We are pleased to announce that the Omaha Community Foundation has awarded a total of $822,000 to 76 nonprofits and neighborhood groups through our Community Interest Funds.

Funding decisions are made by resident-led committees who understand what investments will be most impactful in addressing the needs of their respective communities.

African American Unity Fund

The African American Unity Fund committee awarded $225,000 to 21 organizations — 13 of which were first-time grantees — supporting initiatives for the African American community. Learn more.

  • 3SISTERS: $10,000 for Operational Funding
  • Change of Omaha: $5,000 for a Community Garden
  • Descendants of DeWitty, NE: $2,000 for Community Outreach
  • Financial Beginnings Nebraska: $25,000 for Capacity Building and Expansion of Program Impact
  • Great Plains Black History Museum: $5,000 for 2021 Operational Grant Request
  • Guide Right Omaha, Inc.: $10,000 for Omaha Kappa League ‐ 2021 Atlanta College Tour
  • House of Afros, Capes & Curls: $20,000 for Capacity Building
  • National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.: $10,000 for Financial Literacy Education Series
  • International Council for Refugees and Immigrants: $5,000 for Bridge to Prosperity‐Refugee Youth Mentoring Program
  • Malcolm X Memorial Foundation: $10,000 for General Operating Expenses and Community Events
  • Midlands African Chamber, Inc.: $5,000 for Capacity Building Initiative
  • Mildred D. Brown Memorial Study Center: $15,000 for The Omaha Star™ Printing and Publishing (OSPP)
  • My Sister’s Keeper: $5,000 for Celebration of Life
  • O. NE Mentoring Academy: $10,000 for Mentoring and Mindfulness through Counseling
  • Our Light, Inc.: $7,500 for Expressing Ourselves Program
  • Results Academy: $20,000 for the “Dedicated to Greatness” Initiative
  • Survivors Rising: $11,500 for Rise Up in Community
  • The Rose House, Inc.: $6,000 for the Mobile Pantry
  • Urban Financial Services Coalition Omaha Chapter, Inc.: $23,000 for Financial Literacy
  • Young Entrepreneurs of the Future: $15,000 for the Innovative Youth Entrepreneurship Program
  • Youth Advancement Services: $5,000 for 7 on 7 Football Programming for Youth

Equality Fund

The Equality Fund committee awarded $200,000 to 12 organizations serving the needs of our LGBTQIA+ friends, families, and neighbors across the metro area. Learn more.

  • ACLU Nebraska Foundation, Inc.: $30,000 for an LGBTQIA+ Community Attorney 
  • BFF Omaha: $15,000 for 2021 GenQ Programming 
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands: $10,000 to increase LGBTQIA+ Affirming Mentoring 
  • Black and Pink, Inc.: $20,000 for the Opportunity Campus 
  • Centro Latino of Iowa: $10,000,for Centro Latinx LBGTQIA+ Program Support 
  • Heartland Family Service: $25,000 for Affirming Care at HFS Phase III 
  • Huespring: $14,020 for Building a LGBTQ+ Mentor Base 
  • Nebraska AIDS Project: $25,000 for Targeted Outreach Phase 2 
  • Nebraska Writers Collective: $10,000 for the Louder than a Bomb Poetry Program 
  • Omaha Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays Inc.: $13,980 for the Latinx Strategic Plan 
  • Planned Parenthood of the Heartland: $10,000 for LGBTQIA+ Sexual Health Care Coordination 
  • Union for Contemporary Art: $17,000 for PRIDE 2021 

Futuro Latino Fund

The Futuro Latino Fund committee awarded $175,000 to 10 organizations serving the Latino community. Out of the 20 proposals, many were returning applicants. Learn more.

  • Centro Latino of Iowa: $25,000, for General Operating Support 2021 
  • City Sprouts: $14,500, for the City Sprouts South Summer Internship Program
  • Families in Action: $16,800, for Mental Wellness: Building on Strengths of Latina Women during COVID 
  • Friends of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum: $15,634, for Latino Railroad Workers in the Midwest, an Oral History Project 
  • Generation Diamond: $13,781, for Mental Health Support for Re-Entry Success in South Omaha 
  • LIVE Leadership: $5,000, for Camp for Latina Junior High Girls
  • Matters on Tomorrow: $19,285, to Help Immigrants Achieve Their True Potential Through Quality, Affordable Education
  • Metro Young Latino Professionals Association: $15,000, for Civic, Community, and Professional Engagement 
  • Midlands Latino Community Development Corporation: $25,000, for Financial Stability for Latinos 
  • Victory Boxing Club: $25,000, for the Community Center Youth Program 

Omaha Neighborhood Grant

The Omaha Neighborhood Grants committee awarded $80,000 to 21 neighborhood groups combining leadership development and community building work around Omaha. Learn more.

  • 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
  • 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

Refugee Community Grant Fund

The Refugee Community Grant Fund awarded $142,000 to 15 organizations supporting refugee communities and populations throughout Omaha. Learn more.

  • Al-Huda Islamic Center: $2,500 for Physical & Mental Health
  • East African Development Association of Nebraska: $27,500 for Family Stabilizations & EADAN Arise: Operational Budget Request
  • Ethiopian Community Association: $5,000 for Constructive Cultural Preservation
  • Intercultural Senior Center: $5,000 for Lunch Program for Refugee Seniors
  • International Council for Refugees and Immigrants: $20,000 for Culturally Enlighten & General Operations
  • Karenni Community: $10,000 for Creating a Community Garden
  • New Life Family Alliance: $5,000 for Organizational Capacity Building Support
  • Nile Lutheran Church: $15,000 for Community Navigation and Assistance Project
  • Nyampinga Empowering: $15,000 for Nyampinga Project, A Refugee Beyond Name, & Understanding Your Housing Rights
  • Prairie STEM: $15,000 for STEMKits for All
  • Somali Community Service: $5,000 for After School Tutoring Program
  • South Sudanese Nebraska Council of Churches: $5,000 for South Sudanese-American GREAT Census Project
  • St. Paul United Methodist Church: $2,000 for African Refugee Choir: CD
  • Transitions Program: $5,000 for Care Packages for Omaha Refugees
  • Youth For Greater Good: $5,000 for YFGG College Support Program

Community Interest Funds connect and support on-the-ground organizations and provide technical assistance and training where needed. It’s a grassroots approach to addressing local priorities, practicing and growing active citizenship, and building community.

The next grant cycle for will open on January 1, 2022.

 

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• $225K Awarded to 21 Nonprofits for African American Community Initiatives
• $200K Awarded to 12 Nonprofits for LGBTQIA+ Support
• $175K Awarded to 10 Nonprofits Serving the Latino Community
• $80K Awarded to 21 Omaha Neighborhood Groups for Community Building
• $142K Awarded to 15 Omaha Organizations Serving Refugees