Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, IA Downtown Rotary

What Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, IA Downtown Rotary does

The Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, IA Downtown Rotary is a local chapter of Rotary International, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit civic service organization, chartered in 1914. Operating as Club 2185 within Rotary District 5970, it serves members in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metropolitan area and is described as one of the top 25 largest Rotary clubs in the United States by membership. Its core "product" is structured civic engagement: weekly in-person member meetings, community fundraising, youth development programs, and international service projects delivered under Rotary International's "Service Above Self" framework.

The club's business model is a member-dues-plus-event-fundraising hybrid. Members pay $600 in annual dues, and the club supplements this with signature fundraising events — most notably Grand Impact, which has drawn approximately $100,000 in donations from about 50 participating local businesses. Revenue mechanics therefore rely on (1) a broad individual membership base and (2) distributed corporate giving tied to a flagship annual event. Customer segments are local business leaders, professionals, and civic participants in the Cedar Rapids metro, with no indication of enterprise-scale anchors or single concentrated donors.

Programmatically, the club runs weekly meetings, the Grand Impact event, youth development programming, and two documented international initiatives: the Tanzania Clean Water Project, executed in partnership with First Lutheran Church, and the Liberia Food Farming Project. Governance is supported by a formal leadership succession plan, and the club received Rotary International's "Service Above Self" Award in 2021, evidencing third-party validation of its operational standards. The underlying "platform" is Rotary International's global service framework, which provides brand, governance, and grant infrastructure but does not involve proprietary technology.

Name

Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, IA Downtown Rotary

Legal name

Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids

Website

https://rotaryclubofcedarrapids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1914

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids Downtown is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit Rotary International chapter (Club 2185, District 5970), chartered in 1914, serving Cedar Rapids, Iowa through weekly meetings, the Grand Impact fundraising event, youth programs, and international service projects in Tanzania and Liberia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Service Club

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Adult/Public Speaking Clubs & Community Organizations (EDAMAOAI)

Keywords

• Community service club
• Membership organization
• Charitable fundraising
• Professional networking
• Humanitarian service

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues of $600 invoiced in July, with pro-rated amounts for new members based on acceptance month. Includes a $100 initiation fee and suggested $100 initial Rotary Foundation contribution for Paul Harris Fellows balance. Additional $15 credit card surcharge applies.
2. Grand Impact Event: Annual fundraising luncheon where 50 participating businesses each pledge $2,000 donations, resulting in $100,000 awarded to a winning nonprofit. Public attendance with plated lunch available for purchase at $50 per person.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids Downtown Rotary is a nonprofit civic service organization (501(c)(4), Club 2185, District 5970) chartered in 1914. It sells annual memberships to business and professional leaders in the Cedar Rapids metro area, who pay $600 in annual dues plus a $100 initiation fee. Members participate in weekly Monday meetings, community service projects, international humanitarian initiatives, youth leadership programs, and recognition awards, while the club also produces the annual Grand Impact event that channels $100,000 from 50 local businesses to a winning nonprofit.

Product overview

The Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids is a nonprofit service organization (Club 2185, District 5970) chartered in 1914, making it Iowa's fourth oldest Rotary club. Rather than a traditional product-based company, the club offers a portfolio of service programs and community initiatives. The core offerings include the annual Grand Impact Event (a $100,000 collective donation to a nonprofit), regular Monday meetings with guest speakers, international service projects (Liberia Food Farming Project, Tanzania Clean Water Project), youth programs (Interact Club, Service Above Self Awards, RotaryActive career mentoring), and recognition awards (Community Service Award, Club Appreciation Awards, Larry Christy Club Service Award, Paul Harris Fellow recognition). The club also hosts social events including Siren Wednesday gatherings and First Friday Lunches. The organization uses the ClubRunner membership management platform for its operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grand Impact: Annual event where the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids and 50 leading businesses make a $100,000 donation toward a nonprofit's visionary project. The event allows nonprofits to pitch their signature projects, with the winning nonprofit receiving $100,000 from collective business donations.

