Moline Woman Raises Bar for Quad-Cities Charities and Female Empowerment
Oct. 9, 2025 was kind of a big day for Anika Martin of Moline. She played key roles in the giddy fever dream of a day – starting with the annual Birdies for Charity fundraising announcement at John Deere Pavilion, Moline, and ending with the annual Lead(h)er Fuel the Fire Gala, at Old Oaks Winery, Milan.
John Deere Classic’s Manager of Donor and Community Impact, a new position she inaugurated in January 2024, and outgoing board president for the women’s mentoring group Lead(h)er, Martin was on cloud 10 for at least 12 hours that thrilling Thursday.
She knew about the record-breaking fundraising total for the Birdies program – $16,944,896 for charity, including a 9% bonus match for the 460 nonprofit organizations participating. But Martin was warmed by the total surprise of being named Found(h)er of the Year for Lead(h)er that night.
Martin (left) celebrates her award with Lead(h)er executive director Hannah Howard at the Fuel the Fire Gala Oct. 9, 2025.
“I had no idea,” she said in an interview Thursday (Oct. 16). “I was shocked.”
They announce nominees ahead of time for the Girl on Fire Mentor and Mentee of the Year, but not for Found(h)er. This year’s Mentor of the Year is Kris Kellenberger, and Mentee of the Year is Brooke Keck.
Martin (formerly community relations director for the Two Rivers YMCA in Moline) has been on the Lead(h)er board since 2020, through December 2025, and headed the board during the executive director transition, resulting in Hannah Howard coming on in September 2023.
Martin was initially a mentee (under LuAnn Haydon, former Deere Pavilion manager and manager for Deere’s global visual services), and later a mentor to a woman who transitioned jobs, looking for a change professionally.
“I really love the organization; I love the community that was built, and Hannah is a fantastic representative for Lead(h)er,” Martin said Thursday. “She does such a great job; she’s really lifted the organization up. I’m very proud of what she’s doing for the organization.”
“LuAnn and I still have a great, strong relationship,” she said. “She’s of the most fantastic humans in the Quad Cities. I’ve been really blessed to be connected with her. She’s the one who pushed me to be on the board, and lift my hand up for a leadership position with the board.”
Anika Martin (left), former Lead(h)er board president, with the nonprofit executive director, Hannah Howard, at the 2024 Lead(h)er Fuel the Fire Gala.
Hayden was the 2023 Found(h)er of the Year, and last year it was Laura Genis (another board member), a Wealth Management Adviser, Portfolio Manager at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
Lead(h)er was founded by Melissa Pepper in 2016 to bridge the gap in professional development opportunities available for QC working women. Since then, Lead(h)er has served more than 1,100 women through its free Strike A Match Mentorship program.
“It’s hard to put into words the impact Anika Martin has had on Lead(h)er,” the nonprofit posted on Facebook after the 2025 gala. “Her leadership, heart, and vision have shaped not only this organization but everyone lucky enough to work alongside her.
“Two years ago, Anika took on both roles of Board President and Acting Executive Director, leading with grace, grit, and unwavering commitment through a pivotal time in our organization’s journey,” the post said. “Since then, she’s been a guide, a mentor, and a fierce advocate, leading with both strategy and heart.
“Anika lifts others up, rolls up her sleeves, and leads by example. Her passion for connection, community, and purpose shines through every decision she makes. Congratulations to our 2025 Found(h)er of the Year, Anika Martin, a woman whose legacy will continue to inspire and empower others for years to come!”
“The organization has given way more to me than I feel I have given to it,” Martin said. “I want to be a donor to the organization, to help make sure it’ll be around for other women.”
Anika Martin (seated center) with other Lead(h)er leaders at the Fuel the Fire Gala Oct. 9, 2025, at Old Oaks Winery.
Found(h)er of the Year is someone who “goes above and beyond to the organization, in a lot of ways – whether it’s leadership, just showing up for the organization,” she said. “I’ve watched a long line of women get this award that are extraordinary women.”
