Angela Boelens
Pay-It-Forward Awardee

Professor Angela Boelens brings over 25 years of corporate and not-for-profit business experience into the classrooms of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where her passion is developing and inspiring the next generation of leaders. In 2022, Boelens founded IA NICE (Iowa Newcomer Integration Community & Exchange), a nonprofit organization which focuses on legally sponsoring Ukrainian families through the Uniting for Ukraine program and assists them in achieving self-sufficiency within three months of arrival. The organization provides holistic, community-based integration support, including housing, employment, healthcare, and education. Boelens leads and collaborates with other national service organizations in advocating, at both state and federal levels, for immigration reform and the development of legislative policies that promote economic growth in rural communities.
DeWitt, Iowa
5-Mar-26
Pay-It-Forward
Award
Awarded to:
IA NICE
Individual award recipients are not eligible for a grant, but can “pay it forward” by recommending a values-aligned organization to receive a grant. When an individual receives a “Pay It Forward” award, they are invited to recommend a grant to a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in their community that is aligned with the values of the project. “Pay It Forward” recipients are typically awarded to one or several individuals for personal acts of courage








