FIVE YEARS AFTER THE STORM: Rebuilding Homes, Hope, and the Tree Canopy
By the time the sun set on August 10, 2020, it was clear that thousands of people in Linn County would need urgent assistance. Nonprofits mobilized quickly to provide food, shelter, and basic amenities for those in need, and donations poured in from around the country.
Despite logistical challenges, the Community Foundation was able to establish the Disaster Recovery Fund and begin making grants within one week. Early support focused on meeting the basic needs of the most vulnerable.
“We quickly set up a food and supply pantry for neighbors who lost everything,” said Jill Ackerman, Marion Chamber Foundation President. “A grant from the Community Foundation allowed us to stock essential groceries and shelf-stable goods. That gift made all the difference—not just for the pantry, but for the spirit of our community.”
As recovery progressed and needs emerged, the priorities of the Disaster Recovery Fund shifted.
“We worked closely with Linn Area Partners Active In Disaster (LAP-AID) to track needs and services,” said Rochelle Naylor, Senior Program Officer at the Community Foundation. “By distributing Disaster Recovery Fund grants in phases, we were able to support both immediate response and long-term recovery.”
To ensure services were not missed or duplicated, the Community Foundation also coordinated regularly with other local funders.
A Collaborative Approach to Recovery
With such widespread damage—on top of pandemic-related supply chain challenges—finding the materials and labor to make repairs was extremely difficult. As winter approached, even homes with minor damage were unhabitable in the cold. To get these homeowners by until permanent repairs could be made, the funder’s group teamed up with other organizations to form Providing Assistance to Community Homeowners (PATCH).
“From our initial LAP-AID discussions about the damage and lessons learned from the 2008 flood, we realized that external assistance would take time, but our homeowners needed immediate help,” said Linn County Community Assistance & Outreach Director Ashley Balius. “We are fortunate to live in a community built on trust and strong relationships, enabling us to act swiftly and develop an innovative and collaborative program like PATCH to get housing rehab assistance on the ground quickly.”
Besides simple home repairs, PATCH also offered help with navigating FEMA applications, filing insurance claims, and connecting renters to other resources.
After nearly five years and assistance to 292 households, PATCH concluded its work earlier this year.
“What’s most admirable about PATCH was the staying power to continue to get people help for years after the disaster,” said Brenner Myers, Director of Neighborhood Building at Matthew 25. “None of it would have been possible if we all ‘stayed in our lanes’ and did our little piece, but great things happened because organizations came together.”
PATCH provided more than $3.4 million in assistance to help homeowners recover. Funding came from the Community Foundation, the City of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, United Way of East Central Iowa, and Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust. In total, more than a dozen nonprofits, businesses and governments contributed to the program in various ways.
For many, PATCH meant the difference between staying in their homes or losing them altogether.
One Cedar Rapids homeowner, Melody, was buying boards one at a time and trying to make repairs herself. Having lost her job due to the pandemic, Melody had no insurance, and her FEMA applications were denied. While asking for an extension from Alliant Energy, she heard about PATCH.
“I had no way of fixing my home, and then Matthew 25 came into my life,” Melody said. “They really took care of everything they could possibly help with. They’re great people, and they’ll never understand what they did for me.”
PATCH by the Numbers
$3,442,000 in disaster recovery support
12+ collaborative organizations
208 volunteers
2,962 hours of volunteer labor
Restoring the Canopy for the Next Generation
The derecho didn’t just damage homes—it devastated the local environment. The Iowa DNR estimates Linn County lost 950,000 trees in the storm. Trees provide critical benefits: they reduce cooling costs, improve air quality, lower flood risk, and contribute to mental well-being. Tree canopy loss often hits marginalized communities hardest.
In the five years since the storm, local governments, nonprofits, and community members have worked to replant thousands of trees throughout Linn County. In 2022, the Community Foundation its final Disaster Recovery Fund grants – $293,000 in total – to support these efforts.
This included a $13,000 grant to the Monarch Research Project to expand tree-planting and education in rural areas of Linn County.
“The derecho was more than just a weather event, it was a moment of reckoning for how communities value and maintain their natural infrastructure,” said Clark McLeod, co-founder and CEO of the Monarch Research Project. “This grant helped us engage over 32,000 people in hands-on planting events, educational programming, and community restoration efforts.”
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