Rob Merritt

On March 22, the Fairfield Co-lab was especially crowded over the lunch hour. Local entrepreneurs had been gathering there for months for Traction Thursday, a new networking program for members of the Fairfield business community. Today, however, there was some extra buzz.  Participants wanted to hear about Kiva Iowa.

On March 22, the Fairfield Co-lab was especially crowded over the lunch hour. Local entrepreneurs had been gathering there for months for Traction Thursday, a new networking program for members of the Fairfield business community. Today, however, there was some extra buzz.  Participants wanted to hear about Kiva Iowa.

Giving Tree Theater in Marion had some big goals when it first launched in 2015. One was to be “the best little arts organization in the region.” Another was to always give back to the community, by sharing $1 of every ticket sale with local nonprofits.
That tradition is still in place. And for the next few months, Giving Tree has selected NewBoCo as its latest nonprofit partner.

As computer science becomes a greater focus in Iowa classrooms, educators want young students to get as much of a head start as possible. Two programs from NewBoCo – Tiny Techies and CoderDojo – help with that goal.

Since launching in April of 2022, Iowa Innovation has featured guests ranging from Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, to entertainer Alisabeth Von Presley, to Brucemore CEO David Janssen, to Alissa Gardner of Farm to Health Organics. In 2023, the show recorded its first-ever live episode from the stage of the Englert Theatre, and featured an interview with Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority.

From tech education to supporting entrepreneurs, NewBoCo’s work has drawn plenty of interest across the state. So it’s only natural that other communities would want to learn more about it. That’s where the Community Partners program comes in. 

NewBoCo Studios came to be in 2016. The aim? To work with clients of all sizes to develop software solutions that meet specific requirements, and then deliver high-quality software products that are scalable, reliable, and user-friendly.  Eight years later, that idea has grown into a team that’s not only served dozens of new companies, but also helped established organizations like UFG Insurance, the Cedar Rapids Community School District, and more.

Looking at the numbers, coding is still an industry dominated by men.
With Girls Who Code, NewBoCo looked to even the playing field. In 2023, NewBoCo had over 50 local students between 3rd and 12th grade in our Girls Who Code clubs. Taking place every Saturday for 10 weeks in the spring and again in the fall, Girls Who Code focuses on coding, learning about career opportunities, building positive relationships with peers, and doing projects throughout.

Four years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Foster believes Vault has fully bounced back to being the vibrant community that it was before 2020. 

“During the pandemic, Vault was empty,” he says. “But then slowly and surely, we started getting those people who want to try it out, just like back when we started in 2015. And they’re saying ‘Hey, this works for me.’ Today we’ve got a good collection of people, and it’s a great community again.”