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Iowa State Fair Foundation

Dba Blue Ribbon Foundation

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Category: Recreation, Sports, Leisure, Athletics / Fairs, County and Other (NTEE)

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$5.32M (2023)

Expenses
$6.48M (2023)

Total Assets
$22.7M (2023)

Total Liabilities
$7.14M (2023)

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2023

Tax Filings by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2023

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$5,319,602
Expenses
$6,481,287
Net Income
-$1,161,685
Net Assets
$15,538,443
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $3,831,131
72.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $870,389
16.4%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $618,082
11.6%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $386,096
6.0%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $246,911
3.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $22,677,711
Total Liabilities $7,139,268
Net Assets $15,538,443
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Peter Cownie (Executive Director) $219,172 $0 $44,880
Robin Taylor (Assistant Director) $86,853 $0 $31,162
Jo Reynolds (Director) $0 $0 $0
Tennie Carlson (Director) $0 $0 $0
Darwin Gaudian (President) $0 $0 $0
Alan Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Mc Connel (Director) $0 $0 $0
Curtis Claeys (Vice President) $0 $0 $0
John Harms (Director) $0 $0 $0
Deb Zumbach (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Randy Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Ver Don Schmidt (Director) $0 $0 $0
Cw Thomas (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Van Aernam (Director) $0 $0 $0
Kim Reynolds (Governor) $0 $0 $0
Michael Naig (Secretary Of Agriculture) $0 $0 $0
Wendy Wintersteen (President Of Iowa State University) $0 $0 $0
Jeremy Parson (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$13,279,780
Expenses
$6,055,861
Net Income
$7,223,919
Net Assets
$16,700,128
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $11,915,712
89.7%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $721,678
5.4%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $642,390
4.8%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $284,368
4.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $321,204
5.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $20,880,199
Total Liabilities $4,180,071
Net Assets $16,700,128
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Peter Cownie (Executive Director) $203,218 $0 $40,354
Robin Taylor (Assistant Director) $81,151 $0 $27,760
Dave Hoffman (Director) $0 $0 $0
Tennie Carlson (President) $0 $0 $0
Darwin Gaudian (Vice President) $0 $0 $0
Alan Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Mc Connel (Director) $0 $0 $0
Curtis Claeys (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
John Harms (Director) $0 $0 $0
Deb Zumbach (Director) $0 $0 $0
Randy Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Parkin (Director) $0 $0 $0
Cw Thomas (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Van Aernam (Director) $0 $0 $0
Kim Reynolds (Governor) $0 $0 $0
Michael Naig (Secretary Of Agriculture) $0 $0 $0
Wendy Wintersteen (President Of Iowa State University) $0 $0 $0
Gary Slater (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$3,626,337
Expenses
$5,608,672
Net Income
-$1,982,335
Net Assets
$9,476,209
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $2,490,358
68.7%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $39,987
1.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $686,400
18.9%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $409,592
11.3%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $190,933
3.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $158,823
2.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $11,154,654
Total Liabilities $1,678,445
Net Assets $9,476,209
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Peter Cownie (Executive Director) $190,933 $0 $39,382
Robin Taylor (Assistant Director) $75,796 $0 $27,100
Dave Hoffman (Director) $0 $0 $0
Tennie Carlson (President) $0 $0 $0
Darwin Gaudian (Vice President) $0 $0 $0
Alan Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Mc Connel (Director) $0 $0 $0
Curtis Claeys (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
John Harms (Director) $0 $0 $0
Deb Zumbach (Director) $0 $0 $0
Randy Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Parkin (Director) $0 $0 $0
Cw Thomas (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Van Aernam (Director) $0 $0 $0
Kim Reynolds (Governor) $0 $0 $0
Michael Naig (Secretary Of Agriculture) $0 $0 $0
Wendy Wintersteen (President Of Iowa State University) $0 $0 $0
Gary Slater (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,403,117
Expenses
$12,885,182
Net Income
-$4,482,065
Net Assets
$9,355,885
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,179,591
97.3%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $12,754
0.2%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $82,314
1.0%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $128,458
1.5%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $186,204
1.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $271,744
2.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $11,002,682
Total Liabilities $1,646,797
Net Assets $9,355,885
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Peter Cownie (Executive Director) $170,137 $0 $0
Dave Hoffman (President) $0 $0 $0
Tennie Carlson (Vice President) $0 $0 $0
Darwin Gaudian (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Alan Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Mc Connel (Director) $0 $0 $0
Curtis Claeys (Director) $0 $0 $0
John Harms (Director) $0 $0 $0
Deb Zumbach (Director) $0 $0 $0
Randy Brown (Director) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Parkin (Director) $0 $0 $0
Cw Thomas (Director) $0 $0 $0
Gary Van Aernam (Director) $0 $0 $0
Kim Reynolds (Governor) $0 $0 $0
Michael Naig (Secretary Of Agriculture) $0 $0 $0
Wendy Wintersteen (President Of Iowa State University) $0 $0 $0
Gary Slater (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,765,775
Expenses
$8,666,927
Net Income
$2,098,848
Net Assets
$13,837,950
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $9,726,903
90.4%
Program Services $0
Investment Income -$44,398
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $483,262
4.5%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $600,008
5.6%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $164,450
1.9%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $14,492,656
Total Liabilities $654,706
Net Assets $13,837,950

