Your partner in philanthropy. SEE advisor resources
Donna Kennedy Schatz Foundation
An Early Childhood Development Initiative
Powered by Blue Sage Impact in partnership with OCF, the Donna Kennedy Schatz Foundation was established in Omaha in honor of Mrs. Schatz, a dedicated Omaha resident for more than 75 years. Read more about Donna here.
Nonprofit organizations, community-based groups, and educational institutions are invited to apply for requests that align with the Donna Kennedy Schatz Foundation’s programmatic emphasis.
Programmatic Emphasis
This Foundation is centered on early childhood, defined here as prenatal through 8 years old, in order to support a strong start to life. The Foundation will fund organizations and initiatives that support education, wrap-around services, or ecosystem-level infrastructure. Specifically, the themes of the foundation include:
- Supporting caregiver relationships with children through training, wraparound supports, and engaging experiences. We define caregivers as trusted adults in a child’s life, including parents, extended family and educators.
- Championing high quality early education opportunities that build a strong foundation of literacy and are grounded in the future of learning.
- Elevating intergenerational connections through places and programs that combat the isolation epidemic. We envision these programs to strengthen bonds between older adults and young children.
Target Populations: Marginalized communities of Omaha, Nebraska
Funding Structure: Exploration Grants
Given the dramatically changing funding landscape and trickle-down effects on programs, we are structuring the exploration grants as flexibly as possible: providing resources for “thinking time.” Organizations or partnerships can use this funding to support an exploration or planning process to consider what the future looks like for their program(s).
We will provide 10–15 philanthropic grants ranging from $15,000–$25,000. There is flexibility in the use of funds (e.g., planning retreat; consultant assistance with data/strategy development; general operations for staff time; etc.), whatever would be most helpful to leadership to explore and think through.
- Grant period: 6 months to 1 year
- Budget for Exploration Grants: $300,000