Children and families lean in as a performer in a paper crown shows them a drawing

More than aPerformance

FY26 Annual Report

At Des Moines Performing Arts (DMPA), every curtain rise is about more than a single moment on stage. Each performance creates opportunities for learning, connection, creativity, and community. From a student’s first theater experience to a family’s tradition of attending Broadway, from free summer concerts to programs reaching every corner of Iowa, donors who support Des Moines Performing Arts bring people together through the transformative power of the arts.

WhoWe Are

Des Moines Performing Arts is a nonprofit arts organization serving an average of 350,000 people each year through arts experiences that spark imaginations, inspire creativity, and strengthen communities across Iowa. Our campus spans downtown Des Moines and includes the Civic Center, Stoner Theater, Temple Theater, and Cowles Commons.

Des Moines Performing Arts relies on philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as public funding sources, to fulfill its mission.

Our Mission

Engage the Midwest in meaningful entertainment, education, and cultural activities.

Our Vision

Provide performing arts experiences that educate, inspire, and challenge.

Our Campus

The Civic Center, Stoner Theater, Temple Theater, and Cowles Commons in downtown Des Moines.

Through the Years

Red-walled lobby staircase inside the Des Moines Civic Center
Two Letters From Our Leadership

Select a name to read each letter.

A Note ofGratitude

Since joining Des Moines Performing Arts in January, I’ve had the opportunity to meet guests, educators, donors, students, artists, community leaders, and partners from across the state. In every conversation I have, people are excited to share how much this organization means to them and how strongly they believe in what the arts make possible.

I see that same commitment in our staff every day. Their creativity, care, and dedication shaped a year in which we welcomed over 330,000 guests, engaged nearly 50,000 students and educators, and reached all 99 Iowa counties. What stays with me, though, are the moments behind those numbers: a student at their first Applause Series performance, a family keeping up a Broadway tradition, neighbors gathering on Cowles Commons for a free summer show. That’s what the arts do best. They connect us at every stage of life.

This year was also a year of organizational listening and learning. More than 1,200 people responded to our community survey, and nearly 100 donors and community leaders met with us in small groups to talk about what DMPA means today and what it could become. Those insights are helping us build on what we do well while imagining new possibilities for the future.

I am proud of what we have accomplished together this season and am thrilled to be building the bridge into our years ahead.

Thank you for believing in this work and for helping us create what comes next.

Monica Holt
Monica HoltPresident & CEO, Des Moines Performing Arts
FY26At a
Glance
330,221Guests welcomed
364Performances + events
99Iowa counties reached
47,795Students + educators engaged
23Teaching artists
95%of survey respondents rated their overall Des Moines Performing Arts experience as excellent or good
48Full-time staff
324Part-time staff
1,200+Community survey responses
4,213

Tickets Donated

BuildingConnections

Every season is an invitation to discover something new and connect with one another.

In FY26, audiences enjoyed Broadway blockbusters and thought-provoking stories, bold dance, remarkable explorers, intimate music, laugh-out-loud comedy, and experiences created especially for families. These moments gave us reasons to laugh together, gain new perspectives, and see something of ourselves in someone else’s story.

That sense of connection extended beyond our theater walls, too. Free events through the Hy-Vee Summer Arts Series made the arts part of everyday community life by turning Cowles Commons and community parks into places to gather, move, listen, and discover, with no tickets required.

Altogether, people who joined us
330,221

Some came for a story they already loved. Others took a chance on something entirely new. But each gathering offered an opportunity to enjoy something together and feel more connected to our community.

Your support helps make all of this possible. You provide community places to gather, be curious, and experience the stories that give us something to share.

Attendance by series

Select a series to see its lineup.

*Hy-Vee Summer Arts Series reflects the 2025-26 season.

Students look closely at studded queen costumes from SIX
Behind the scenes

A Royally Memorable Costume Look-in

Seventy Access Broadway and Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards students got a behind-the-scenes look at SIX, including the queens’ dazzling, bold, and heavily studded costumes.

Cast and crew members guided students from Iowa schools through each queen’s wardrobe, highlighting the hand-crafted details, the fusion of Tudor-era fashion with modern pop inspiration, and the ways each design reflects a queen’s unique story.

For many students, this was a rare opportunity to see technical skills in action – and it left a lasting impression.

A conductor leads the Des Moines Symphony

Resident Partners

Across the Des Moines Performing Arts campus, a vibrant community of local organizations share stages and spaces, including:

Alongside nationally touring productions, these partnerships make Des Moines Performing Arts a year-round gathering place where local creativity has a home, organizations can thrive, and audiences can experience the breadth of our community’s cultural life.

Helping Young PeopleDiscover and Grow

A first arts experience can open a world of possibility.

Des Moines Performing Arts creates opportunities for young people across Iowa to discover, explore, and participate in the arts, from early childhood experiences and school-day matinees to camps and programs that deepen students’ skills and interests. Together, these programs grow alongside young people, sparking curiosity, building confidence, and helping nurture creative thinkers, collaborators, and lifelong participants in the arts.