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2018

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$13,796,011
Expenses
$7,705,608
Net Income
$6,090,403
Net Assets
$7,843,812
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $12,659,864
91.8%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $46,130
0.3%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $494,532
3.6%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $595,485
4.3%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $133,792
1.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $338,324
4.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $14,868,276
Total Liabilities $7,024,464
Net Assets $7,843,812

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$6,563,913
Expenses
$7,645,545
Net Income
-$1,081,632
Net Assets
$1,753,410
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $5,467,596
83.3%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $26,797
0.4%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $504,826
7.7%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $564,694
8.6%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $122,901
1.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $243,844
3.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $3,613,587
Total Liabilities $1,860,177
Net Assets $1,753,410

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2016

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$6,374,782
Expenses
$7,022,183
Net Income
-$647,401
Net Assets
$2,835,042
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $5,128,869
80.5%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $19,701
0.3%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $645,673
10.1%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $580,539
9.1%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $117,687
1.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $405,081
5.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $7,064,968
Total Liabilities $4,229,926
Net Assets $2,835,042

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,596,906
Expenses
$6,383,667
Net Income
$1,213,239
Net Assets
$3,482,443
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $6,606,114
87.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $8,292
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $433,762
5.7%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $548,738
7.2%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $161,211
2.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $337,946
5.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $8,488,687
Total Liabilities $5,006,244
Net Assets $3,482,443

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$5,137,119
Expenses
$5,107,450
Net Income
$29,669
Net Assets
$2,269,204
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $4,347,911
84.6%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $6,450
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $394,134
7.7%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $388,624
7.6%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $126,803
2.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $418,186
8.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,260,186
Total Liabilities $1,990,982
Net Assets $2,269,204

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$4,701,231
Expenses
$4,458,081
Net Income
$243,150
Net Assets
$2,239,535
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $3,665,059
78.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $5,971
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $383,582
8.2%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $646,619
13.8%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $220,458
4.9%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $342,333
7.7%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $3,576,756
Total Liabilities $1,337,221
Net Assets $2,239,535

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2012

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$4,232,909
Expenses
$3,286,108
Net Income
$946,801
Net Assets
$2,268,262
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $3,671,837
86.7%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $21,251
0.5%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $320,563
7.6%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $219,258
5.2%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $169,677
5.2%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $202,005
6.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,031,291
Total Liabilities $1,763,029
Net Assets $2,268,262

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2011

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$2,447,051
Expenses
$2,767,159
Net Income
-$320,108
Net Assets
$1,321,461
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,903,047
77.8%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $4,211
0.2%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $245,922
10.0%
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $293,871
12.0%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $198,591
7.2%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $120,011
4.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $5,149,057
Total Liabilities $3,827,596
Net Assets $1,321,461

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2010

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2010

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2009

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2008

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2007

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2006

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2005

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2004

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2003

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2002

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Oct.
2001

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

About This Data

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Which Organizations Are Here?

Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

Get the Data

For those interested in acquiring the original data from the source, here’s where our data comes from:

  • Raw filing data. Includes EINs and summary financials as structured data.
  • Exempt Organization profiles. Includes organization names, addresses, etc. You can merge this with the raw filing data using EIN numbers.
  • Form 990 documents. Prior to 2017, these documents were obtained and processed by Public.Resource.org and ProPublica. Bulk PDF downloads since 2017 are available from the IRS.
  • Form 990 documents as XML files. Includes complete filing data (financial details, names of officers, tax schedules, etc.) in machine-readable format. Only available for electronically filed documents. Electronic data released prior to October 2021 is also available through Amazon Web Services.
  • Audits. PDFs of single or program-specific audits for nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year. Available for fiscal year 2015 and later.

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