Leaders for Our Region

Anderson Sainci is the definition of community leader. As Dubuque’s first Black male elected to the school board, he uses his position to advocate for all children in the district. As a city employee, he ensures that our local government serves all residents equitably. Today, we are proud to welcome Anderson as our first Community Foundation fellow.  

In this new role, Anderson joins me in conversations with foundation leaders from across the country as part of New Profit’s Rural & Small Town Initiative (RSTI) Cohort. Together, we are working with national foundations interested in funding organizations that drive transformational change in rural America. He also helps us focus our equity lens on different aspects of our community development work, such as education and economic opportunity. 

“As a leader, I am learning that life is about serving others and leaving your community better than you found it,” Anderson says.  

It’s that mindset that makes Anderson such a wonderful partner for the Foundation, and he joins a team of like-minded, dedicated leaders who give of themselves every day for our community. We look forward to the impact we can make together. 

Proximate leaders 

Our work with the New Profit organization in Boston and its RSTI Cohort is about investing in “proximate leaders” who have deep relationships in specific regions as well as the capacity to mobilize local resources to make an impact where communities need it most. 

Since our founding, we have fulfilled this role for the Dubuque region. Our ability to gather and analyze data, convene community members around local issues, and bridge generosity with community need enables us to target specific needs and opportunities to make a lasting difference. 

This is why we and organizations like the city of Dubuque, Greater Dubuque Development Corp. and other nonprofits, are working together to find ways of securing the maximum amount of funding for our region under the American Rescue Plan. We understand that we have the potential to make an even bigger impact collaboratively than individually. 

As proximate leaders, we can use our knowledge to understand how these federal funds could best address critical issues and use our relationships to direct resources to organizations that can deliver results. 

I welcome you to read more about what it means to be a proximate leader here. 

Ready. Set. Give! 

One of the many ways we build the strength of our region is through Great Give Day, our annual 24-hour giving event to support nonprofits. Great Give Day is right around the corner this Thursday, May 13, and we encourage all people in our community to give what they can and strengthen our region for everyone who calls it home. 

This year, we have a record number of participating nonprofits — 181 — and we are eager to try and top the $340,000 raised last year. We’re grateful to the many local sponsors whose contributions support bonus prize dollars for nonprofits and to the hundreds of generous community members who give during this event. Since 2014, Great Give Day has raised more than $2.1 million for nonprofits in the Dubuque region, and we are happy to see that amount grow year after year. 

Go to greatgiveday.org any time on Thursday to make your gift, watch the leaderboard to see how much is being raised in real time, and check the prize schedule to see when your gift can go even farther. 

New staff 

Recently, we welcomed the newest member of the Community Foundation team, Emily Rollins, who steps into the role of philanthropic engagement specialist. She will work closely with our development team to build and deepen our relationships with generous community members. Emily previously served as director of the Career Center at St. Ambrose University, and she holds a master’s degree in post-secondary education from the University of Northern Iowa and a dual bachelor’s in public relations and Spanish from Loras College. 

As we work to build the Greater Dubuque Forever Fund and invest in the future of our region, it’s critical that we build a team with the skill set to drive success. That’s why we are so grateful for people like Emily, Anderson and the rest of our Community Foundation family, who work to make our region a better place for all.