Pottawattamie County Community Foundation

What Pottawattamie County Community Foundation does

The Community Foundation for Western Iowa, legally known as the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) public charity established in 2008 with founding support from the Iowa West Foundation. Headquartered at 536 East Broadway, Council Bluffs, Iowa, the foundation manages 240 charitable funds, administered by a six-person professional team led by President & CEO Donna Dostal, and serves individual donors, families, and nonprofit organizations across nine western Iowa counties (Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby).

The foundation's core digital infrastructure is SHARE Iowa, a hyper-local philanthropic web platform (sharegoodiowa.org) modeled after the successful SHARE Omaha system. The platform serves as a digital giving marketplace connecting donors with 275+ nonprofit partners and supports financial giving, in-kind donations, and volunteer matching. The foundation also operates an Online Grants Center for nonprofit application management and a fundholder portal, and offers over 125 customizable charitable fund types including Donor Advised, Designated, Scholarship, Agency, and Field of Interest funds. Key initiatives include Community Impact Grants ($500-$5,000 range), the Women's Fund of Southwest Iowa (est. 2018), the biennial Impact for Women Summit, the Mental Health Fund, Henry K. Peterson Foundation grants for disability services, and the Five For The Future planned giving initiative.

The revenue model is a managed-services model: the foundation receives charitable donations, invests and administers endowment funds, and grants the funds to nonprofits. Donor services are provided at no cost. Revenue is supplemented by administrative fees on managed funds, and donor incentives include a 25% Endow Iowa state tax credit on qualified gifts and a 10% foundation match (up to $250,000 per fund) for new endowment creation. In 2025, the foundation received $3,706,035 in donations and awarded $4,577,091 in grants across 195 grants, bringing cumulative grants since 2007 to over $21 million.

Name

Pottawattamie County Community Foundation

Legal name

Community Foundation for Western Iowa

Website

https://givewesterniowa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation for Western Iowa is a 501(c)(3) public charity managing 240 charitable funds and operating the SHARE Iowa digital giving platform to connect donors with 275+ nonprofits across nine western Iowa counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Community philanthropy services
• Charitable fund management
• Grantmaking services
• Nonprofit endowment administration
• Regional giving platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Council Bluffs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Endowment Management: The foundation receives charitable donations from individuals, families, businesses, and organizations who establish permanent charitable funds. The foundation invests and administers these funds, with grants awarded to nonprofit organizations. Revenue comes from donations and administrative fees on managed funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation for Western Iowa is a 501(c)(3) public charity that manages charitable endowment funds, scholarship funds, and designated funds for individual donors, families, and businesses while awarding grants to nonprofit organizations across nine western Iowa counties. Its core services include personalized philanthropy planning, fund administration, and grantmaking through programs such as Community Impact Grants, the Women's Fund of Southwest Iowa, the Mental Health Fund, and the Henry K. Peterson Foundation grants. The foundation operates the SHARE Iowa digital platform connecting 275+ nonprofits with donors for financial giving, in-kind donations, and volunteer opportunities.

Product overview

The Community Foundation for Western Iowa operates as a unified platform offering philanthropic services centered around its SHARE Iowa digital giving platform. The portfolio includes charitable fund creation and management (with over 125 fund types), scholarship programs, grantmaking through Community Impact Grants and specialized funds (Women's Fund, Mental Health Fund, Henry K. Peterson Foundation), and signature events including the biennial IMPACT for Women Summit and annual Do Good Days volunteer recognition. Key digital touchpoints include the SHARE Iowa platform, an Online Grants Center, and a Fundholder Portal. The foundation also offers the Endow Iowa Tax Credit program providing 25% state tax credits and partners with the Iowa Council of Foundations on the Five For The Future planned giving initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SHARE Iowa: A hyper-local regional philanthropic web platform initiative of the Community Foundation for Western Iowa serving nine counties in western Iowa: Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby. Offers financial giving, in-kind donations, and volunteerism within communities.
• Women's Fund of Southwest Iowa
• Impact for Women Summit