Preschoolers laugh as a teaching artist’s dragon puppet reaches toward them

“The mix of music, live instruments, fast-paced energy, and audience participation kept students captivated throughout. Students of all abilities found joy in the performance, making it a meaningful and inclusive moment for our entire school community.”

– Principal Jessica Parsons, Mitchell Early Learning Center

A Place ofBelonging

The arts create common ground. At Des Moines Performing Arts, that means creating opportunities for people to gather, participate, and feel welcome, both inside our venues and throughout the communities we serve.

Creating Pathways

Access begins with exploring different ways for people to participate. Through free community events, donated and reduced-cost tickets, partnerships, and programs that travel beyond our venues, Des Moines Performing Arts works to reduce financial, geographic, and other barriers that can stand between people and access to transformative experiences through the arts.

Beyond Our Doors

Some of the most welcoming arts experiences happen without a theater ticket.

Through the Des Moines Performing Arts’ Hy-Vee Summer Arts Series, free events at Cowles Commons and community parks invited people to gather for music, dance, and storytelling right where they are. By bringing programming into familiar public spaces and making it free to attend, Des Moines Performing Arts creates another way for people to grow through the arts, including those who may not otherwise visit one of our venues.

Cowles Commons: A Community Gathering Place

Just outside the Civic Center, Cowles Commons serves as more than our front yard. Throughout the year, the public space hosts community activities and gatherings, creating opportunities for people to connect in the heart of downtown Des Moines.

Reaching Across Iowa

In FY26, programs and partnerships reached all 99 Iowa counties, connecting people with arts experiences in our venues, their schools, and their own communities.

Students traveled to Des Moines for Applause Series performances. High schools statewide participated in the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards. And programs like the Pre-K Performing Arts Access Initiative, designed to travel directly to communities, brought learning and discovery closer to home.

Students raise their hands as a saxophonist leads a session in a school auditorium

Strengthening Downtown and Central Iowa

Des Moines Performing Arts is responsible for significant local economic impact.

Audience members who come to downtown Des Moines extend the impact of their arts experience to businesses and employees throughout the region by having dinner at a nearby restaurant, staying at a local hotel, shopping, and spending on transportation.

Estimated annual economic impact of the FY26 Willis Broadway Series$49M
Jobs supported37248 full-time & 324 part-time

Making the Arts MoreAccessible

Creating welcoming arts experiences means thinking beyond what happens on stage. It means considering people’s needs before they arrive, while they are here, and as they experience an event. Des Moines Performing Arts continues to identify and reduce barriers so more people can take part in ways that work for them.

Creating More Inclusive Ways to Experience the Arts

Accessibility isn’t one service or program. It’s an ongoing commitment to making arts experiences possible for more people.

A smiling usher holds up an assisted listening device for a guest
Two crew members set up stage lighting on an empty stage

Be a Part of It All

Behind every experience in this report are people who helped make it possible.

Donors and partners help welcome students to their first theater experience, bring programs into communities across Iowa, open doors for more guests, and make extraordinary arts experiences possible.

Every gift adds to what’s possible.

Support DMPA

Your Gift at WorkPhilanthropic Impact

What donor support makes possible across six programs.

FinancialStewardship

Philanthropic support by fund
Annual Fund$3,934,6924,196 unique donor gifts
Endowment$816,050109 unique donor gifts
Capital Projects/Improvements$1,000,0001 unique donor gift

Together, this generosity helps ensure that meaningful arts experiences remain part of our community today while creating possibilities for the generations who come next.

Des Moines Performing Arts’ most recent IRS Form 990 is publicly available through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, and copies are also available upon request by contacting info@dmpa.org.

The PeopleBehind It All

Governance

A volunteer Board of Directors governs Des Moines Performing Arts and provides organizational oversight, fiduciary stewardship, and strategic direction. The Board carries out its work through standing committees, including Executive, Audit and Finance, and Assets. The Audit and Finance Committee oversees internal controls, financial reporting, and the annual independent audit. Des Moines Performing Arts maintains conflict-of-interest, gift acceptance, and whistleblower policies.

Board of Directors

    * Executive Committee  ·  ** Joined in FY26

    Executive Leadership Team
    • Monica HoltPresident and CEO
    • Heidi WatkinsCOO
    • Tim McMillinVP of Development
    • Bill PinegarVP of Administration
    • Greg VotavaVP of Marketing
    Staff

    As of June 30, 2026, Des Moines Performing Arts employed:

    48
    Full-time
    324
    Part-time
    A young student in a red shirt adjusts a stage spotlight

    Listening. Learning.Looking Ahead.

    FY26 allowed us not only to reflect on where Des Moines Performing Arts has been, but to listen closely to our community’s aspirations for the future.

    High school performers celebrate on stage at the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards

    Thank You