Products and services

• Grand Impact Event Annual signature fundraising luncheon where the Rotary Club and 50 leading Cedar Rapids businesses collectively donate $100,000 to one selected nonprofit's visionary project. Three finalist nonprofits pitch at the event.
• Annual Membership Annual membership in the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids for business and professional leaders in the Cedar Rapids metro area. Includes access to weekly Monday meetings, networking, service projects, and the international Rotary network. Dues of $600 annually plus a $100 initiation fee.
• Weekly Monday Meetings Regular club meetings held Mondays at 12:00 pm at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids, featuring guest speakers on community, business, and charitable topics. Hybrid in-person and online attendance available.
• International Service Projects

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Grand Impact FounderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Five local business leaders created the Grand Impact concept in 2021: Lura McBride (Van Meter), James Klien (Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust), Beth Malicki (KCRG-TV9), Jason Smith (TrueNorth Companies), and David Sorg (OPN Architects). The Downtown Rotary Club now produces the annual event.
• First Lutheran ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with First Lutheran Church who first identified and funded the Clean Water Project for Same, Tanzania. The Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids joined to complete the approximately $37,000 well project for a community of 26,000 residents with inadequate water supply.
• 50 Leading Businesses (Grand Impact)coreGTM or Marketing Partner50 leading Cedar Rapids area businesses participate in the annual Grand Impact event, each pledging a $2,000 donation. These businesses vote for the winning nonprofit pitch, collectively awarding $100,000 to the selected organization.
• ClubRunnercoreTechnology or IntegrationClubRunner provides the membership management software platform powering the club's website, member database, email communications, event management, attendance tracking, and mobile app functionality.
• Rotary InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe club is part of Rotary International, a global organization with 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs across 200 countries. The club operates within District 5970 (Club No. 2185) and supports Rotary's international initiatives including polio eradication.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lions Clubs International: The world's largest service club organization with a comparable model of local chapters, weekly meetings, dues-based membership, and signature community/ humanitarian projects. Direct competitor for civic-minded professional members.
• Kiwanis International: A larger, longer-established civic service organization with overlapping membership target (business and professional leaders) and similar weekly meeting + community service model. Operates a global network but is broader and older than Rotary.

Regional players

• Cedar Rapids Community Foundation: Local grant-making foundation in the same Cedar Rapids market, channeling philanthropic capital to area nonprofits including some that compete for Grand Impact-style funding. Operates in the same donor and nonprofit ecosystem.
• United Way of East Central Iowa: Regional nonprofit umbrella organization serving the same Cedar Rapids geography, coordinating workplace giving campaigns and distributing funds to local nonprofits. Competes for corporate and individual charitable dollars.

Direct peers

• Rotary Club of Des Moines: A large Iowa-based Rotary club sharing the same state Rotary ecosystem, comparable membership model, and community-service orientation. Same regional operating geography and similar member profile of business and professional leaders.
• Rotary Club of Indianapolis: Major Midwestern Rotary club operating a similar model of weekly meetings, signature charitable projects, and youth programs. Comparable scale among top-tier US Rotary clubs with established grant-making activities.
• Rotary Club of Minneapolis: Another major Midwestern Rotary club with similar size profile, member composition of business and civic leaders, and program mix of signature fundraising events, youth recognition, and international projects.
• Rotary Club of Chicago: One of the largest and most prominent Rotary clubs in the United States, also a 501(c)(4) civic service organization with similar weekly meeting format, dues structure, and signature fundraising events. Operates as a direct peer in scale and program breadth within the Rotary network.

Emerging players

• Matthew 25 (Cultivate Hope): Cedar Rapids nonprofit and 2022 Grand Impact award winner that used its $100,000 grant to eliminate a food desert. Operates in the same local nonprofit ecosystem and represents the type of focused cause-specific organization that may pull civic engagement away from Rotary.

Others

• Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation Endowment Funds: Local donor-advised and endowment fund vehicles in the same Cedar Rapids market that compete for the same charitable dollars from local business leaders who might otherwise fund Rotary's projects and Grand Impact event.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCPj6Iez2kG9snh-Aueq1v0g
• Facebookfacebook.com/RotaryCR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cedar-rapids-downtown-rotary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, IA Downtown Rotary