Foundation of Lincoln announced the funding of 18 grants, including four in Polk County, totaling $60,000 in support of nonprofit organizations in three states.

The following Des Moines-area grants totaling $15,000 were funded:

· $2,000 to EMBARC—To purchase 1,000 trilingual dictionaries for Burmese refugees

· $6,000 to Everybody Wins—To support the Power Lunch Program, which provides volunteer reading mentors

· $1,500 to Holy Family School—For books for the school library

· $5,500 to Meals from the Heartland—To support the Iowa Youth Hunger Fight Project.

In addition to these contributions, The Viking Foundation awarded $45,000 to these nonprofit organizations in Lancaster County, Neb., and Denver: Boys and Girls Club, Center for Legal Immigration Assistance, Child Advocacy Center, Community Crops, Lincoln Bike Kitchen, Lincoln Lancaster County Habitat for Humanity, Lincoln Literacy, Mourning Hope, Wonderfully Made and YWCA SMART Girls Club; and in Denver: Front Range CAP, Heart and Hand Center, Metro Caring and Same Café

The Viking Foundation was created by Dr. Steve Eggland, an Iowa native, in 2012 to help improve and enrich the lives of individuals – especially children – who are less fortunate. The foundation provides charitable grants annually to 501(c)(3) organizations in three counties, including Polk. The grants are directed to those who are challenged with education, poverty, housing, gender, mental and physical health, and other issues.

For detailed information about the foundation and its history, values, proposal guidelines and 2016 submission deadline can be found at vikingfoundation.webs.com.