About the Regional Development Authority
The Regional Development Authority (RDA) is a Qualified Sponsoring Organization (QSO) in the State of Iowa under the Iowa Excursion Boat Gambling Act. This Iowa legislation created a state-wide gaming industry with built in community investment commitments. Each casino in Iowa is licensed by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) and operates through an agreement with a QSO. The agreements allocate a percentage of the casino’s gaming revenues for community grant making. Each QSO determines, though local leadership, how those dollars are spent. RDA is the QSO for Rhythm City Casino Resort and since 1991, has made over $95 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations, schools, and governmental units that benefit Scott County, Iowa residents. RDA’s impact in the Quad Cities can be understood in many ways:
- First, RDA's flexible charitable funds can be used in many ways to benefit our community, including capital investments, facility renovation, equipment and supplies, operational support, collaboration ventures, cultural events, and dollars to fund relief efforts (e.g., hunger, housing, clothing, etc.). Through qualified organizations, we can fund volunteer-led efforts, well-established institutions, and charitable social ventures that try new ways to tackle big problems. We can also work with other funders to leverage local resources and provide local matching funds to secure national grants. This flexibility allows for a broad consideration of innovative and strategic approaches to making the Quad Cities a more vibrant, inclusive, and growing community.
- Second, RDA Board members are local community leaders who know, work in, and are committed to this community. Through reading hundreds of grant applications over their time as Board members, they learn more deeply about local organizations, social issues, and how those issues are inter-related. They have an opportunity to consider strategic approaches to making our community a better place for everyone. The RDA Board looks at how to “connect the dots” among all of the issues and stakeholders because we learn about how the many of parts of the charitable sector interact.
- Third, the RDA has been active in promoting collaboration in the community for many years, but also seeks to be a collaborative partner. We support and participate in many collaborative efforts, including the Q2030 Regional Vision, Scott County Housing Council, The QC Open Network information and referral system, United Way’s Regional Education Data Warehouse and many others. We believe that aligning resources and growing shared capacities are essential for building a stronger community.
RDA’s mission is to strategically fund initiatives that create a vibrant, inclusive, and growing community. We invest in the capacity of other leadership organizations and support efforts of local volunteer-led nonprofits to engage people who care. We respond to requests for general funding needs and think about the bigger picture and community-wide systems improvements.