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Nonprofits in Iowa

What the IRS records say about tax-exempt organizations in Iowa.

Tax-exempt organizations
30,195
Revenue in a year
$33.2 billion
on 8,638 e-filed returns
Assets
$79.1 billion
Employees
227,645
People paid $1 million or more
66
Typical top pay
$71,509
median, best-paid person per organization

Iowa rankings

Tax-exempt organizations
30,195
Of which 501(c)(3)
18,217
File the 990-N (receipts ≤ $50,000)
18,597
File Form 990 or 990-EZ
6,715
Filed a 990-N (latest e-Postcard on record)
23,046
Exemption automatically revoked (all years)
10,440

Largest nonprofits in Iowa by revenue

Top 5s in Iowa

From each organization's latest e-filed Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF.

Highest-paid people

Compensation from the organization and related organizations, including other pay

  1. 1Chong C Lee MDPhysician · Mercy Medical Center · CEDAR RAPIDS, IA$3.3M
  2. 2Scott Kizer Board SecretaryEx-Officio Member/CEO · Iowa Health System · WDM, IA$2.4M
  3. 3Himanshu Tandon MDPhysician · Iowa Physicians Clinic Medical Foundation · WDM, IA$2.3M
  4. 4Daniel Carpenter ChiefStrategy Officer SVP (To 07/24) · Iowa Health System · WDM, IA$2.2M
  5. 5Bhavik Patel MDPhysician · Iowa Physicians Clinic Medical Foundation · WDM, IA$2.2M
The full top 10 →

Most raised in gifts and grants

Contributions, gifts and grants received in the year

  1. 1State University of Iowa FoundationIOWA CITY, IA · 990, year ended Jun 2025$178.7M
  2. 2Iowa State University FoundationAMES, IA · 990, year ended Jun 2025$168.8M
  3. 3Iowa Physicians Clinic Medical FoundationWDM, IA · 990, year ended Dec 2024$151.9M
  4. 4ST Ambrose UniversityDAVENPORT, IA · 990, year ended Jun 2025$120.3M
  5. 5Community FDN of Greater Des MoinesDES MOINES, IA · 990, year ended Dec 2024$115.2M
The full top 10 →

Largest reserves

Net assets (fund balance) at year end

  1. 1The Trustees of Grinnell CollegeGRINNELL, IA · 990, year ended Jun 2025$3.1B
  2. 2State University of Iowa FoundationIOWA CITY, IA · 990, year ended Jun 2025$2.2B
  3. 3Iowa State University FoundationAMES, IA · 990, year ended Jun 2025$2.1B
  4. 4Iowa Farm Bureau FederationWDM, IA · 990, year ended Oct 2025$1.9B
  5. 5Central Iowa Hospital CorporationDES MOINES, IA · 990, year ended Dec 2024$1.5B
The full top 10 →

Biggest employers

Employees reported for the calendar year

  1. 1Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa CorpDES MOINES, IA · 990, year ended Jun 20257,996
  2. 2Central Iowa Hospital CorporationDES MOINES, IA · 990, year ended Dec 20247,849
  3. 3Mercy Health Services Iowa CorpSIOUX CITY, IA · 990, year ended Jun 20256,372
  4. 4Care InitiativesWDM, IA · 990, year ended Dec 20245,686
  5. 5Lifespace Communities IncWDM, IA · 990, year ended Dec 20245,163
The full top 10 →

By city

By category

Category (NTEE)Organizations
Education1,835
Recreation and sports1,675
Arts, culture and humanities1,302
Human services1,249
Community improvement and capacity building985
Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations975
Religion-related594
Health care490
Public safety, disaster preparedness and relief478
Public and societal benefit448
Youth development395
Animal-related338
Mutual and membership benefit328
Environment318
Housing and shelter292
Food, agriculture and nutrition288
Mental health and crisis intervention195
International, foreign affairs and national security147
Employment123
Crime and legal-related116
Voluntary health associations and medical disciplines94
Civil rights, social action and advocacy83
Unknown73
Medical research40
Science and technology37
Social science6