Awards and Grants
AWARDS
State Historical Society of Iowa Certificate of Recognition (2018)
Overseen by the State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees, the Excellence in History Awards recognize individuals, organizations and communities who have made outstanding contributions to the study and practice of Iowa history. The Iowa Jewish Historical Society was recognized with a 2018 Loren Horton Community History Award Certificate of Recognition for the series of six programs that we presented across Central Iowa featuring Auschwitz Survivor and Schindler Juden, Celina Karp Biniaz.
State Historical Society of Iowa Certificate of Recognition (2014)
The Iowa Jewish Historical Society was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the State Historical Society of Iowa for its outstanding contribution to community history through research or publication for its Honoring Iowa’s Jewish Veterans project. The Certificate was presented as part of the 2014 Loren Horton Community History Award Program, which recognizes individuals, groups, or organizations that increase awareness of and participation in Iowa history on a local level.
GRANTS
Bravo Cultural Enrichment Grant for 2021
Bravo Greater Des Moines, a public-private partnership that was formed in 2004 by a collaboration of central Iowa local governments to provide reliable funding and leadership to the arts, culture and heritage community, has awarded the Iowa Jewish Historical Society a $11,000 Cultural Enrichment Grant for the period January 1, – June 30, 2021. Cultural Enrichment Grants support annual operating and programming costs.
Currently, 17 partner communities have committed a portion of their hotel-motel tax revenue to Bravo Greater Des Moines to support this grant program. These partner communities are: Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Polk County, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights. Funding emphasis is on organizations located in, and serving residents of and visitors to, Bravo’s 28E partner communities.
SPECIAL PROJECT GRANTS
The growth and protection of the IJHS collection wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of our donors and funders. Throughout our history, these forward-thinking programs, institutions and foundations have strengthened the preservation of Iowa’s Jewish history and ensured that the lessons and traditions of the past are available to generations to come.
Many of our most recent grants have helped us reach new milestones in the $1.5 million 20th Anniversary Fund Drive. The campaign aims to secure the financial future of the Iowa Jewish Historical Society and complete several critical projects, including the improvement of collections storage, the preservation of our oral history collection and making it accessible to visitors and researchers, expanding education programs and exhibits, and more. We hope that you will join us in supporting these projects.
Bravo Greater Des Moines Capital Campaign & Project Grant
Bravo Greater Des Moines, a public-private partnership that provides funding and leadership to the arts, culture, and heritage community in Central Iowa, awarded the IJHS a $10,000 Capital Campaign & Project Grant. The funds are being used for the installation of compact movable shelving to improve the preservation and care of our collection. The Bravo Partner Communities include the cities of Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights and Polk County.
Beverly Blank Perry Foundation Donation and State Historical Society of Iowa Historic Resources Development Program Grant
A $25,000 grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa Historical Resource Development Program and a $15,000 gift from the Beverly Blank Perry Foundation are improving storage conditions for the thousands of historical artifacts that have been donated during the past 20 years. These funds are being used to install new compact movable shelving and additional shelving for special collections.
Iowa Foundation for Education, Environment, and the Arts Donation
The Iowa Foundation for Education, Environment, and the Arts donated $18,000 to support the IJHS’ efforts to preserve and provide access to audio and videotaped oral histories of members of the statewide Jewish community. Similar to the 2016 grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa Historic Resources Development Program, this donation will be used to help preserve audio and video interviews that provide personal perspectives and insight into Jewish life.
State Historical Society of Iowa Historical Resources Development Program
- In July 2016 and July 2020, the Iowa Jewish Historical Society received a grants of $21,430 and $21,603 from the State Historical Society of Iowa Historical Resource Development Program. The funds are being used to digitize hundreds of interviews done with members of the statewide Jewish community from the 1970s through 2006 along with original TV shows produced by the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines and tapes of special occasions in the history of the Jewish community in Iowa. The funds are also being used to conduct new oral history interviews with members of Jewish communities across the state of Iowa. These generous grants require IJHS to raise matching funds. If you’re interested in supporting this project, please email ijhs@jewishdesmoines.org or call 515-987-0899 ext. 216.