Community, not charity.
We don't run a help desk. We run a neighborhood. Same problem, different posture, completely different outcome.
About Heartroots
Roots run deep around here.
One nonprofit. Three programs. One rule — nobody walks this alone.
Based in Traer, Iowa
501(c)(3) nonprofit
3 active programs
Local + national reach
We're not running a help desk. We're growing a neighborhood.
Heartroots exists because somewhere along the way, we replaced proximity with programs and outsourced care to systems. The result: a lot of people doing fine on paper and falling apart in private.
We're putting community back in the middle. Food when you need it. Mentorship when you're stuck. A megaphone when you've got something worth saying. And neighbors at every step.
Not as charity. As community. The way it was always meant to be.
"Heartroots didn't start as a plan. It started as something I couldn't ignore."
Sarah Bradley
Founder · Heartroots
Read the founder why
What we stand on
Five things we won't budge on.
Every program, every conversation, every door we open — these are the lines we hold.
Hand-up, then hand extended.
The goal isn't helping once. It's putting people in a position to extend a hand to someone else next. That's how community compounds.
Roots, not bandages.
We're not patching holes. We're growing what should've been there from the start — and tending it long after the crisis passes.
Doors open. No gatekeeping.
No qualifying forms. No "deserving poor." If you're here, you belong here. We start with welcome, not with screening.
Walk loud, walk together.
Confidence is a community resource. We help people find their voice — and then we refuse to let them carry it alone.
Rooted in Iowa. Branching everywhere else.
Heartroots is headquartered in Traer, Iowa — a small town that taught its founder what neighbors actually look like. The pantry, the closet, the local programs all live here.
But mentorship doesn't care about zip codes. And neither does mission support. Two of our three programs serve nationally — wherever there's a kid who needs a champion or a nonprofit that needs a megaphone.
Local
The Basics — Traer + surrounding Iowa
Food, clothes, fresh produce. In-person, hands-on, neighborhood scale.
National
Foundations + Community Growth — nationwide
Mentorship, scholarships, nonprofit launch support. Anywhere you are.
Now you know us —
Pick a way to walk in.
Need a hand? Got one to lend? Just curious? All three count. There's no wrong door at Heartroots.