Products and services

• SHARE Iowa Hyper-local digital philanthropic platform connecting Iowa residents with nonprofits through financial giving, in-kind donations, and volunteer opportunities, serving 275+ nonprofit partners across nine western Iowa counties.
• Endow Iowa Tax Credit Program State tax incentive program offering 25% Iowa tax credit on qualified gifts to permanent endowment funds at qualifying community foundations, layered on top of federal charitable deductions to maximize donor benefits.
• Community Impact Grants Grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 awarded to nonprofit organizations and governmental entities for innovative projects benefiting Pottawattamie County residents across Arts, Culture, Education, Health, Human Services, and Youth.
• Women's Fund of Southwest Iowa Endowed fund supporting programming to improve quality of life for women and families in southwest Iowa through grants focused on education, childcare, health/safety, and aging in place.
• Henry K. Peterson Foundation Grants Annual grants totaling approximately $10,000 to nonprofit organizations providing services to the disabled population of Southwest Iowa, administered through the Community Foundation.
• Five For The Future Iowa Council of Foundations initiative encouraging 5% asset investment in community causes to protect and grow intergenerational wealth in Iowa communities, supported through the Community Foundation for Western Iowa.

Quantifiable outcome

• $4,577,091 in grants awarded in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Iowa Council of FoundationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Community Foundation to support SHARE Iowa initiative and Five For the Future program.
• InoTekmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the SHARE Iowa Nonprofit Breakfast Series, supporting nonprofit capacity building events.
• Centris Federal Credit UnionmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Rise & Thrive mental health morning conversation event.
• Council Bluffs Area Chamber of CommercemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Rise & Thrive mental health event and ongoing community collaboration.
• Volunteer IowamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented at SHARE Iowa Nonprofit Breakfast Series on volunteer engagement strategies.
• Share GoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization whose successful SHARE Omaha model was adapted to create SHARE Iowa platform.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Blackbaud: Leading software provider for nonprofit fundraising, fund accounting, and grant management. Comparable as the enabling technology stack commonly used by community foundations for donor management and grantmaking operations.
• Council on Foundations: National membership association that issues the National Standards accreditation held by the foundation. Comparable as the industry body governing community foundation standards, training, and peer benchmarking.

Direct peers

• Omaha Community Foundation: A neighboring community foundation serving the Omaha metro area with a comparable model of donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and regional philanthropy. Highly relevant as a direct comparable in scale and structure for a western Iowa community foundation.
• Quad Cities Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving eastern Iowa and western Illinois with similar fund management, competitive grants, and donor services. Provides a useful peer benchmark for mid-sized Iowa community foundations.
• Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines: Iowa's largest community foundation, operating donor-advised funds, competitive grants, and scholarship programs statewide. Comparable in mission and structure though larger in scale and geographic reach.
• SHARE Omaha: The original SHARE platform whose model was explicitly adapted to create SHARE Iowa. Operates a near-identical hyper-local digital giving marketplace connecting donors with nonprofits across the Omaha metro, making it the closest platform peer.

Broad incumbents

• Iowa West Foundation: Founding partner of the Community Foundation for Western Iowa and a much larger regional foundation with overlapping southwestern Iowa grantmaking priorities. Comparable as a regional funder though structurally larger and grantmaking-focused rather than donor-services-focused.
• Schwab Charitable: Major national donor-advised fund sponsor competing with community foundations for charitable assets. Comparable because of overlap in donor-advised fund offering and shared target donor demographics.
• Fidelity Charitable: The largest U.S. sponsor of donor-advised funds, offering a national alternative to community foundation DAFs. Comparable because donors choose between local community foundations and national DAF sponsors when establishing endowed giving vehicles.
• National Philanthropic Trust: One of the largest independent DAF sponsors in the U.S., providing an alternative endowed-giving vehicle for high-net-worth donors. Comparable as a national-scale DAF competitor to community foundations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1NS6k5lZ5NVs5ZE5ldIoCw
• Facebookfacebook.com/GiveWesternIowa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/givewesterniowa
• Instagraminstagram.com/givewesterniowa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Pottawattamie County Community Foundation