When groups meet in Iowa, there’s an opportunity for something more than business to take root.
In cities across the Hawkeye State, corporate gatherings have the potential to be powerful vehicles for change, where giving back to the community is part of the agenda and meaningful impact is a key takeaway, leaving just as big an impression on meeting attendees as the new connections they made while networking along the way.
From preparing hot meals for families in Des Moines, to taking care of public green spaces and gardens in Dubuque, to holding drives to collect necessities for children in need in Cedar Rapids, these three Iowa cities offer groups opportunities to engage with local causes, strengthen team bonds and leave with more than just a new stack of business cards in their pockets.
In the heart of the Midwest, service and strategy go hand in hand, proving that when companies give their time, everyone gains. Read on for group corporate social responsibility (CSR) opportunities in Des Moines, Dubuque and Cedar Rapids that can make your next gathering one that gives back.
Des Moines
In Iowa’s capital city—the most populous in the state—opportunities to make a positive impact are abundant. Oftentimes, groups meeting in Des Moines look to add a CSR component to their agendas that focuses on sustainability in some way, whether it be environmental, social or economic, and thanks to the myriad local resources available to groups in Des Moines, there exists a CSR activity that ticks all the boxes for every unique group gathering in the city.
“In many cases, the request to include a CSR component stems from a desire to create a meaningful social ‘offset’—a way for groups to balance the environmental and social footprint of their travel,” said Chris Baker, director of event experience at Catch Des Moines. “When attendees gather in a city like Des Moines, they inevitably utilize local resources and infrastructure. Incorporating a CSR activity is a way to give back, leaving a positive impact on the community that has hosted them.
“It’s not just about minimizing impact—it’s about maximizing contribution,” Baker continued. “By engaging in local service projects or sustainability initiatives, groups can demonstrate a tangible commitment to social good, reinforce their organizational values and foster deeper connections among attendees and with the host city. In short, it turns a meeting into a mission.”
Volunteering with Meals from the Heartland is one way groups meeting in Des Moines can achieve this. A nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization with a mission statement that reads, “Empowering people to save starving children,” Meals from the Heartland has provided over 230 million meals to the hungry in Iowa and around the world since it was established in 2008.
“CSR activities play a vital role in supporting the Des Moines community by addressing real, pressing needs and strengthening the social fabric of the region,” Baker said. “For example, Meals from the Heartland helps combat food insecurity locally and beyond, with one in six children in Iowa facing hunger. In 2024 alone, the organization distributed over 950,000 meals across the state—a powerful testament to how volunteer-driven efforts can directly improve lives.”
Private volunteer events with Meals from the Heartland can be hosted at the West Des Moines Packaging Center and start at $2,900, allowing 20 volunteers to pack 10,000 meals outside of open packing shifts.
The organization also offers Mobile Hunger Fights across the Midwest, which start at $5,800 and allow for 40 volunteers to package 20,000 meals. Groups choose the date and location for their Mobile Hunger Fight, funding $0.29 per meal and gathering volunteers to package, lift, lead, set up and clean up, while Meals from the Heartland provides ingredients, packaging supplies, equipment, volunteer training and more. Minimums and trucking fees are contingent on the distance traveled.
Meals from the Heartland is also open to talking to planners about how they can accommodate even larger groups. More information is available online at mealsfromtheheartland.org.
Another organization groups can work with to give back to the Des Moines community is the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Iowa, offering two locations (or Houses)—one inside MercyOne Children’s Hospital and another near Blank Children’s Hospital—that give families with sick children a safe, affordable place to stay near the resources they need.
“The Ronald McDonald House provides essential support to families navigating medical crises,” Baker said. “By offering a place to stay and a sense of comfort during incredibly difficult times, it lifts a tremendous burden off families with critically ill children—allowing them to focus on what matters most: healing and being together.”
