The Omaha Neighborhood Grants committee awarded $80,000 to 21 neighborhood groups combining leadership development and community building work around Omaha.
The committee discovered several new programs. One of those was Global Leadership Group’s Community Cleanup Challenge, pictured above, to get people engaged in community caretaking through a comprehensive social media campaign.
A few highlights include the committee investing funds in inCommon’s Park Avenue Youth Leadership program, designed and led by the program participants. Investments were made for murals and artwork celebrating the contributions of diverse communities. And the Urban Family and Friend Leadership group was identified as an organization that shows great potential and will receive focused technical assistance.
2021 Omaha Neighborhood Grant Recipients
- B&B Sports Academy: $5,000, for the B&B Mural
- Bemis Park Neighborhood Association: $5,000, for Bemis Park signs
- BFF Omaha: $3,500, for the 2021 Green Team
- Benson Neighborhood Association: $843, Benson Movie Nights
- Benson Plant Rescue/Community Produce Rescue: $5,000, for Benson Public Art Phase 3
- Dundee Memorial Park Association: $2,000, for Underpass Ramp Lighting
- Fairfax Neighborhood Association: $2,500, for Saturday Morning Coffee and Gardening
- Field Club Homeowner’s League: $3,700, for the Field Club/Leavenworth Border Project
- Free Farm: $5,000, for Food Distribution
- Gifford Park Neighborhood Association: $5,000, for the “A Seat at the Table” Program
- Global Leadership Group: $4,000, for a Community Cleanup Challenge (Pictured Above)
- inCommon Community Development: $4,500, for the Park Avenue Youth Leadership Program
- Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Association: $2,500 for the “Creative Community Connections” Programs
- Midtown Neighborhood Alliance: $5,000, for the ReTree Midtown Project
- Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: $5,000, for the South 24th Street Steetscape Project
- Pepperwood Homeowner’s Association: $5,000, for the Basketball Half Court Project
- Positive Productive Black Fathers: $4,865, for the Long School Neighborhood Community Garden
- Royalwood Estates Homeowners Association: $1,200, for the Hanging Flower Baskets Project
- South Omaha Neighborhood Alliance: $2,500, Black American Mural
- Urban Family and Friend Leadership: $3,892, Youth Development Program
- Westgate Community Association: $4,000, Pollinator Garden
Funding decisions are made by a diverse committee of residents representing neighborhoods across Omaha. The next grant cycle for the fund will open on January 1, 2022.