The Community Resource Connection (CRC) was formed in 2022 by the Ankeny Service Center and IMPACT Community Action Partnership to carry out the vision of a multi-tenant center filled with social service agencies. The mission of the CRC is to facilitate collaboration of local, community-based organizations and to achieve meaningful outcomes for the people and communities they serve.
The CRC will simplify the transportation, time and cost for clients trying to meet with providers that used to be scattered across the area. The single location will strengthen the quality of service and provide an uplifting space where guests are treated with dignity.
Families going through economic challenges are often forced to bounce from place to place to piece together the resources necessary to help with their most basic needs. For decades, residents from Ankeny and northern Polk County had access to multiple service providers at the Nevlen Center. However, that center was disbanded when the owner pursued new plans for the facility. That change scattered providers across the region.
The CRC’s tenant organizations will be strategically chosen to provide an array of resources for people who face barriers accessing essential services. Working collaboratively, we will increase access to critical services and connect individuals to other resources within their communities.
The CRC will streamline office needs for the nonprofit tenants with a shared lobby, reception, conference rooms, food pantry and convenient professional collaboration. The promise of below-market rent will enhance sustainability so organizations can focus their resources on positive outcomes for their clients.
Nonprofits can build relationships with each other and easily refer clients to other agencies, leading to more people becoming self-sufficient. This space will be a community resource center, a place to volunteer, a meeting space for service groups and, most importantly, a welcoming place where everyone is treated with dignity and kindness.
