For Good: Two words with a charitable impact of $104,000 and counting.
Big Grove For Good is a community-focused grant program that funds organizations with a local impact working to make Iowa a better place to live, whether by revitalizing recreational areas or working toward a more diverse and equitable community.
Previous grant recipients include a lending library, a boxing club, a youth arts academy and a drug donation repository.
This year, Big Grove will select two grant recipients in Johnson, Linn and Polk counties, which coincide with the locations of Big Grove’s taprooms.
Small town, big beginnings
One of Big Grove’s managing partners, Doug Goettsch, founded Big Grove’s first location in Solon in 2013.
Mikala Demet, community project manager for Big Grove, came to work for Goettsch a year later. She recalls that Goettsch was immediately eager to get involved with Solon's already "tight-knit" community, laying the foundation for the brewery's future philanthropic ventures.
“They've been giving back and been involved in the community since day one,” she said.
A more formal program to give back emerged four years later, in 2017, when the Iowa City taproom opened its doors. There, the brewery started hosting “portion of sales nights,” which directed profits toward local nonprofits. In 2022, they launched Big Grove For Good in hopes of making an even bigger impact.
In its debut year, Big Grove For Good administered three $8,000 grants.
A future for good
Demet says they expect to receive over 200 applications for the grant program this year. From there, a selection committee comprised of Big Grove staff will work to narrow down the pool to just six recipients.
Last year, one grant was awarded to the Wright House of Fashion, a business incubator that aims to grow the experiences of young artists through unique learning opportunities.
Big Grove’s grant helped fund the Create a Culture Live series, which features young up-and-coming artists in an intimate concert setting. Wright House Founder and Executive Director Andre Wright used the money to pay the artists for their performances.
Wright says Iowa artists like Dria Danielle, Big Sagwa, Jaianna and Friends and Anna Miller have benefitted from the paid performances.
It meant the world.Andre Wright
“It meant the world,” Wright said.
Making a big difference
For Demet, the work is personal.
She left a job working in politics in hopes of doing something more community-focused.
Now, her day-to-day work allows her to bridge the gap between businesses and local economies.
“What I enjoy most about working with the community is all the different people in different backgrounds, and seeing how they come together,” she said.
Demet is proud of the lasting relationships she has built through her work. She points to her ongoing relationship with a past grant recipient, Open Heartland. The nonprofit connects immigrants in the Iowa City area with local resources, basic needs and enrichment programming.
Demet says she's grateful to everyone who supports Big Grove, and that she's willing to give support to the communities she works with.
“We’ll help in any way we can,” she said.
My life goal is to leave the world a little bit better of a place, or my corner of the world a little bit better than it was before.Mikala Demet
The grants funded by Big Grove open applications for 2025 on Dec. 3. Demet is the head of the grant recipient review committee. Each taproom has a selection committee that includes any taproom employees who want to be involved in the process, from owners to bar staff.
Demet previews each application herself — a process she says can take around 16 hours. But she says the time is worth it.
“My life goal is to leave the world a little bit better of a place, or my corner of the world a little bit better than it was before,” Demet said.
