The LGBTQIA2S+ Equality Fund committee awarded $200,000 to 16 organizations serving the needs of the LGBTQIA2S+ community in the Omaha metro. The Omaha Community Foundation received 30 applications with grant requests totaling $601,956.
Established in 2018, the LGBTQIA2S+ Equality Fund cultivates a community that supports, includes, and respects residents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, or two-spirit, plus additional sexual orientations and gender identities.
The LGBTQIA2S+ Equality Fund is one of our five Community Interest Funds. Anyone can donate to these resident-led grant programs.
2023 Equality Fund Recipients
- ACLU of Nebraska • $20,000 for Supporting and Defending LGBTQIA2S+ Nebraskans
- Benson Theatre • $2,500 for Summer 2023 LGBTQIA2S+ Artistic Programming
- BFF Omaha • $15,000 for First Friday Pride and Youth Programming
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands • $10,000 for LGBTQIA2S+ Youth Mentoring
- Healing Ribbons • $10,000 for Capacity Building
- Heartland Pride • $10,000 for Youth Pride and Scholarship Program
- Inclusive Communities • $15,000 for IncluCity Youth Camp
- Legal Aid of Nebraska • $2,500 for LGBTQIA2S+ Name Change Clinic
- Montessori Co-op School • $10,000 for Trans-Inclusion and Pride Participation
- Nebraska AIDS Project • $15,000 for Targeted Outreach and Testing
- Nebraska Writers Collective • $10,000 for All Writes Reserved Youth Spoken Word Festival
- Omaha ForUs • $20,000 for TransThrive
- OneWorld Community Health Centers • $15,000 for LGBTQIA2S+ Health Care Promotion/Access
- OutNebraska • $10,000 for Capacity Building – Supporting Programs/Operations
- Planned Parenthood of the Heartland • $20,000 for LGBTQ+ Care Coordination in Omaha
- River City Mixed Chorus • $15,000 for Unbreakable: LBGTQ+ History Through Music
Grants made through our Community Interest Funds are strategic investments meant to increase access and equity. We ask community members to lead the grant process using their own power and understanding. Each committee is made up of residents who come from or identify with the population being served. They review proposals and decide which projects to fund based on the needs they are seeing in their community.
The Equality Fund is a collaboration between the Sherwood Foundation, Mutual of Omaha, Conagra Brands Foundation, and Peter Kiewit Foundation. It is administered by the Omaha Community Foundation.
The next grant cycle for the fund will open on January 1, 2024.