Non-profit Program

The Des Moines Arts Festival and Co-Sponsor Prairie Meadows team up to present the Prairie Meadows Non-Profit Program. This program allows non-profit organizations the opportunity to participate in the Festival and share their mission to thousands of guests free of charge. 

Don't miss learning more about these organizations and participating in the interactive arts activities they will offer!

Animal Rescue League of Iowa
Animal shelter whose mission is to promote animal welfare, to encourage and strengthen the human/animal bond, and to prevent the overpopulation of pets.
Arts Activity: Make cat, rabbit, and dog masks, and origami with various difficulty levels for kids.

Blank Park Zoo
Mission is to inspire an appreciation of the natural world through conservation, education and recreation.
Arts Activity: To introduce the new African colorful fish exhibit, kids can create a paper plate fish.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa
Mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those that need us the most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. 
Arts Activity: Create wind socks with patriotic themes in preparation for the 4th of July.

Catalyst Arts Academy
Provides a four-week intensive summer education in ballet, music and visual arts for student 10 to 18 years old.

Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
Celebrating its 30th season of presenting the performing arts to Iowa and the surrounding states. It is the presenter of major Broadway and educational touring companies, performers and groups, and is the performing home of many local and regional groups, including the Des Moines Symphony and StageWest.

Civic Music Association
Mission is to present, in Des Moines, a series of the highest quality international fine arts performances in a fiscally responsible manner.
Arts Activity: Decorate and assemble a take-home musical instrument (drum, chimes or other percussion instrument).

Des Moines Parks and Recreation
Provides clean, safe, fun, and beautiful parks, open spaces, recreational facilities, and professionally managed leisure activities.
Arts Activity: Create a Paper Fortune Teller with questions/answers on the inside and origami paper folding.

Des Moines Symphony Academy
A community music school offering quality instruction for people of all ages.  Mission is to provide fun, enriching, comprehensive and interactive music education experiences for students, teachers and other music lovers.
Arts Activity: Create a mini guitar from a paper cup and rubber bands while learning about sound by "tuning the stings." Or create an egg shaker filled with dry rice or beans.

The DownTown Church
A church of 20-somethings located in the East Village of Des Moines with a weekly service on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Desire is to manifest the love of Jesus in and through this city by building relationships, serving and meeting the needs of people in the Des Moines area.
Arts Activity: Make a paper chalkboard with your own unique picture.

Greater East Side Development
Mission is to bring together business leaders, schools, churches and neighborhood leaders to make the east side of Des Moines the best it can be.
Arts Activity: Plant a seed in a cup and decorate the cup.

Hospice of Central Iowa
Provides quality of life at the end of life through compassionate care for all individuals and their families.
Arts Activity: Create memory books and decorate with favorite memories.

Iowa Department of Public Safety
Provides public safety for all Iowans.
Arts Activity: Customize your own button. Also take pictures as the action figure cutouts of Commander Alex and Princess Kelsey.

Iowa Lions (Zones 3, 4, 5)
A service club whose primary mission is to serve the blind and to prevent blindness.
Arts Activity: Create hand puppets, refrigerator magnets, hanging mobiles.

Iowa Parks Foundation
Mission is to celebrate the history and beauty of our parks as we re-connect people with the natural environment and improve their health and quality of life through the parks.
Arts Activity: Create Paper mosaic interpretations of natural wonders and "Places of Quiet Beauty."

Living History Farms
Living History Farms tells the story of the changes in Midwestern rural and agricultural life.
Arts Activity: Make a farm animal button.

Make-A-Wish Foundation
Grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
Arts Activity: Construct a paper caterpillar and decorate.

Medicine for Mali
Primary mission is to furnish medical care and medicines for people in bush regions of Mali, West Africa.
Arts Activity: Make batik and tie-dyed pictures as done in Africa.

Mentor Iowa
Mission is to provide assistance to abused, neglected, and delinquent children who are under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court Services.
Arts Activity: Decorate a head bobber with a beach theme. And get a temporary tattoo.

Metro Arts Alliance
A membership-driven organization that works to connect the community and the arts through education programming, Jazz in July and Two Rivers Expo with the goal of making the arts accessible.
Arts Activity: Create colorful tissue paper flowers.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The North Central States Chapter (Iowa and North Dakota) serves 8,000 inviduals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and is moving toward a world free of MS.
Arts Activity: Decorate orange bandanas for the riders of Bike for Multiple Sclerosis.

Prevent Child Abuse Iowa
Fundamental mission is to end child abuse in the entire state of Iowa because we believe that child abuse is preventable.
Arts Activity: Create a pinwheel.

Ride for the Cure benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure raises funds and awareness for breast cancer and research with the goal that every woman (and man) has access to breast health services and to find a cure for breast cancer.
Arts Activity: Decorate a mini sprial notebook.

Science Center of Iowa
Committed to inspiring the youngest generation in the field of science.
Arts Activity: Create jewelry with Ultraviolet Detecting Beads emphasizing the importance of understanding the power of the sun's rays through stylish scientific jewelry.

Special Olympics Iowa
Provides year-round sports training and athletic competitions in a variety of Olympics-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other athletes and the community.
Arts Activity: Decorate award ribbons.

Swing Des Moines
Organization with an educational purpose of promoting and expanding the education and enjoyment of vintage swing dances in the central Iowa area.
Arts Activity: Experience America's folk dance by participating in dance lessons.