DES Moines Area Community College

DES Moines Area Community College (DMACC), a public community college based in Ankeny, Iowa, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants across workforce development, technical education, and student support programs, with 97% of recent awards in the grant space and minimal contract prime activity. DMACC's federal footprint centers on competitive project grants and cooperative agreements rather than contract vehicles; the college has no federal contract prime awardees and does not hold seats on government-wide acquisition contracts or blanket purchase agreements.

DMACC delivers concrete workforce and student-services programs funded through grants: Commercial Driver's License (CDL) training and recruitment, biotechnology laboratory technician pipeline development, industrial maintenance and advanced manufacturing technician training, student support services for low-income and first-generation students, and veterinary diagnostics internship programs co-administered with the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory. Representative work includes a $4.999 million Department of Labor project grant (CFDA 17.289) awarded March 1, 2023, for industrial maintenance and community college workforce development across thirty Iowa counties, led by DMACC with consortia partners Hawkeye Community College and Indian Hills Community College and serving advanced manufacturing employers including John Deere, Pella Corporation, and JBS US Pork; a $350 thousand National Science Foundation STEM Education grant (CFDA 47.076) awarded October 1, 2023, to build a biotechnology laboratory technician pipeline through high school science academies, industry curriculum alignment, and equipment upgrades, targeting 85 associate-degree completions; a $407,393 Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services project grant (CFDA 84.042) awarded September 1, 2025, serving low-income and first-generation students at DMACC's Ankeny campus; and multiple Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration grants (CFDA 20.235) totaling over $600 thousand since 2021 to recruit and train CDL holders in underserved communities.

Customer concentration is highly fragmented across workforce, education, and agriculture agencies. The Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration leads by award count (17 awards) but the Department of the Navy anchors 100% of combined potential value through two awards worth $147.1 million combined, which appear to be Navy-affiliated community college partnership initiatives. Other top customers by count include the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (16 awards), the Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (8 awards), the National Science Foundation (7 awards), and the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (6 awards). The top five customers by award count cover 59% of awards, reflecting customer diversification. Five awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating limited recompete exposure. DMACC acts as prime recipient on 88 awards (97%) and as sub-recipient on three awards, including a CCTC (Career and Community Technical College) initiative sub-award from Indian Hills Community College and an undergraduate research experience program sub-award from Iowa State University under the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) cooperative agreement. Recent activity has declined — from six awards in 2023 to three in 2025 and one so far in 2026 — though the baseline portfolio covers the past twenty-three years and carries combined obligated dollars of $126.3 million against combined potential value of $147.1 million.