Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation

What Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation does

Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation (RIMEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1986 in Rock Island, Illinois, that operates as the dedicated external fundraising and grantmaking entity for the Rock Island-Milan School District #41. The foundation distributes approximately $500,000 annually across six program lines: PRIME Grants (teacher and school grants up to $5,000 for instructional materials and programs), 57 named scholarship funds for Rock Island High School graduates, the Austin Academic Achievement Awards (academic recognition and scholarships dating to 1981), HAVlife and Schwiebert Extracurricular Funds (financial-need support for student participation in athletics, music, and arts), a permanently restricted endowment fund, and the Major Saver discount card fundraiser. In the 2025-2026 academic year, RIMEF awarded a record $260,220 in PRIME Grants across 134 grants to 146 educators, $215,450 in scholarships to 78 seniors through 120 scholarships, and over $650,000 in total support to district students, teachers, and schools.

The foundation's revenue model relies entirely on charitable giving and fundraising activities, with no fee-based pricing. Revenue streams include individual, family, alumni, and business donations; Major Saver discount card sales (cumulative $322,740 raised); the endowment fund's interest and earnings; and targeted grants from regional funders such as the Doris & Victor Day Foundation. Grants and scholarships are distributed free of charge to recipients, with PRIME Grant and scholarship applications processed through the Kaleidoscope online platform at apply.mykaleidoscope.com. RIMEF is governed by a volunteer board (2026-2027 President LaShanta Williams, Vice-President Eric Rowell, Secretary Alli Haskill) led by Executive Director Monta Ponsetto, and operates from offices co-located at Rock Island High School, with no geographic or product expansion beyond the single school district it serves.

Name

Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation

Legal name

Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation

Website

https://rimef.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds Rock Island-Milan School District #41 through teacher grants, scholarships, and extracurricular support, distributing roughly $500,000 annually via PRIME Grants, named scholarships, and the Austin Academic Achievement Awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Foundation Grants and Scholarships

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• Education foundation grants
• Teacher classroom grants
• Student scholarship programs
• Extracurricular activity funding
• School district nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Rock Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Program Grants and Scholarship Disbursements, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Donations: The foundation relies primarily on charitable donations from individuals, families, alumni, and businesses to fund its programs including PRIME Grants, scholarships, and extracurricular support.
2. Major Saver Card Sales: The Major Saver card fundraiser generates funds through sale of discount cards featuring local and national vendor offers. Proceeds are split between elementary schools and the PRIME Grants program.
3. Endowment Fund: Permanently restricted endowment fund where principal remains intact and only interest/earnings are used to fund activities, providing sustainable long-term support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises charitable donations and distributes them as PRIME Grants (teacher and school grants up to $5,000), named scholarships to Rock Island High School graduates, Austin Academic Achievement Awards, and extracurricular activity funding (HAVlife/Schwiebert funds) for students of Rock Island-Milan School District #41. It also operates the Major Saver discount card fundraiser and a permanently restricted endowment fund to sustain long-term support.

Product overview

Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides critical funding to the Rock Island-Milan School District through a portfolio of grant and scholarship programs. The core offerings include PRIME Grants (teacher/school funding up to $5,000), Named Scholarships (57 funds providing over $170,000 annually), Austin Academic Achievement Awards (academic excellence recognition with scholarships), HAVlife/Schwiebert Extracurricular Funds (youth activity support), the RIMEF Endowment Fund (permanent giving vehicle), and the Major Saver Fundraiser (community discount card program). These programs collectively distribute approximately $500,000 annually to support students, teachers, and schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PRIME Grants: Grants program supporting teachers (up to $1,500), schools/departments (up to $3,000), and multi-school grants (up to $5,000) for materials, technologies, and programs in literacy, STEM/STEAM, music, art, physical education, social-emotional learning, EL, and cultural awareness.
• Austin Academic Achievement Awards
• HAVlife Extracurricular Funds
• Schwiebert Extracurricular Fund
• Major Saver
• RIMEF Endowment Fund

