What Philanthropic Educational Organization does

P.E.O. International (Philanthropic Educational Organization) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization headquartered at 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa, founded on January 21, 1869, by seven students at Iowa Wesleyan College. The organization operates through a three-tiered chapter governance model (local, state/provincial/district, and International Chapter) supported by a professional Executive Office, and delivers six educational philanthropies: the Educational Loan Fund (established 1907), the International Peace Scholarship Fund (established 1949, up to $12,500 for international women graduate students), the Program for Continuing Education (established 1973, up to $4,000), the Scholar Awards (established 1991), the STAR Scholarship (established 2009, $2,500 for high school seniors), and Cottey College — a wholly-owned women's liberal arts college in Nevada, Missouri, gifted to P.E.O. in 1927.

The organization's technology footprint is light: a member portal (peo-portal.com), a content publication (The P.E.O. Record, est. 1889, available in print and digital via FlippingBook), and standard digital resources for scholarship applications. There is no proprietary AI/ML or platform technology disclosed. The P.E.O. Foundation, established in 1961, holds over $155 million in assets across more than 1,700 permanently endowed funds and distributed over $2.9 million in 2025.

P.E.O.'s business model is a community-led, member-supported nonprofit with no commercial revenue in the conventional sense. Funding flows from member dues, donations, gifts, bequests, and the returns on Foundation endowment assets. The organization serves nearly 200,000 members and has assisted more than 129,000 women with approximately $462 million in cumulative educational assistance as of July 2025. Members are recruited via personal invitation and chapter sponsorship, and the geographic footprint is limited to the United States and Canada, with beneficiary reach extended internationally via the International Peace Scholarship Fund.

Name

Philanthropic Educational Organization

Legal name

P.E.O. International

Website

https://peointernational.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1869

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

P.E.O. International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization founded in 1869 that supports women's education through six scholarship, grant, and loan programs. It serves nearly 200,000 members across the United States and Canada and owns Cottey College.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Women's educational philanthropy
• Scholarships and grants
• Membership sisterhood
• Educational loan fund
• Nonprofit foundation giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues and Contributions: P.E.O. generates revenue through member contributions and donations. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the P.E.O. Foundation facilitating tax-deductible donations. The Foundation has grown to over $155 million in assets from donations, gifts, and bequests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization that provides financial assistance for women's education through six philanthropic projects (Educational Loan Fund, International Peace Scholarship Fund, Program for Continuing Education, Scholar Awards, STAR Scholarship, and Cottey College) and operates the P.E.O. Foundation for tax-deductible contributions. The organization also owns and supports Cottey College, a women's liberal arts college in Nevada, Missouri.

Product overview

P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) is a nonprofit women's organization offering a portfolio of six educational philanthropies and supporting infrastructure. The core offerings include the Educational Loan Fund, International Peace Scholarship Fund, Program for Continuing Education, Scholar Awards, STAR Scholarship, and Cottey College. The organization also operates the P.E.O. Foundation which manages over 1,700 permanently endowed funds with assets exceeding $155 million. Additional services include The P.E.O. Record publication, Convention of International Chapter (biennial), LEAD Conference (annual), P.E.O. Travel Program (partnered with AHI Travel), and Walk Today for Women Tomorrow events. The organization has helped more than 129,000 women pursue educational goals with approximately $462 million in educational assistance provided. The portfolio operates through a member portal system and serves nearly 200,000 members across the United States and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund Provides educational loans to women pursuing post-secondary education in the U.S. or Canada.
• P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship Fund Provides scholarships up to $12,500 for women from other countries pursuing graduate study in the U.S. or Canada.
• P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education Provides need-based grants up to $4,000 for women in the U.S. and Canada whose education has been interrupted and who need to return to school to complete a degree or certification.
• P.E.O. Scholar Awards Provides awards to women pursuing advanced degrees at accredited colleges and universities.
• P.E.O. STAR Scholarship Provides one-time $2,500 scholarships for exceptional women in their final year of high school to attend accredited postsecondary institutions in the U.S. or Canada.
• Cottey College A nationally ranked, fully accredited, independent liberal arts and sciences college for women located in Nevada, Missouri, owned and supported by P.E.O.
• P.E.O. Foundation A nonprofit corporation fostering tax-deductible contributions to P.E.O. educational projects, holding over 1,700 permanently endowed funds with assets exceeding $155 million.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 129,000 women helped pursue educational goals
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AHI TravelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerP.E.O. partners with AHI Travel to offer the P.E.O. Travel Program, providing thoughtfully curated journeys designed especially for members and their guests. AHI Travel is described as a trusted leader in educational and cultural travel, offering destinations that come alive through history, art, architecture, food, wine and local culture.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Soroptimist International of the Americas: Soroptimist provides the Live Your Dream Award and other educational grants for women, operates through local clubs, and shares P.E.O.'s model of community-led fundraising that is redistributed through women-focused scholarships and grants.
• American Association of University Women (AAUW): AAUW is a direct peer: a U.S.-based nonprofit that provides scholarships, grants, and fellowships specifically to women pursuing higher education, mirroring P.E.O.'s six educational projects. Both organizations have a century-plus history and rely on member contributions to fund their philanthropy.
• Altrusa International: Altrusa is a service organization of volunteer clubs that supports education and literacy through grants and scholarships, with local chapters across the U.S. and internationally. Its chapter-based, community-led model and women-focused educational philanthropy closely mirror P.E.O.'s structure.
• Zonta International: Zonta is a global service organization of professionals that awards scholarships and fellowships to women, particularly through the Amelia Earhart Fellowship and Young Women in Public Affairs awards. It is structurally similar to P.E.O. in combining local chapters with international grantmaking for women.
• General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC): GFWC is a federation of women's volunteer clubs that funds scholarships and community grants through local chapters. Like P.E.O., it operates on a community-based chapter structure, has over a century of history, and channels member contributions into educational and charitable programs.
• National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA): NSCDA is a heritage-based women's nonprofit that operates a national scholarship program for students in nursing, medicine, and related fields. It shares P.E.O.'s model of a women's volunteer membership organization aggregating donations into educational awards.
• Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR): DAR is a lineage-based women's service organization that awards multiple scholarship programs to students. It mirrors P.E.O.'s structure of a volunteer membership sisterhood dispersed across local chapters that funds educational philanthropy through contributions and an endowment.

Emerging players

• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation awards large merit- and need-based scholarships to high-achieving students with financial need, including a Young Scholars Program. It competes with P.E.O. for the same educational-support beneficiary pool but operates with much larger per-award amounts and a narrower age range.
• QuestBridge: QuestBridge connects high-achieving low-income students with full scholarships at top colleges, including a dedicated program for women in STEM. It competes with P.E.O. for high-achieving female scholarship candidates but uses a digital matching model rather than a chapter-based membership structure.
• United Negro College Fund (UNCF): UNCF administers scholarship funds and supports member institutions serving minority students. It is comparable to P.E.O. as a scholarship-administering nonprofit, but focuses on a different demographic and a different set of higher-education institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/peointernational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peo-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Philanthropic Educational Organization