Stuart and Amy Chittenden
We’ll take you from conscious dreaming to focused charitable giving.
Amy and Stuart Chittenden are passionate and creative people who want to make a difference wherever they live. While growing up in Omaha, Amy felt that her education lacked exposure to the arts. “It was such a bummer for me as a kid!” she exclaims. She wishes her schools would have taught her that having a successful creative career was a real possibility.
Amy now dreams that in twenty years Omaha will be “such an amazingly creative, interesting vibrant, cultural arts and music community.” She feels lucky to be in a position to affect change in her city and was excited to return home to Omaha for that very reason.
However, the Chittendens soon found their energy and passion for Omaha didn’t automatically translate into effective giving strategies. Both Stuart and Amy are exceptionally thoughtful people, but their financial giving was not yet reflecting their greatest hopes for Omaha.
With the help of Omaha Community Foundation, it didn’t take long for the Chittendens to find clarity in their giving objectives. After a couple of conversations, they articulated the two things they care about most: social equality and cultural enrichment. Then Stuart and Amy directed their support to organizations that encompass both areas of interest, such as the Omaha Public Library and (downtown) omaha lit fest.
The Chittendens are avid readers who believe the library and the lit fest can make a remarkable difference in a community, both culturally and socially. “I think about reading as an act of conscious dreaming,” Stuart says. He dreams of a future in Omaha where absolutely everyone—through the enriching experience of reading—can engage in a state of conscious dreaming.
“What a beautiful place to be! Can you imagine that?” Stuart asks. “I can,” he continues, “That’s what I want.”
Conscious dreaming turned into effective charitable giving. Can you imagine that? We can!