Largest private foundations in Iowa
| # | Foundation | City | Focus area | Total assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa West Foundation | Council Blfs | Not listed | $495.7 million |
| 2 | Roy J Carver Charitable Tr | Muscatine | Not listed | $241.5 million |
| 3 | Principal Financial Group Foundation Inc | Des Moines | Not listed | $204.1 million |
| 4 | Transamerica Foundation | Cedar Rapids | Not listed | $172.1 million |
| 5 | Hall-Perrine Foundation | Cedar Rapids | Not listed | $143.8 million |
| 6 | Charles E Lakin Foundation Inc | Council Blfs | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $129.5 million |
| 7 | Kyle J And Sharon Krause Family Foundation | Des Moines | International, Foreign Affairs & National Security | $121.5 million |
| 8 | Future Cryonics Foundation | Cedar Rapids | Medical Research | $101.0 million |
| 9 | John Ruan Foundation Trust | Urbandale | Not listed | $100.2 million |
| 10 | Seidler Foundation | Des Moines | Not listed | $88.0 million |
| 11 | Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation | Des Moines | Not listed | $85.5 million |
| 12 | The Wallace Research Foundation | Cedar Rapids | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $84.2 million |
| 13 | The Wellmark Foundation | Des Moines | Not listed | $79.8 million |
| 14 | Otto Schoitz Foundation | Waterloo | Health Care | $74.4 million |
| 15 | Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation Inc | Ottumwa | Health Care | $73.8 million |
| 16 | Richard O Jacobson Foundation Inc | Des Moines | Not listed | $69.2 million |
| 17 | Gerdin Charitable Foundation | North Liberty | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $64.0 million |
| 18 | Thomas And Linda Koehn Foundation | Des Moines | Not listed | $63.1 million |
| 19 | Sehgal Foundation | Des Moines | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $57.1 million |
| 20 | Max And Helen Guernsey Charitable Foundation | Cedar Falls | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $49.9 million |
| 21 | Better Health Foundation | Davenport | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $49.6 million |
| 22 | Marie H Bechtel Charitable Trust | Davenport | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $48.4 million |
| 23 | Harold R Bechtel Charitable Tr | Davenport | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $48.2 million |
| 24 | John K And Luise V Hanson Foundation | Forest City | Not listed | $43.5 million |
| 25 | Telligen Community Initiative | West Des Moines | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $41.4 million |
The full list includes all 1,141 Iowa foundations with street address, ZIP, EIN, focus area, income and tax period, plus every other state.
Iowa cities with the most private foundations
- Des Moines: 79
- Cedar Rapids: 48
- Sioux City: 38
- Dubuque: 34
- Wdm: 34
- Burlington: 33
- Davenport: 30
- Urbandale: 28
- Ankeny: 26
- Pella: 22
Most common focus areas in Iowa
- Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations: 447
- Education: 127
- Human Services: 41
- Recreation & Sports: 41
- Arts, Culture & Humanities: 30
- Religion-Related: 18
- Community Improvement & Capacity Building: 18
- Youth Development: 10
Where does this data come from?
The IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, downloaded in October 2026 and filtered to private foundations. Assets are as reported on each foundation's latest return on file. Foundations with no focus area code are shown as Not listed.