The Roland McDonald House Charities of Central Iowa’s Meal Program gives groups the opportunity to visit one of the two Houses and cook a meal for the families staying there. All ingredients need to be supplied by the volunteers, but the House kitchen offers all the tools and equipment needed to make a meal. More information is available at rmhdesmoines.org/volunteer-kitchen.
“These CSR initiatives don’t just help individuals in need,” Baker said. “They create opportunities for visiting groups to engage meaningfully with the community, foster empathy and leave a lasting, positive impact on the place that welcomed them.”
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Dubuque
Situated along Iowa’s eastern border where it meets the corners of Wisconsin and Illinois, Dubuque also embodies the “Iowa nice” cultural label—and groups meeting in Dubuque can embody it, too.
“The Dubuque Community is filled with endless opportunities for giving back while teambuilding. In fact, over 560 nonprofits call Dubuque/Dubuque County home. Some say nonprofits are the lifeblood of our community because you will find one at every corner,” said Julie Kronlage, vice president of sales, Travel Dubuque. “When you choose to help one of these nonprofits, you are making a difference in the lives of those these nonprofits touch. It seems in today’s climate, so many want to make an impact on a community when they are visiting. These projects help make that impact.”
One such example is the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (also known as Marshall Park), an all-volunteer-created and mostly volunteer-run park that was established in 1980. Situated on 56 acres, the park is open to the public, without charge, from dawn to dusk throughout the year, and over 200 volunteers come together annually to help keep the space in bloom.
“Our mission is to become a cherished destination for all, where vibrant gardens create transformative experiences that connect people, inspire learning and deepen appreciation for nature,” said Jenna Hirtz, executive director at the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. “On a yearly basis, we typically clock around 20,000 volunteer hours, and about 90,000 guests visit our grounds. We probably bring in an extra 150 volunteers each year to support the gardens and our core volunteers, and there are so many different areas and opportunities for volunteers to get involved with us.”
Typically, volunteer efforts are centered around outdoor work that give people the opportunity to reconnect with nature, but additional activities are available for those who don’t like to get their hands too dirty, including filling up fish food and bagging it to sell in the gift shop, wiping down windows or keeping the gift shop running.
“Most of the time for our outside projects, it’s something like mulching, raking leaves, pulling weeds. We’ve had bigger projects where volunteers have helped us build walls with rocks, plant new things across the grounds, planting trees, adding and refilling accessible walkways,” Hirtz said. “It varies depending on the projects we have going on, but you can pretty much guarantee you’re going to get your hands dirty in one way or another.”
The Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens rely heavily on group volunteer efforts to keep the grounds up and running, especially as a generation of core volunteers starts to age out and fewer younger volunteers step up to fill their shoes.
“There are times when our core volunteers come up to us and say, ‘We never would have been able to do that project because there’s only a limited number of us, or we don’t have that skillset, or we’re just not physically able to do that,’” Hirtz said. “We are so grateful when we’re able to get a big group of people in and knock out a lot of work; work that we might not ever get the chance to do just because we can’t do it alone.”
The Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens tends to cap group volunteer efforts at 50 people, but planners with larger groups can submit a request through the gardens’ contact page on dubuquearboretum.net or reach out to their volunteer coordinator directly to figure out the best way to accommodate and plan for larger volunteer efforts.
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Groups can also give back to the Dubuque community by working with Convivium Urban Farmstead, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “improve life through food” and connect food, the environment and the people in the community. Every week, Convivium Urban Farmstead provides over 200 free casseroles for those in need.
“Convivium Urban Farmstead has been established in what is considered a ‘food desert’ in Dubuque,” Kronlage said. “The cofounders, who came from corporate positions, started the facility with the goal of improving lives through food—the food that is grown in their neighbors’ front yards, the food that is harvested from plants, the food that is prepared to help kiddos eat a wholesome meal. They are giving back and helping to improve the quality of life in our area.”
“We break all of our volunteer activities into three categories,” said Leslie Shalabi, cofounder of Convivium Urban Farmstead. “One is garden tending, so working outside in the garden at whatever state we are at in the season—planting, weeding, watering, harvesting.
