Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation Announces Grant Awards for 17 Iowa Nonprofits

Posted on August 9, 2018 in Foundation

Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation provided grants totaling more than $90,000 to 17 nonprofit organizations in Iowa in the first half of 2018. These grants were part of the Foundation’s mini-grant program, which reviews grant requests twice each year. The grants are intended to meet the mission of the Foundation to help educate Iowans on oral health matters and provide preventive services.

“The work funded by these grants represents the wide variety of ways in which the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation is working to improve the health and smiles of all Iowans,” said Jeff Russell, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Iowa. “As a health and wellness company, in partnership with these agencies, we are assisting with preventive care, educating Iowans about the importance of oral health care and contributing to overall wellness.”

Some of the recipients of a mini-grant in the first half of 2018 included:

• Children & Families of Iowa (Des Moines) - $15,000 to provide oral health prevention and education to underprivileged children.
• Special Olympics Iowa (Statewide) - $10,000 to fund a screening program for the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program.
• Crawford County Home Health, Hospice and Public Health (Crawford County) - $5,086 for expansion of oral health screenings and fluoride varnish treatment at child care centers.
• Iowa Board of Pharmacy (Statewide) - $4,250 for no-cost continuing education on the Iowa Prescription Monitoring Program for pharmacists and dentists.
• FAMILY, Inc. (Council Bluffs) - $3,500 to fund Give Kids A Smile Day at which dentists and hygienists volunteer time for screenings and treatments for underserved children in Pottawattamie County.
• Community Health Care, Inc. (Scott County) - $3,159 infant toothbrushes for clients with babies up to nine months old enrolled in the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program.
• River Hills Community Health Center (Ottumwa) - $2,450 for a cooperative school sealant and fluoride varnish program serving school districts in Mahaska, Wapello and Keokuk counties.

For a complete list of 2018 mini-grants, click here.

The Foundation’s mini-grant program is intended to support oral health projects, workshops or conferences, or short-term projects up to one year in duration, such as a survey, data collection or research study. The next grant cycle is open and applications are due October 1, 2018.  These grants are also used to stimulate long-term oral health projects and may be combined with funds from other sources. For more information about Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation grant programs, visit the website at https://www.deltadentalia.com/foundation.