About Bravo Greater Des Moines
Investing in arts & culture is investing in the community. Building relationships and encouraging collaboration.
Focus Areas
Arts & culturePublic artYouth arts accessCultural organization operating supportCommunity arts programming
Who They Fund
arts and cultural organizationspublic art projects/commissionscultural institutions seeking capital improvements
Funding Style
operating supportcapital project fundinggeneral/unrestricted fundingprogram/project-specific funding
About Bravo Greater Des Moines
Bravo Greater Des Moines Inc uses its grantmaking to support arts and culture across Greater Des Moines, with recurring emphasis on operating support, capital projects, public art, and youth arts access. The largest recent awards in the data include $510,000 to the Des Moines Art Center for operating and capital project support and $500,000 to Des Moines Performing Arts for operating support, showing a pattern of backing established cultural institutions at significant scale. Other large grants go to the Science Center of Iowa, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, each through combinations of general funding, operating grants, and capital support. The foundation’s program portfolio also includes Passport to Culture, the Local Arts & Culture Program Grant, the Capital Project Grant, the Bravo / ICON Public Art Grant, and the Public Art Grant, which together point to a grantmaker that funds both organizational infrastructure and public-facing cultural experiences. Across the recent grants list, recipients include museums, performing arts groups, gardens, theaters, and public art efforts located in the Des Moines area.
What Bravo Greater Des Moines Funds
Arts organization support is a clear part of the foundation’s work. The Des Moines Symphony Association received $232,000 in 2025 for an operating grant, after earlier general funding and capital project support, and Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation received $205,500 in 2025 for operating support. Capital projects are another recurring use of funds. The Des Moines Art Center received $510,000 in 2025 for operating and capital project support, while Salisbury House Foundation received $159,750 in 2025 for operating and capital project support. Youth arts access appears through Passport to Culture, which funds student experiences in and out of the classroom. Community arts programming also appears in the Local Arts & Culture Program Grant, which supports arts and culture programming delivered by organizations across the Bravo service area.
How Bravo Greater Des Moines Gives
The listed typical grant size is $13,675 at the 25th percentile, $30,000 at the median, and $95,300 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards range from modest program grants to seven-figure totals spread across multiple years, and several organizations recur in the recent-grants table, including the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines Performing Arts, Science Center of Iowa, Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation, and Blank Park Zoo Foundation Inc. The foundation makes grants rather than program-related investments and does not fund individuals. Active grant programs include operating, capital, public art, and youth-access grants, and at least several of those programs accept unsolicited requests.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$5.2M
Total Assets
$8M
Total Revenue
$7.6M
Total Expenses
$6.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $14K and $95K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$14K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$95K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
About 100% of grants go to recipients in IA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
SALLY DIX
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