Heartland Charitable Trust

Public charity · Grantmaker Dubuque, IA EIN: 42-6549922

Heartland Charitable Trust is a public charity based in Dubuque, Iowa. Formed in 1996, it operates as a donor-advised fund, gathering contributions and holding them until they are disbursed to charitable organizations.

Heartland Charitable Trust at a glance

In short: Heartland Charitable Trust gave $791K across 29 grants in 2023 (avg $27K), mostly in Iowa. 34% of 2023 grantees were new. Source: 2023 IRS Form 990.

Annual giving (2023)
$791,214
+40.0% vs 2022
Grants made (2023)
29
+38.1% vs 2022
Average grant
$27,283
+1.4% vs 2022
Median grant
$10,000
Total assets
$7,723,659
-4.2% vs 2022
New grantees (estimate)
34% first-time grantees (10 of 29, 2023)
Primary geography
Iowa (59% of itemized 2023 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2023 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990, 2023; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Heartland Charitable Trust

Contact

Mailing address: PO Box 747, Dubuque, IA 52004-0747
Phone: (563) 589-2133

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Heartland Charitable Trust funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2023

Greater Kansas City Community Foundation: $138KGreater Kansas City CommunityFoundation$138KDubuque Museum of Art: $135KDubuque Museum of Art$135KFriends of the Cottage Grove Public Library: $87KFriends of the Cottage GrovePublic Library$87KEast Dubuque District Library Foundation: $50KEast Dubuque District LibraryFoundation$50KLoras College: $43KLoras College$43KFriends of St Mary's Steeple Square: $34KFriends of St Mary's SteepleSquare$34KNational Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium: $34KNational Mississippi RiverMuseum and Aquarium$34KResources Unite: $29KResources Unite$29KSt Columbkille's Church: $26KSt Columbkille's Church$26KDubuque Humane Society: $25KDubuque Humane Society$25K

The largest 2023 recipient was Greater Kansas City Community Foundation ($138K). Together the top 10 received $602K.

Grant Size Distribution

263 grants across all recorded years

246<$50K12$50–100K5$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 246 grants of 263 (94%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The 2021 recipients listed include organizations in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Texas. Examples include the Dubuque Museum of Art and Finley Health Foundation Inc. in Iowa, Marquette University in Wisconsin, and Helping Hands Medical Missions Inc. in Texas.

Grant Distribution by State

24states

Share of 2023 grant dollars across all 29 itemized grants.

Cities

DubuqueKeokukDes MoinesKansas CityWashingtonEaganEast DubuqueMemphisBarreElizabethIowa CityIrvingMarionNorthfieldRichmondSheboyganBrooklynCedar RapidsCottage GroveLenexa

Is Heartland Charitable Trust open to new grantees?

34%

first-time grantees, 2023

In 2023, 10 of 29 grantees (34%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $31K; repeat grants $25K. How we count

Medians: $10K first-time, $17K repeat.

  • 38% of 2023 grantees were also funded in 2022. Method
  • Giving fell 25% from 2020 to 2023. Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2023). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$500K$1M$1.5M185 grants2020 28 grants2021 21 grants2022 29 grants2023

From 2020 to 2023, annual grant giving ranged from $565K (2022) to $1.0M (2020). In 2023 it made 29 grants totaling $791K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation Kansas City, MOHelping individuals, families and companies give to charities and build their philanthropic legacies.$138,353
Dubuque Museum of Art Dubuque, IAArts, Culture and Humanities$135,200
Friends of the Cottage Grove Public Library Cottage Grove, WIEducation$87,463
East Dubuque District Library Foundation East Dubuque, ILSocial Services/ Social Benefits$50,000
Loras College Dubuque, IAEducation$43,000
Friends of St Mary's Steeple Square Dubuque, IASocial Services/Social Benefits$34,340
National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium Dubuque, IAArts, Culture & Humanities$34,000
Resources Unite Dubuque, IASocial Services/ Social Benefits$29,000
St Columbkille's Church Dubuque, IAReligious$26,000
Dubuque Humane Society Dubuque, IALow Cost Spay-Neuter Clinic$25,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsNet Investment Income
2023$7,723,659$1,753,911$1,919,205$791,21429$917,972
2022$8,065,160$2,277,429$1,742,828$565,25521$400,783
2021$7,530,559$2,328,587$1,251,530$748,84928$672,100
2020$6,453,502$2,008,078$1,743,734$1,049,100185$579,094