“Lead(h)er has given me more confidence in myself and my leadership abilities,” Martin said. “Even though I wasn’t looking for a change professionally, Lead(h)er definitely gave me the confidence I needed to be able to put myself out there.”
Since 2020, the group has grown in numbers of women served, and the community as a whole with networking opportunities and events they hold, she said.
Birdies for Charity director Micaela Booth (left) at the Birdies announcement with Martin, the John Deere Classic Manager of Donor & Community Impact.
“One of the things I value the most with Lead(h)er isn’t just with the two women I’ve personally been connected with officially as a match, but the huge amount of women I’ve been connected to unofficially, that I never would have met if it wasn’t for the organization, that are incredible women in our community,” Martin said.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for women in our community to gather and lift each other up. I’m very thankful for it, because if I wouldn’t have found it, I would have missed out on meeting so many of these women in the community,” she said. “Lead(h)er has changed my life.”
Martin’s husband couldn’t attend the gala, since Oct. 9 was also opening night for “The Outsiders,” Moline High’s fall play, in which their sophomore son performed (they also have a daughter in third grade). She had been at the school rehearsals the previous two nights and then went to the performances Oct. 10 and 11.
Martin is one of the Moline Drama Booster Club leaders as well.
The 2025 Found(h)er of the Year Award presented to Anika Martin at Lead(h)er’s annual Fuel the Fire Gala, Oct. 9, 2025 at Old Oaks Winery, Milan.
“A dream job”
On Oct. 9, she posted on Facebook –
“I have a dream job and today is the best day of the year. It’s the reason why our small but mighty team does what we do all year round. We live in such a special and generous community. I am so proud to call this home and to be a part of the extraordinary impact on our area. Magic truly does happen here.”
Martin’s job focuses on the JDC’s Bonus Fund, which offers a 5 to 10-percent match of what each charity raises through the Birdies program. Donors choose a nonprofit to support and pledge any monetary amount per birdie scored at the annual PGA TOUR tournament, held at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.
“The Bonus Fund is what truly sets Birdies for Charity apart,” said Micaela Booth, director of Birdies for Charity. “These unrestricted dollars are game changers for our participating nonprofits. They allow organizations to respond to urgent needs, invest in long-term growth, and expand their reach in ways that restricted funding often doesn’t allow. It’s one of the most meaningful parts of what we’re able to offer through this program.”
Anika Martin (right) has fun at the 2025 John Deere Classic’s Executive Women’s Day with Birdies for Charity director Micaela Booth.
The Bonus Fund—initiated with a $325,000 grant from Moline-based John Deere and supported by other generous donations—ensures that every dollar pledged through Birdies for Charity goes even further. In addition, John Deere underwrites the entire Birdies for Charity program, allowing participating charities to receive 100% of every donation without paying any administrative fees.
“The John Deere Classic is proud to announce a record-setting $16.9 million raised for charity in 2025, along with an incredible 9% bonus match for the 460 incredible organizations participating in Birdies for Charity,” said tournament director Andrew Lehman.
“This record year is a testament to the unwavering generosity of our entire region—John Deere, our corporate partners and the thousands of community members who give year after year,” Lehman continued. “John Deere’s deep-rooted commitment to corporate citizenship continues to be the driving force behind the tournament’s success and the life-changing impact we’re able to make together.”
In addition to its fundraising success, the tournament’s Birdies for Charity contest—which invites fans to guess the number of birdies made during the event—produced five finalists who correctly guessed 2,102 birdies. One lucky winner will receive a two-year lease on a vehicle courtesy of Smart Lexus of Quad Cities, the contest’s Grand Prize Sponsor. Smart Lexus of Quad Cities also serves as the tournament’s Official Transportation Sponsor, providing courtesy cars for players and evacuation vehicles on course.
The JDC continues to lead the PGA TOUR in per-capita charitable giving, with this year’s total equating to $45.19 for each of the Quad Cities’ 375,000 residents—a distinction the tournament has proudly held for more than a decade.
Earlier this year, the tournament celebrated surpassing $200 million in all-time charitable giving since its inception in 1971. With this year’s total, the official number now stands at $206,597,020—an astounding 99% of which has been raised since John Deere became title sponsor in 1998.