“The second category is what we call Kitchen Volunteers, or Harvest Helpers,” Shalabi continued. “They are folks who are working in our kitchen. We give them good training and they help us process the harvest.”
Convivium Urban Farmstead produces between 4,000-5,000 pounds of produce each year, and the organization relies heavily on volunteers to help process the harvest in a short period of time.
“The third area is our Free Casserole Program,” Shalabi said. “This is something that we started during Covid as a way to use up our vegetables that we had leftover since our restaurant couldn’t be open. We made these healthy casseroles, gave them away to our neighbors and have continued doing it.
“The program takes a significant amount of volunteer time—70 hours from when we first start until we deliver the last casserole,” she continued. “So, volunteering for the Free Casserole Program takes a significant amount planning ahead of time, but since most meetings are also planned in advance, this program lends itself to that.”
Group and corporate volunteer opportunities can be organized by contacting Convivium Urban Farmstead directly at info@convivium-dbq.com.
“When an attendee completes a project or sees that impact made after the event, the smile on their faces I think really says it all,” Kronlage said. “Knowing that the meals that were prepped help feed a family for a few nights, or that the bags that were stuffed have helped a child in school and in their daily lives, or that the hard work at a garden in the community is going to make a difference for so many, really leaves a lasting positive impression and gives so many positive vibes!”
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Cedar Rapids
In between Dubuque and Des Moines is Iowa’s second-largest city, Cedar Rapids—one of the leading manufacturing regions in the U.S. (and the largest corn-processing city in the world!). The city may be home to the largest cereal mill on Earth, Quaker Oats, which opened in 1873 and fills the air with the sweet smell of Quaker Cap'N Crunch Crunch Berries every so often. But Cedar Rapids is also home to a community whose roots are planted firmly in making the destination a better place for everyone, locals and visitors alike, and groups are always welcome to strengthen those community ties even more.
“Cedar Rapids has a strong sense of community and a history of helping our neighbors,” said Emily Kleitsch, director of marketing and communications for Cedar Rapids Tourism. “Engaging in local CSR initiatives help visitors build meaningful connections, leave a positive impact and learn about a city they may be visiting for the first time, and Cedar Rapids has many great organizations who would love to partner with visiting meetings!”
One such organization is Indian Creek Nature Center, with a mission to “promote a more sustainable future by nurturing individuals through environmental education, providing leadership in land protection and restoration, and encouraging responsible interactions with nature.”
The organization offers CSR experiences including prairie seed collection, trash pick-up, invasive removal, trail clearing, farm chores like egg collecting/washing and harvesting, planting tree seedlings and more.
“We work with Indian Creek Nature Center all the time. There's a lot of great outdoor opportunities in Cedar Rapids, but Indian Creek Nature Center is one of our favorites,” Thole said. “They're such great partners of ours and they have so many opportunities for groups. They're always willing to make something work, no matter the size of your group.”
In general, projects accommodate 10-20 people, but the center can work with larger groups when provided advance notice. Planners can fill out a group volunteer interest form on Indian Creek Nature Center’s website at indiancreeknaturecenter.org/join-give/volunteer.
Founded in 2011, Feed Iowa First is another organization groups can partner with to make a positive impact on the Cedar Rapids community. The organization has been responding to increasing food insecurity levels in Linn County for over a decade by growing “culturally relevant vegetables for underserved communities” and distributes more than 45,000 pounds of fresh produce to those in need.
“The mission of Feed Iowa First is to combat food insecurity by growing food and farmers, creating a sustainable local food system that removes barriers to nutrient-dense food access and land for farming for underserved populations in Linn County,” Thole said.
Group CSR experiences include planting various forms of produce, harvesting and cleaning items and helping with farm duties. For more information, visit feediowa1st.com/volunteer.
“By giving back, groups help sustain and uplift our resilient community,” Thole said. “Even the smallest projects help.”