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The trust states that its mission is to make grants to charitable organizations, gathering contributions and holding them until they are disbursed to Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Its program is described as providing donor-advised grants.

In 2021, recipients included organizations whose own stated missions covered arts and culture, education, health and medical assistance, historic preservation, and youth and family services. For example, the Dubuque Museum of Art describes its mission as engaging and educating the community through collections, exhibitions, and programming. St Mark Youth Enrichment says it provides programs and services to support the educational and social-emotional growth of youth and families.

Grantmaking

The trust reported $748,849 in grants across 28 grants in 2021. Its filing reported zero grants in both 2022 and 2023. Examples of 2021 recipients include the Dubuque Museum of Art ($87,700), Marquette University ($15,000), Helping Hands Medical Missions Inc. ($9,000), and Finley Health Foundation Inc. ($7,450). These are examples, not a complete list of recipients. Its 2023 filing, the latest on this page, reports 29 grants totaling $791,214.

The trust’s filing says that when a donor requests a payment, the trust reviews the recipient charity’s nonprofit status and verifies that the grant is appropriate.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Bruce Lee was listed as a trustee on the 2023 filing.

Heartland Charitable Trust's 2023 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2023 report compensation.

Officers on the 2023 filing

  • Dubuque Bank & Trust

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Bruce Lee

    Trustee

    On filings since 2022

    40 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: Lynn B. Fuller (2020–2021) — Trustee

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2023. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Frequently asked questions about Heartland Charitable Trust

How much does Heartland Charitable Trust give each year?

Heartland Charitable Trust gave $791K across 29 grants in 2023, according to its 2023 IRS Form 990. In 2022 it gave $565K across 21 grants.

What is Heartland Charitable Trust's typical grant size?

Heartland Charitable Trust's median grant in 2023 was $10,000, and its average grant was $27,283, across 29 grants on its 2023 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Heartland Charitable Trust that year got $31K on average.

Where does Heartland Charitable Trust give grants?

Heartland Charitable Trust gives mostly in Iowa: 59% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2023 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest states were Missouri (17%) and Wisconsin (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were Dubuque, IA (15 grants) and Keokuk, IA (2 grants).

Does Heartland Charitable Trust give general operating support?

Not in 2023: none of the 29 grants with a stated purpose on Heartland Charitable Trust's 2023 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Social Services/ Social Benefits" (7 grants), "Religious" (6 grants) and "Education" (4 grants).

Who are Heartland Charitable Trust's largest grantees?

Heartland Charitable Trust's largest 2023 grantees include Greater Kansas City Community Foundation ($138,353), Dubuque Museum of Art ($135,200) and Friends of the Cottage Grove Public Library ($87,463), according to its 2023 IRS Form 990. Together they received 46% of its itemized 2023 grant dollars.

How large is Heartland Charitable Trust?

Heartland Charitable Trust reported $7.7M in total assets on its 2023 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.8M.

What does Heartland Charitable Trust fund?

The trust states that its mission is to make grants to charitable organizations, gathering contributions and holding them until they are disbursed to Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Its program is described as providing donor-advised grants. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Heartland Charitable Trust?

Heartland Charitable Trust has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.

What is Heartland Charitable Trust's EIN?

Heartland Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 42-6549922. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2023.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

Data update history

(5)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 5, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 15, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 15, 2024)
  5. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2023

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Heartland Charitable Trust's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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