Products and services

• PRIME Grants Grant program providing up to $1,500 per teacher, $3,000 per school/department, and $5,000 for multi-school initiatives to fund classroom materials, technologies, and programs in literacy, STEM/STEAM, music, art, physical education, social-emotional learning, EL, and cultural awareness. Awarded to RIMSD Pre-K-12 educators.
• Named Scholarships 57 named scholarship funds offering financial assistance to Rock Island High School graduates pursuing vocational school, junior college, or four-year college education, with up to 100 scholarship opportunities available.
• Austin Academic Achievement Awards (AAAA) Annual academic recognition program rewarding the top ten students per class at Rock Island High School and awarding scholarships of $2,000 for first place and $1,500 for second place in ten academic areas including Business and Career & Technical Education.
• HAVlife and Schwiebert Extracurricular Funds Grant programs covering costs of sport program fees, art/theatre classes, music supplies, athletic equipment, musical instrument rental/purchase, and athletic or music camps. HAVlife serves RIMSD students ages 10-15; Schwiebert serves students ages 5-9 or 16-18 with financial need.
• RIMEF Endowment Fund Permanently restricted endowment fund where principal remains intact and only interest and earnings fund RIMEF activities, providing sustainable long-term support for RIMSD-led academic programs approved by the district and RIMEF's Endowment Fund Committee.
• Major Saver Fundraiser Discount card fundraiser featuring local restaurant and national vendor offers, with proceeds split between elementary schools selling cards and PRIME Grants, having raised over $322,740 to date to benefit RIMSD classrooms and schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• $260,220 in PRIME Grants awarded in 2025-2026 to 146 educators across 134 grants
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Schwiebert Extracurricular FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Established by Mark and Debbie Schwiebert in 2019, this fund helps students ages 5-9 or 16-18 who have financial needs and fall outside the HAVlife age parameters. The fund assists with costs of extracurricular activities based in Rock Island or Milan, helping students begin or continue pursuing their passions.
• HAVlifecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010HAVlife provides resources in athletics, music, and arts for students ages 10-15 in the Rock Island-Milan School District. Starting with an initial grant of $10,000 in 2010, RIMEF has awarded over $75,000 in HAVlife grants for extracurricular activities and after-school programs. HAVlife's mission is to 'Prevent Lost Potential' to help keep student dreams alive.
• Major SavercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor Saver is a fundraising partner that provides discount cards sold to benefit RIMSD schools. The card features discounts from local restaurants and national vendors. Proceeds are split between selling elementary schools and PRIME Grants, with over $322,740 raised to date. This partnership has provided over $300,000 in support of RIMSD schools.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DonorsChoose: National online platform that crowdsources funding for teacher classroom projects and supplies. Directly comparable to RIMEF's PRIME Grants model — both address the classroom-funding gap — but DonorsChoose operates at a national, digital scale while RIMEF serves one district.
• AdoptAClassroom: Online platform enabling donors to directly fund individual teachers' classroom needs. Highly analogous to RIMEF's PRIME Grants program in both mission (bridging school funding gaps) and delivery (teacher-driven requests), differing primarily in scale and geographic reach.
• Fund for Teachers: National nonprofit that awards grants to PreK-12 teachers for professional development and self-designed learning experiences. Compares to RIMEF's PRIME Grants in targeting teachers as grant recipients to enrich student learning, though Fund for Teachers focuses specifically on educator growth rather than classroom materials.
• The Moline Foundation: Community foundation in Moline, Illinois, that funds education, health, and human services in the immediate Quad Cities region. Closest geographic peer to RIMEF with a parallel structure of donor-advised and competitive grantmaking that supports local K-12 and higher education.

Broad incumbents

• Quad Cities Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the broader Quad Cities region across Iowa and Illinois. Comparable to RIMEF in mission and donor-advised grantmaking, but with a much wider geographic and thematic scope including arts, health, and community development beyond education.
• NEA Foundation: National nonprofit affiliated with the National Education Association that awards grants to public school educators and supports student success programs. Mirrors RIMEF's teacher-grant and student-support focus at a national scale, with a much larger applicant pool and broader programmatic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rock-island-milan-education-foundation-23625022b

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation