Prairie School Foundation
The Prairie School Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1981 as Iowa's first public school foundation, raising supplemental funds for approximately 6,000 K-12 students in the College Community School District in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersCedar Rapids, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Prairie School Foundation does
The Prairie School Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation established in 1981 as the first public school foundation in Iowa. It serves the College Community School District in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, raising supplemental funds for approximately 6,000 K-12 students across schools in Linn, Benton, and Johnson Counties spanning 137 square miles. The foundation's mission is to provide financial enhancement to the school district above what the tax base supports, with funds distributed per-capita to school buildings based on certified enrollment. Governance rests with a volunteer Board of Trustees of up to 35 members, while day-to-day operations are run by a half-time Executive Director and a quarter-time Operations Manager.
The foundation operates an event-driven fundraising model built around signature events — Prairie Fest (net proceeds of $65,000+ in 2024 and $60,000+ in 2025), the Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge ($15,300 in 2025), and the Prairie Foundation Society Breakfast — supplemented by annual fund giving, a Families in Need Fund, Reading is Forever literacy grants, and over 12 named scholarships. Programs include the Kids Fund (unrestricted giving), the We Care Endowment Fund, and the newly launched Educators Rising fund-a-need initiative supporting career and technical education. Since 2007, the foundation has distributed more than $480,500 to schools. Major corporate sponsors include Cedar Rapids Toyota, Holmes Murphy & Associates, OPN Architects, T&K Roofing, and Hills Bank; 50+ employers participate in matching gift programs, and the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation administers endowed funds including the Darrell and Dorothy Fisher Scholarship Fund targeting a $1,000,000 corpus.
The technology stack is minimal: Bloomerang processes online donations, the foundation maintains a basic website and social media presence, and Amazon Smile is activated as a passive giving channel. There is no proprietary software, no internal development capacity, and no AI integration. Per-capita distribution is governed by building-level committees that propose projects funded on a per-student basis. The alumni network (1959–present) supports yearbook digitization, reunions, and ongoing donor engagement, forming the foundation's deepest long-term retention asset.
Prairie School Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Prairie School Foundation
- Legal name
- Prairie School Foundation
- Website
- https://prairiefoundation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Prairie School Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1981 as Iowa's first public school foundation, raising supplemental funds for approximately 6,000 K-12 students in the College Community School District in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Prairie School Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Nonprofit Fundraising
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
Keywords
Where Prairie School Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cedar Rapids
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Prairie School Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Annual Giving / Kids Fund: Annual unrestricted donations to the Prairie Kids Fund provide resources for educational opportunities not included in district budget. Donations accepted via cash, check, and online.
- Prairie Fest: Annual signature fundraising event featuring live/silent auctions, fund-a-need initiatives, corporate sponsorships, and ticket sales. Net proceeds over $60,000 in 2025.
- Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge: Annual golf tournament with registration fees, sponsorships, raffles, and contests. Generated over $15,300 in 2025.
- Matching Gifts: Employer matching gift programs where donors' employers double or triple charitable contributions. Includes over 50+ participating employers.
- Planned and Deferred Gifts: Bequests, life insurance beneficiary designations, endowments, gift annuities, and real estate gifts with retained life interest.
- Gifts of Stock: Appreciated stock transfers offering donors income tax deductions while avoiding capital gains taxes.
- Prairie Foundation Society Breakfast: Annual donor recognition event featuring philanthropy awards and keynote speakers, fostering major donor relationships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One-time | Prairie Fest ticket options |
| Other | One-time | Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge registration |
| Other | Annual | Prairie Foundation Society Breakfast |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Prairie School Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Prairie School Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises charitable contributions from individuals, alumni, parents, and local businesses and distributes the funds as supplemental grants to schools in the College Community School District. Its core activities include soliciting annual donations (Kids Fund), operating signature fundraising events (Prairie Fest, Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge, Society Breakfast), managing endowments and scholarships, and allocating approximately $50,000 per year to district schools on a per-capita student basis for classroom resources, technology, equipment, and programs not covered by the district budget.
Product overview
The Prairie School Foundation is a non-profit educational foundation (501(c)(3)) dedicated to enriching the lives of College Community School District students through fundraising, grant distribution, and alumni engagement. The foundation operates several core programs including the annual Kids Fund (unrestricted annual giving), Families in Need Fund (emergency student assistance), and Grants & Allocations program distributing $50,000 annually to schools based on enrollment. Annual signature events include Prairie Fest (largest fundraiser), Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge, and Prairie Foundation Society Breakfast. The foundation manages 12+ scholarships for graduating seniors and administers special funds including the We Care Endowment Fund and Reading is Forever Fund. Awards include the Pride of Prairie Award and Ying Ying Chen Educator IMPACT Award. The foundation connects with alumni through newsletters, yearbook digitization, and reunion coordination.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Distributed over $480,500 to schools since 2007
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Prairie School Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Prairie School Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Prairie School Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- Cedar Rapids ToyotamajorTitle sponsor of Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge for multiple years. Provided significant financial support for foundation fundraising events benefiting Prairie students.
- Holmes Murphy & AssociatesmajorTitle sponsor of Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge alongside Cedar Rapids Toyota. Active supporter of Prairie School Foundation fundraising initiatives.
- OPN ArchitectscorePrimary sponsor of Prairie Fest 2025 signature fundraising event. Recognized for corporate support of education initiatives.
- T&K Roofing and Sheet MetalcorePrimary sponsor of Prairie Fest; also received Philanthropy Award in 2024 for outstanding support.
- Hills BankcorePrimary sponsor of Prairie Fest 2025. Recognized for ongoing support of Prairie Schools.
- Saddleback Ridge Golf CourseminorGolf course venue in Solon, IA hosting the annual Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge. Links-style course open since 2000.
- The Ideal TheaterminorDinner venue for Class of 1976 50th reunion event hosted by foundation.
- 50+ Employers with Matching Gift ProgramsminorEmployers including Collins Aerospace, Pepsico, Transamerica, Alliant Energy, Microsoft, Toyota, and others that match employee donations to foundation.
- Daniel ChencorePartnership to facilitate the annual Educator IMPACT Award, providing $1,000 stipends to support educational projects by Prairie educators.
- Greater Cedar Rapids Community FoundationcoreAdministers the Darrell and Dorothy Fisher Scholarship Fund endowment (targeting $1,000,000). Foundation also established Reading is Forever Fund and other endowments through this partner.
- PearsonminorReceived 2019 Philanthropy Award for cumulative giving exceeding $21,000 to benefit Prairie Students and staff.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Prairie School Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- United Way of East Central Iowa: Regional nonprofit fundraising umbrella serving the same Cedar Rapids / East Central Iowa geography as Prairie School Foundation. Competes for the same community donor base and corporate sponsorship dollars, though it funds a broader set of causes.
- Lincoln Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Nebraska's capital region. Operates a similar donor-advised and grantmaking model for community improvement, including education, and shares comparable scale and structure with Prairie School Foundation.
- Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids: Local youth-development nonprofit serving the same Cedar Rapids community and competing for overlapping donor, corporate-sponsor, and volunteer pools. While focused on out-of-school programming rather than K-12 grants, it is a relevant regional peer for community fundraising.
Direct peers
- DonorsChoose: National crowdfunding platform that lets individuals fund K-12 classroom project requests from teachers. Directly comparable to the foundation's teacher-requested classroom funding model, with the key difference of national scale and online-only delivery.
- Education Foundation of Sarasota County: Nonprofit foundation supporting a defined public school district (Sarasota County Schools) through teacher grants, scholarships, and signature fundraising events. Operates with the same district-fund model and event-driven revenue mix as Prairie School Foundation.
- AdoptAClassroom: National nonprofit that channels donor funds directly to K-12 teachers for classroom supplies. Closely mirrors the foundation's teacher-focused funding model at greater geographic scale, competing for the same education-philanthropy dollars.
- Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation: Confirmed strategic partner that administers the Prairie School Foundation's Darrell and Dorothy Fisher Scholarship endowment. Operates as a regional community foundation with overlapping donor pool and grantmaking focus in Cedar Rapids, making it the closest functional peer.
- Omaha Public Schools Foundation: 501(c)(3) foundation that raises and distributes funds to support a single urban public school district (Omaha Public Schools). Structurally identical to Prairie School Foundation—district-scoped, event-driven fundraising, classroom grants, and scholarships—making it a direct structural peer.
Broad incumbents
- National Education Foundation: National nonprofit supporting K-12 and post-secondary education causes through grants and partnerships. Broader in geographic scope than Prairie School Foundation but overlaps in mission of supplementing public education funding gaps.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Prairie School Foundation social profiles
Digital presencePrairie School Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Prairie School Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Prairie School Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Prairie School Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Prairie School Foundation
What does Prairie School Foundation do?
Prairie School Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises charitable contributions from individuals, alumni, parents, and local businesses and distributes the funds as supplemental grants to schools in the College Community School District. Its core activities include soliciting annual donations (Kids Fund), operating signature fundraising events (Prairie Fest, Prairie Hawk Golf Challenge, Society Breakfast), managing endowments and scholarships, and allocating approximately $50,000 per year to district schools on a per-capita student basis for classroom resources, technology, equipment, and programs not covered by the district budget.
Is Prairie School Foundation a public or private company?
Prairie School Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Prairie School Foundation founded?
Prairie School Foundation was founded in 1981. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Prairie School Foundation based?
Prairie School Foundation is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, United States, in the North America region.
How does Prairie School Foundation make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Annual Giving / Kids Fund is the primary driver. The others are prairie Fest, prairie Hawk Golf Challenge, matching Gifts, planned and Deferred Gifts, gifts of Stock and prairie Foundation Society Breakfast.
Who are Prairie School Foundation's main competitors?
Regional players on record are United Way of East Central Iowa, Lincoln Community Foundation and Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids. Direct peers are DonorsChoose, Education Foundation of Sarasota County, AdoptAClassroom, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and Omaha Public Schools Foundation. National Education Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Prairie School Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Prairie School Foundation.
What industry is Prairie School Foundation in?
Prairie School Foundation's product category is Education Nonprofit Fundraising. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAB, K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8200.