Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts
DRFPA: The Dream is Alive
The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts
The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts was created to honor her accomplishments and keep her dream alive by recognizing, encouraging, and supporting talented individuals pursuing an education and career in the performing arts.
The Foundation was formed in 1987 by members of Donna Reed’s hometown community of Denison, her husband, Grover Asmus, actresses Shelley Fabares and Norma Connolly, and numerous friends, associates, and family members.
Based in Denison, Iowa, the Donna Reed Foundation operates to recognize, encourage, and support talent through scholarships and internships, conduct educational workshops and cultural experiences, preserve and share historic resources, and serve communities of interest in Iowa and around the world.
Our Mission
Donna Reed touched many lives with her integrity, courtesy, equity, and humanity. She held a great respect for education and a personal understanding of what it means to follow one’s dream.
The mission of the Donna Reed Foundation
- promotes continuous excellence in education, the performing arts, and community to students of all ages through her upstanding values
- memorializes her story, achievement, and leadership through the preservation of historical assets such as personal archives and a landmark opera house as a legacy to all who share the dream
- inspires service and commitment within its communities, membership, and partnerships that sustains a momentum well into the twenty-first century.
Our Work
The scope of the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts (DRFPA) history includes:
- Educational Scholarship & Internship – (1987 – present)
- National Scholars
- Iowa Scholars
- Crawford County, Iowa Scholars
- Donna Reed Festival Scholars
- Kathleen Freeman Spirit Awards
- Donna Reed Techie Awards
- DRFPA Continuing Education
- DRFPA Children’s Musical Theatre Special Audition Awards
- DRFPA Merit Scholarships and Awards
- DRFPA Internships
- Donna Reed Center for the Performing Arts – (1988 – present)
- Donna Reed Theatre
- Donna Reed Heritage Museum
- Donna Reed Heritage Archive
- Reiney’s Candy Kitchen
- CDC : Chamber and Development Council of Crawford County
- Donna Reed Festival for the Performing Arts – (1988 – present)
- DR Performing Arts Workshops
- Children’s Musical Theatre Workshops
- ComedySportz® / Improv Intensive! Workshops
- Creating NBC’s “30 Rock” Workshop
- Iowa Motion Picture Association Movie Camp (co-located)
- DRFPA Special Events and Screenings – (1988 – present)
- DRFPA – The American Icon Series
- DRFPA – First Friday Films
- DRFPA – Community Cinema
- DRFPA – Rural Route Film Festival
- DRFPA – Annual Night on the Red Carpet
- DRFPA – Wine & Beer Tasting
- Donna Reed Foundation Film Society
- DRFPA Support Collaborations
- Iowa High School Speech Association
- “It’s a Wonderful Life” in Seneca Falls (Seneca Falls, New York)
- The Donna Reed Film Festival (Marshalltown, Iowa)
- Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
- Cinco de Mayo
- Book Publication (image, historical data)
- DRFPA Membership and Volunteer Programs – (1988 – present)
- Sustaining Membership
- Volunteer Programs – Festival, Center, Museum, Archive, Events
- Memorabilia
