The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines has awarded Leadership Grants totaling $310,000 to two community projects: Anawim Housing’s Monarch Apartments and Ellipsis – A Place for Girls: Expanding Capacity for Group Foster Care. The grants are funded through donations to the Better Together Fund.

“We are honored to facilitate two significant grant investments to nonprofit organizations focused on making Greater Des Moines a true home for our vulnerable neighbors,” Kristi Knous, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, said in a prepared statement. “Anawim Housing and Ellipsis play pivotal roles that improve quality of life and strengthen our community – making Greater Des Moines a place we are all proud to call home.”

A $200,000 grant will support the construction of Anawim Housing’s Monarch Apartments, which will provide 40 housing units, including one-bedroom and efficiency apartments to house individuals and couples experiencing homelessness in Greater Des Moines. The project will use the communitywide Centralized Intake system to prioritize the most vulnerable for housing.

Ellipsis – A Place for Girls will receive a $110,000 grant to expand capacity for group foster care. The grant will address identified service gaps including supervised apartment living, group foster care and equitable access for girls. The project will result in a continuum of care for system-involved youths that will close the gap on services for girls in supervised apartment living and provide spaces that support healing and more opportunities for real-world skill-building to improve well-being and self-sufficiency.

A virtual Better Together Fund spotlight will be hosted on Jan. 24 from noon to 1 p.m. The event will provide more information on the two projects and other 2024 Leadership Grant recipients. For more information and to register for the event, visit the Community Foundation website.