Iowa Couple Shares Gift Of Abundance with Cedar Rapids Nonprofits

A couple who have been business owners and major community philanthropists for decades have given another multi-million dollar gift to seven area nonprofits.

According to KCRG, Mike and Jo Cambridge will be sending a combined $2.1 million over three years to United Way of East Central Iowa, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Foundation 2 Crisis Services, Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa, Mercy Medical Center Foundation, The Salvation Army of Cedar Rapids, and Willis Dady Homeless Services.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette notes that the Cambridges operated Cambridge TEMPositions, helping Eastern Iowans find employment for over 30 years before retiring in 2014. A year later, they gave their first major philanthropic gift of $4.5 million to five area catholic schools.

With this latest gift, the seven nonprofits will receive $300,000 over the next three years. The first $100,000 has already been disbursed. Jo Cambridge said in a news release:

Our business blessed us more than we could have imagined, and we firmly believe in giving back. We believe that we came into this world with nothing, and we’ll leave with nothing.

Before giving, the Cambridges reached out to the organizations to learn how they could best use the donation, and here's the breakdown of that first $100,000, according to the Gazette:

• United Way of East Central Iowa: Eviction prevention, food insecurity, emergency shelter, transportation, and crisis mental health services as part of its Community Goals for Safety Net Services.
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque: Provide funding for immigration services to immigrants and refugees in Linn County.
• Foundation 2 Crisis Services: will use most of the money to help fund its capital project to purchase and renovate a new headquarters facility. The rest will support the Emergency Youth Shelter run by Foundation 2.
• Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa will launch two new programs JA BizTown Mobile, which provides educators with resources to teach financial literacy and career readiness, and #3DE by Junior Achievement, a project-based learning methodology that overlays the principles of Junior Achievement across high school core curriculum requirements.
• Mercy Medical Center Foundation: will use the funding to support its HallMar Village, a senior living community for older adults and those living with chronic conditions.
• The Salvation Army of Cedar Rapids: Expand its Pathway of Hope program as well as its summer day camp program.
• Willis Dady Homeless Services: will put the money toward its Supportive Housing program