Megan Brown-Saldana is absolutely a girl on FIRE, and she’s lighting up the Quad-Cities with warmth, community activism and professional development. The 31-year-old executive director of the growing nonprofit Lead(h)er is ready to celebrate the fifth birthday of the women’s mentorship and empowerment organization. Lead(h)er is hosting their fifth-annual Girl on Fire Awards on Wednesday, Sept. 1st at 12 noon, virtually. They honor women who have exemplified the mission of fueling career and community engagement in the workforce. “Area organizations and businesses are stepping up to make sure... Read More

The YWCA Quad Cities is celebrating a surprise holiday gift this week. It is among 384 charities throughout the United States that have received a donation from MacKenzie Scott, a 50-year-old American novelist, billionaire, and venture philanthropist. She has donated $4.1 billion to nonprofit organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and the YWCA is just one of two recipients that serve the Quad-Cities – the other is Goodwill of the Heartland. “These 384 carefully selected teams have dedicated their lives to helping others,” Scott explained in a Dec. 15 post on Medium,... Read More

For four years, the Quad-Cities nonprofit Lead(h)er has spread warmth through its “Strike a Match” mentoring program. Now, it has formally caught fire with its 103-year-old big sister, YWCA Quad Cities. The two nonprofits – which both work to empower area women – now share office space, at the aptly named Iowa Empowerment Center at One River Place, 1225 E. River Drive, Suite 110, Davenport. Leaders of Lead(h)er and YWCA will make a formal announcement of their new match on Dec. 1, at 1 p.m., which also will be livestreamed on Facebook. After months of discussion, the nonprofits decided... Read More