The 2025 JDC winner was Brian Campbell, who took home $1.512 million after the four-day tournament.
Martin was Two Rivers Y’s main fundraiser for 10 years before joining the JDC staff in January 2024.
“Her work experience and passion for the JDC made her the person for the job,” Birdies for Charity director Micaela Booth said at the start of Martin’s JDC position. “Anika truly believes in the mission of the John Deere Classic and its charitable initiatives through Birdies for Charity, proven by her three decades of volunteer work for the tournament. We’re so excited to have her join the team and make her mark.”
Her mom and stepdad have been Classic volunteers for 40 years, and they started bringing her to the tournament when she was in grade school.
“I love the tournament – it’s part of my life, part of who I am,” Martin said. “I obviously very much believe in everything the golf tournament does, and everything Birdies for Charity does. When this opportunity became available, it was such a no-brainer because it was such a perfect match.”
Kris Tucker (left) picks up the Birdies for Charity check for the Zion Lutheran Church (Davenport) food pantry, at the check distribution day, Oct. 9, 2025.
The JDC has fewer than 10 full-time staff, who work all year on the summer week-long tournament.
“It’s a year-round job,” Martin said Thursday. “We hear that a lot, that people are surprised it’s a year-round job. But it really is something we work hard at year-round, and not just on the fundraising side. But operationally, for the tournament as well.”
Fundraising for the Bonus Fund works to get that fund as strong as possible, to be able to distribute as much money as they can to participating charities.
Every organization has to verify every year they are a 501(c)(3) in good standing and want to continue participating, Martin said. Every charity fundraises for Birdies in their own creative way. “We’ve seen a lot of success for those organizations in fundraising through Birdies for Charity,” she said.
This year, the Bonus Fund provided 9 percent of what each charity themselves raised. Donors specify an amount they want to give per birdie in the tournament, usually choosing the charity they want to give to.
Martin is one of two full-time staff with Birdies, and director Booth works directly with the nonprofits.
“I work more on the Bonus Fund and I’m fundraising the $1.2, $1.3 million that will benefit the Bonus Fund,” she said, noting that bonus this year totaled $1.3 million. Her specific position was new when she started, but those responsibilities were split among existing staff before 2024.
“It is a full-time job in itself, so it was a lot for staff to be doing that, plus the other duties they were doing,” Martin said. “It’s just continued to grow over time. Bringing a designated person on to focus on the fundraising and Bonus Fund, was what was really going to continue to make that successful.”
Each year, John Deere donates $325,000 as seed money for the Bonus Fund, “which is so generous and we’re so thankful for that support,” she said. “They know their large donation is going to impact so many charities in our area.”
“We’re challenged to make sure we raise well and above that every single year,” she said. Many individuals, businesses and corporations support the fund every year.
“We have an incredible, engaged and supportive pool of donors that give to the Bonus Fund,” Martin said. “There are some family foundations, and they really believe in the impact of the Bonus Fund and what it’s doing for the community and hundreds of nonprofits. We have a really impressive renewal rate on those donations every year.”
She works to grow that donor pool, to be better help the 450-plus area nonprofits. “We have a very generous group of people who understand the impact of what their gift is.”
In the past two years, Martin has worked to get the Birdies story told, especially what the Bonus Fund is.
“A lot of misconceptions about how that Bonus Fund happens – a lot of people think the tournament just funds that every year, out of tournament profits – which is not true, or that John Deere 100% funds that every year,” also not true, she said. “We do a lot of fundraising on top of that match, so getting that story out and that opportunity to grow the donor base, and cover that gap in funding, has been really helpful.”
Starting with seed money each year
The new fiscal year for Deere and the JDC starts Nov. 1 and Deere provides the same seed money for the Bonus Fund each year.
There are supporters that give to multiple charities directly, as well as the Bonus Fund, and some support just the Bonus Fund, Martin said. “It’s really up to the donor and what they’re passionate about,” she said.
The Bonus Fund percentage depends partly on how much the charities are able to raise; the more raised, the higher the percentage to make that match.
