The public fund drive for the Grinnell Veterans Memorial Building has received commitments of $100,000 from both the City of Grinnell Hotel-Motel Tax Committee and Grinnell College, taking its total committed funding to over $1,200,000. The Grinnell College grant is a matching grant challenge.
“These two major gifts, on the heels of the $300,000 Iowa Great Places grant in January, put us well over the $1 million mark and provide important momentum for the fundraising and grant writing effort during 2021,” states fundraising co-chair Tom Lacina. “We seek to achieve $1.9 million during the course of this year and to pursue an Enhance Iowa grant to complete the funding necessary to move forward with the project in 2022,” notes Lacina.
Grinnell College President Anne Harris explains Grinnell College’s interest. “The College is pleased to support this project. We appreciate the opportunity to partner on a vision that promises to serve veterans in a new way, bring visitors to the community, and further energize the downtown. The renovated building and the artist residency will contribute significantly to the cultural and creative richness developing along Broad Street leading up to where Grinnell’s new student residence will be located at the corner of 6th Avenue and Broad Street, offering further opportunities for student and community engagement.”
Paul Nowasell, chair of the Grinnell Hotel-Motel Tax Committee, notes, “The recognition of this project with a significant Iowa Great Places Grant is a clear indication of its worth in the eyes of the state through its state-wide committee. We on the Grinnell Hotel-Motel Tax Committee likewise see the project’s value for finishing off Central Park and its potential, though the artist residency, to make Grinnell into a destination for visitors from across the country.”
“We are pushing to conclude most fundraising during the year of 2021. We ask everyone in the community interested in supporting the project to come forward now and make their commitment, which can be paid over three years,” Lacina states. “The more support we get in place from the community, the better our chances are of receiving grant funding during this coming year of grant writing.”
For additional information about the project, visit www.prairiestarresidency.org.
