Ainsworth residents will have an opportunity to beautify their homes thanks to a grant from the East Central Iowa Housing Trust Fund. 

On December 2nd, a $50,000 grant was awarded to the Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity Helping Hands program for home improvements to low-to-moderate income households in Ainsworth. The city provided a $15,000 match for the grant through Tax Increment Financing dollars, bringing the total funds for the project to $65,000. Helping Hands will channel these dollars into critical repairs for aging in place accessibility modifications. Helping Hands Programming Director Aaron Kiesey gives praise to Ainsworth city leaders for their work in helping the community, “I would say a thank you to the administrators of the City of Ainsworth for wanting to reinvest this TIF money to the low-income homeowners in the City of Ainsworth. I think that was really forward thinking on their part.”

Mayor Troy McCarthy says that the city has received 18 applications for different home projects.  Estimated costs for the projects will determine how many households they will be able to assist. While there is no maximum amount of funds that can be directed to one home, Kiesey says they want to try to spread the funds to as many households as possible. Habitat for Humanity will be handling the hiring of contractors for the projects.