“It is a bit of a guessing game,” Martin said. The match is always between 5 and 10 percent. The Bonus Fund this year did not have enough money in it to provide a maximum 10% match.
In 2024, the fund gave an 8 percent match, the prior two years were 7.5, and 7 percent, gradually growing each year, she noted. Birdies overall has grown impressively in recent years.
“In the last couple years, this community has really shown up and it has been significant leaps the last couple years,” Martin said. “It’s been really fun to be a part of and really fun to show those numbers on check distribution day in October.”
Being on staff for the past two JDC tournaments has been different for her as a three-decade volunteer.
“It’s great because my family volunteers – my parents are there, my kids are there. It’s still very much a family affair,” Martin said. “My role is very different; I’m off doing different things, so I don’t see them as often. I tend to be running around doing very different things than I used to be doing.”
“It’s such a fulfilling thing to be a part of. I have such a passion for the John Deere Classic, obviously,” she said. “Being able to be such a big part of it, it’s such a thrill, and such a blessing. I absolutely love it, it’s a dream job for me.”
The big Birdies announcement began at 11 a.m. that Thursday, and they did the check distributions, to representatives of as many participating charities could attend.
“They’re organized so well, and they have a great system,” Martin said of Birdies. “It’s a great feeling in the room because so many representatives of the nonprofits show up and they get to hear the news, they get to hear what that bonus percentage is, and then when it’s over, they walk to the back of the room and get to leave with the checks in their hands. It’s such a great feeling.”
Previously working for the Two Rivers Y, she had experience with Birdies. She said it was fun now to be on the other side, and help support the Y. There’s great satisfaction seeing the gratitude from the Birdies recipients.
“There was a gasp in the room when they announced the 9 percent,” Martin said. “It’s such an impactful, additional set of funds for each nonprofit. It makes a difference, whether it’s a nonprofit that raised a whole lot of money and that 9 percent is a really big check, or it’s a smaller nonprofit that raised a smaller amount, yet still that 9% will make a really big impact on that small nonprofit.”
The Eldridge-based nonprofit Humble Dwellings posted on Facebook Oct. 13:
“What an incredible year! The Birdies for Charity program through the John Deere Classic once again made a huge impact — with a 9% bonus match added to each participating charity’s total! That’s the largest match since 2017!
“We’re beyond thankful for everyone who chose to support Humble Dwellings through this amazing program. A special thank-you to John Deere for their generosity and dedication to building stronger communities — your partnership truly changes lives!”
The bonus especially was crucial for WVIK Quad Cities NPR, since they lost $150,000 in federal funding, effective Oct. 1.
Jared Johnson is general manager for WVIK.
“Because of our circumstances in public broadcasting, we had a record year in people giving this year,” station manager Jared Johnson said Friday, noting Birdies support comprises about 8% of their total private contributions. “That 9-percent match is just gonna be hugely important to us this year, so we’re super grateful they were able to do that.”
This past summer, Congress approved $1.1 billion in cuts to already approved federal funding for public media. That comprised two years’ worth of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit that Congress created to distribute federal dollars to NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local radio and television stations. Now, the CPB is being dissolved.
WVIK was already in its fiscal year (started July 1), with the $150,000 budgeted for, before that funding was pulled back. It makes up about 13% of the NPR station’s annual budget, so Birdies for Charity helped fill the loss in funding, Johnson said.
“People have been super generous; we’re way ahead of where we were last year,” he said.
Martin still gets significant help from other JDC in the Birdies fundraising work. “It is a team effort. I definitely am not the only one responsible for it. It has grown significantly, not just because there’s a person dedicated to it, but the need is there.
“Charities have become so successful at fundraising every year for Birdies for Charity,” she said. “In order for us to provide that significant bonus match, we have to be successful fundraising, or that bonus match percentage would not be as much.”
Martin’s trophy case at work is growing, since the Lead(h)er award (with a cool flame sculpture made by Hot Glass) joins another from last year. She was recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Quad Cities Chapter as the 2024 Outstanding Fundraising Professional.
For this girl on fire, it seems par for the course.
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