In November, the Fund for Omaha awarded $270,732 to 14 small nonprofit organizations to help with general operating support. The Fund is the Omaha Community Foundation’s largest grant program.

In this cycle, grant funding awards supported organizations offering programming ranging from community organizing around health disparities, to family engagement activities, and expanding access to the arts within the community.

The following organizations with operating budgets under $500,000 received funding:

  • 100 Black Men of Omaha, Inc.,$25,000, Core Programming Support
  • Banister’s Leadership Academy, $20,000, Programs: Leadership in Action, Night Life, Family Engagement Activities
  • Circle Theatre Inc., $12,000, Sustaining The Future 
  • Greater Omaha Attendance and Learning Services, $10,800, Quality Assurance Reporting System
  • Institute of Public Leadership Inc., $18,000, Who is My Neighbor Campaign
  • Live Well Omaha, $25,000, Community Organizing in High-Risk Areas for Health Disparities
  • North Omaha Area Health, $25,000, North Omaha Area Health (NOAH)
  • Office Latino/Latin American Studies [OLLAS – UNO], $24,932, Characteristics and Conditions of Aging Latino Population in Omaha
  • Omaha Academy of Ballet, $15,000, Operating Support: Affordable Arts Access & Creative Sector Job Viability
  • Omaha Creative Institute, $25,000, Operating Support Request
  • Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue Inc., $25,000, Saving Grace Perishable Food Pipeline
  • Smart Girl Society, $25,000, General Operating Support for Smart Digital Communities
  • Volunteers Assisting Seniors, $10,000, Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIAP)
  • Wings of Hope Cancer Support Center,$10,000, Cancer Survivorship Program

“This funding makes a huge difference to these small organizations in terms of growing their capacity and supporting general programming,” Anne Meysenburg, OCF’s Director of Community Investment said. “All of the organizations who received funding this cycle are providing critical services and programs to residents throughout our community. We look forward to seeing the impact these funds will have throughout the coming months.”

In total, 57 organizations applied for nearly $1 million in total support this fall, including 28 new organizations who had not previously sought funding from the grant fund.

Additional learnings and insights from this grant cycle included:

  • 2018 saw a 25% increase in nonprofits who applied for grant funding over the past two years
  • Youth Development, Health, and Arts and Culture were the most requested areas of funding this cycle
  • Organizations overwhelmingly cited direct programming costs as their biggest need; 50 of the 57 requests were for general operating expenses; the other 7 were for capacity building.
  • 78% percent of all requests were connected to at least one area within The Landscape, with almost one-third of grant applications focused on Education and Youth Development

The Fund for Omaha is designed to strengthen the local nonprofit community by addressing pressing needs identified by organizations and supporting effective solutions; it helps identify key areas of strategic investment for the Foundation and its donors through a committee-led grant process.