Paint Iowa Beautiful Grant Now Open

Keep Iowa Beautiful and Diamond Vogel Paint are pleased to announce the 2023 Paint Iowa Beautiful program. The program provides free paint to a wide variety of community projects throughout Iowa. Administered through Keep Iowa Beautiful with the paint provided by the Diamond Vogel Paint Company.

“The partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers and organizations that help strengthen communities, making Iowa a great place to live,” said Doug Vogel, Vice President, Marketing, of the Iowa based company. “These projects definitely improve the beauty of Iowa, its country side and our communities.”

“The Paint Iowa Beautiful program supports projects that help build and sustain stronger communities.” Said Reo Menning, Chair of the Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Directors. “In the 20 year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 12,000 gallons of paint for nearly 1,300 community projects in Iowa.”  

The online grant application is now open to Iowans and can be completed and submitted by February 10, 2023. Access the Paint Iowa Beautiful application at: 



https://keepiowabeautiful.org/grants-scholarships/grants/paint-iowa-beautiful/

Pick Up Iowa events are happening all over the state! Read about a few communities below! 

Don't Forget- The 13th Annual Keep Iowa Beautiful Photo Contest is Open!

Iowans have the next six months to grab their cameras, or phones, and enter one or all of the five categories.  

The two-phase contest begins now with entry deadline on December 17, 2022. Each of the five categories will be awarded 1st place: $100, 2nd place: $75, and 3rd place: $50.  

January 15-29, 2023, the five first-place winners will be featured on Keep Iowa Beautiful social media for voting and selecting the Public Favorite Photo.  The winner will receive an additional $100.  The Robert D. Ray Best of Show Awards, determined by a distinguished panel, will also be announced at that time.  The Robert D. Ray Best of Show award amounts are as follows; 1st place: $500, 2nd place: $250 and 3rd place: $100.

The five categories are:

Iowa Landscape

Capture Iowa’s beauty through depictions of Iowa’s landscape, including but not limited to: farm fields, rolling hills, and wooded forests.

Iowa Water 

Feature Iowa’s beautiful water systems with depictions of Iowa rivers, streams, ponds and lakes.

Iowa Cities

Iowa’s urban centers are hubs of history, culture, and beauty. This category features depictions of Iowa’s cities, street scenes, and urban landmarks.

Iowans in Action

This category aims to capture the spirit of Iowa through depictions of the people that live, work, and play in Iowa.  All means of action that can be captured: biking, running, fishing, hunting and hiking are but a few. 

Iowa Wildlife

Iowa is home to a variety of beautiful critters. This category aims to showcase Iowa’s beauty through depictions of Iowa’s wildlife animals: mammals, fish, birds, bugs and more!

A $5 fee is required for each photo entered.  Contest rules and entry guidelines are on KIB’s website: www.keepiowabeautiful.com/photograph-contest/

Iowa Cities 1st Place: Sharon Scarff of Wayland

Iowa Wildlife 1st Place: William Beardsley of Estherville

Iowa Water 1st Place: Scott Hoag of De Witt

Derelict Building Grant Program Applications Open

The Derelict Building Program is available for Iowa towns of 5,000 or fewer residents’ to address neglected commercial or public structures that have sat vacant for at least 6 months. 

FY23 application deadline is Friday February 24, 2023 for applicants who are seeking funding assistance with conducting asbestos inspections, asbestos abatement, structural engineering analysis, phase I and phase II site assessments, building deconstruction and building renovation expenses.

 The DNR Derelict Building Grant Program awarded grants to nine small, rural Iowa communities to help deconstruct or renovate abandoned structures, remove asbestos, and limit construction and demolition materials going to the landfill.

The DNR Derelict Building Grant Program was instituted by statute to help rural communities with populations of 5,000 or less remove environmental hazards, improve community appearance and minimize costs by recycling and reusing building materials through deconstruction or renovation of abandoned, derelict buildings.

DBGP funding is awarded annually on a competitive basis with cash matches required. Applications for the next funding round will be due on Feb. 24, 2023.

To learn more and start your community’s application click here.

Social Media Submissions

Keep Iowa Beautiful wants to share your community’s good news!

Are you proud of a completed project in your town? Do you want to show off a new mural in your downtown? Did you host a fun, exciting event for your community? We want to know about it!

Click on the button below to share short descriptions of events, projects, or news from your town! You can include pictures and captions as well. Keep Iowa Beautiful will share your post on our social media!

You Can Stop Litter!

You can help reduce litter in Iowa! 

When you see litter happening on Iowa’s roadways, call 1-888-NOLITTR (1-888-665-4887) to report littering from a vehicle.  

Please provide as much detail about the incident as possible: 

• License plate number  
• Time and specific location (street & city) 
• What was thrown from the vehicle 
• A vehicle description (color, make and model) 

Reported offenders will receive a warning letter from Keep Iowa Beautiful drawing attention to their offense. This sends the message that people, like you, are watching.