Staff Changes at the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation

The Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation  has recently promoted two staff members, readying its staff to provide more service to more nonprofit organizations in the Poweshiek County area.  In addition, the foundation is planning an expansion of its administrative office building in eastern Grinnell to accommodate its growing array of programs and services.              Melissa Hull, who has served the foundation as its administrative assistant for the past four years, has been promoted to director of community relations for the foundation.  With her background in sales and customer service, Hull in her new position works with and supports collaborative efforts with partners in the Community Support Services program.  She is also assisting with marketing and public relations efforts for the Ahrens Foundation and its sibling foundation, the Ahrens Park Foundation, as well as supervising and coordinating tasks for Grinnell College students involved in the College’s Federal Work Study program. 

            “Melissa’s role as director of community relations will play a big part in the coordination and collaboration efforts among our nonprofit partners involved in the Community Support Services program. She has done such a great job working with these groups over the years so it will be a smooth transition for her moving into this new position,” states Julie Gosselink, president and CEO of the foundation. 

The goal of the Community Support Services program is to build capacity and promote collaboration among the local nonprofit community by optimizing back-office support operations and create efficiencies through shared staff and administrative functions, thus strengthening the missions of the local nonprofit sector to help improve the quality of life for the local area. 

“It’s exciting to see where we were four years ago and how far we’ve come since then as far as the Community Support Services program is concerned,”  Hull comments concerning her new assignment.  “It’s exciting that the program’s taken off so well.  This is going to allow me to work more closely with our donors and our local nonprofits.  This frees up a lot more of my time to be available to assist them with their ongoing projects.  I’m going to be able to get more deeply involved with them.”

Hull points to the new collaboration between St. Francis and the Ahrens Foundation and notes that several other organizations are considering utilizing the services the foundation makes available.  “I feel very passionate about the work that’s being done by the foundation and our Community Support Services program,” she adds.  “It’s amazing to see the collaborations within our community and how organizations are working together to improve our overall quality of life.  I feel very lucky to be a part of that – part of the foundation but also a part of every organization we service.”

The foundation has recently hired a new administrative assistant with both bookkeeping and office management experience, Michelle Gruhn.  For the last twelve years, Gruhn and her husband, Brian, have been the custodians for the Ahrens Park Foundation.  The Gruhns are co-owners of Gruhn Brothers Farm in Kellogg. 

“I’m excited to be working somewhere that is doing such great things for people as opposed to places that aren’t as proactive in helping others,” Gruhn says, and I’m excited to be working with such great people who work together so well as a team.”

Gruhn has an accounting degree and does the books for both her family farm and her son’s business.  “Part of my duties here are general office duties, and I also will be assisting Shannon Fitzgerald who is the Ahrens Foundation CFO and controller with some accounting tasks, so that keeps me plenty busy,” Gruhn adds.  “I’m pleased to be working with an organization that is having such a positive impact on our community and excited to see how we will grow from here and who additionally we can serve.  We help other organizations so they can focus on their fundraising or on the people or mission they are serving.”

             “Michelle is an excellent fit because of her previous employment with the Ahrens Park Foundation and other work experiences, Gosselink notes, pointing to Gruhn’s work among other places with the Grinnell-Newburg schools.  “We are so pleased to have her join our team.” 

            With an expanding array of services and organizations to serve, the Ahrens Foundation has plans for expansion of its current administrative offices in the near future. The building now housing the foundation’s offices opened in 2006. 

“The growth of the Community Support Services program has partially changed the way we provide charitable services to the Grinnell community, Gosselink observes.  “Our staff has become much more ‘hands-on’ than we ever have been and the interest among the nonprofit sector to join our Community Support Services program in our local community has grown tremendously in the last few years.  We must be able to provide the space and staff for our program to continue to grow, yet maintain our quality of service for all of our nonprofit partners and other charitable programs.”

            In 2005, the Ahrens Foundation was named the Iowa Foundation of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Central Iowa Chapter in Des Moines.  In January 2010, the foundation was selected by the Council on Foundations, Washington D.C., to receive its national Critical Impact Award based upon the Ahrens Foundation’s Community Support Services program.  The Critical Impact Award honors grant makers who have supported innovative leadership, bold visions, and significant impact in advancing the common good through effective grant making, which can serve as a model for others in philanthropy. 

“The Ahrens Foundation is one of the few foundations in the country providing back office support and assistance for other foundations and nonprofit organizations,” Gosselink points out.  “For the past five years we have successfully served a broad selection of organizations, providing a wide range of services to meet a wide range of needs. Over the years, we have provided a significant amount of resources to help others advance their missions at a minimal cost to our partner organizations.” 

            In addition to the Community Support Services program, the foundation has four other established programs it provides.

            One is the Ahrens Park Foundation and Ahrens Park.  The foundation serves as primary funder to its sibling foundation to support the ongoing maintenance of this $4 million, 100-acre indoor/outdoor sports complex and park facility located in Grinnell and built in 1994 as a tribute to Claude and Dolly’s late son, Paul W. Ahrens.

Through the Dolly Ahrens Achievement Scholarship Award program, a minimum of 10 scholarships are awarded annually to Grinnell High School graduating seniors in the amount of $2500 each.

In the Leave It Better Than You Found It Award program, community and/or nonprofit organizations in and around the Grinnell community are recognized through an anonymous nomination process for their outstanding service and activism within the community/county for “making it better”.  Winners are awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000 to be used in the organization’s discretion.

Through the Playgrounds for Iowa program, annual grants can be sought by Iowa towns under 20,000 in population to help to build or re-build playground areas.  Public parks, schools, nonprofit child care centers and nonprofit camps for youth in Iowa may receive a maximum of $5,000 in funding towards a specific project each year with projects including strong local funding and volunteer support given preference.                 

The Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation was established as a family foundation in 1993 by the late Claude W. Ahrens.  Mr. Ahrens enjoyed a long, successful business career in the playground and agricultural manufacturing fields and desired to return some of the fruits of his labor, particularly to his native Grinnell, Iowa area with specific support to his special interest in parks and recreation. 

The foundation describes itself today as a unique and innovative family foundation striving to help meet the needs of Grinnell and its neighboring communities through ongoing support and resources by maintaining and perpetuating an endowment.  The foundation’s declared purpose is to provide improved and enhanced quality of life for present and future generations with interest in the areas of parks & recreation, education, and health.  The foundation’s values include collaboration, compassion, innovation, integrity, respect, and wellness.

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