Creative Visions Named Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award Winner, Receives $67,000 Grant

​The Opus Foundation (Foundation), the charitable foundation for The Opus Group (Opus), announced today that Creative Visions Human Development Institute has been named the Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award winner and has been awarded a $67,000 grant.

Creative Visions provides resources to individuals who want to make a positive change in their life with programing guiding them toward sustainability and self-sufficiency through education, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.

As their vision states, Creative Visions' breaks “the chain of poverty and hopelessness within vulnerable communities, by empowering the individuals from within them, to become prosperous and productive citizens, who contribute to and shape prosperous and productive communities."

Since their founding in 1996, they've helped thousands build stronger lives, families and communities.

To honor our founder's legacy of giving, we launched the Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award in 2015 along with the Opus Foundation^®. Fueled by unwavering optimism, Gerry demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a commitment to finding a better way to build a business, community and value-centered life. With an enduring belief that business has a responsibility to strengthen society, Gerry ensured giving back was a cornerstone of our organization.

In addition to the Building Community Award, from January through June, the Opus Foundation has awarded grants totaling $60,000 to seven Iowa nonprofits. Grant recipients included:

• Beyond Ball (Urbandale) – $5,000 for a tutoring program
• Food Bank of Iowa (Des Moines) – $5,000 for COVID-19 Emergency Response
• Freedom for Youth Ministries (Des Moines) – $5,000 for COVID-19 Emergency Response
• Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity – $5,000 for recognition of Opus associate volunteer efforts for Founder's Day
• Meals from the Heartland (West Des Moines) – $5,000 for COVID-19 Emergency Response
• Project IOWA (Des Moines) – $30,000 for COVID-19 Emergency Response
• Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) (Des Moines) – $5,000 for COVID-19 Emergency Response

About the Opus Foundation:

The Opus Foundation^® awards more than $3 million annually to projects and programs that build Opus communities and make them better places to live, work and raise families. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that foster human and community development with an emphasis on early childhood education, youth development, workforce development, community revitalization and pressing and emerging needs.

About The Opus Group:

The Opus Group^® is a family of commercial real estate development, construction and design companies headquartered in Minneapolis with offices and projects across the country. Opus operates as an integrated, multidisciplinary team with expertise in development, capital markets and finance; project management and construction; architecture, engineering and interior design. The Opus Group includes Opus Holding, L.L.C. and its operating subsidiaries: Opus Development Company, L.L.C., Opus Design Build, L.L.C. and Opus AE Group, L.L.C. Specializing in industrial, office, residential, student living, senior living, institutional and retail projects, The Opus Group has broad capabilities, deep experience and a proven design-build model that delivers solutions for customers on time and on budget. For more information, visit www.opus-group.com and follow @TheOpusGroup on Twitter and @theopusgroup on Instagram.