The LGBTQIA2S+ Equality Fund committee awarded $200,000 to 18 organizations serving the needs of the LGBTQIA2S+ community in the Omaha metro. The Omaha Community Foundation received 33 applications with grant requests totaling $660,133.
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.
2024 Equality Fund Recipients
- ACLU of Nebraska Foundation • $20,000 for Defending LGBTQIA2S+ Rights
- BFF Omaha • $10,000 for “Judy Jam” On-Street Pride Activation
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands • $10,000 for LGBTQIA2S+ Youth Mentoring
- CEDARS Youth Services • $15,000 for Street Outreach Program
- FAMILY, Inc. • $3,500 for The Affirming Medical Provider List
- Great Plains Theatre Commons • $10,000 for PlayFest: Stuck with Lemons
- Healing Ribbons • $15,000 for Art of Healing
- Heartland Pride • $10,000 for Youth Pride And Scholarship Program
- Inclusive Communities • $10,000 for IncluCity Youth Leadership Development Camp
- Legal Aid of Nebraska • $5,000 for LGBTQIA2S+ Name Change Clinic
- Nebraska AIDS Project • $18,250 for Sexual Health Promotion Tour
- Nebraska Writers Collective • $5,000 for 2024/25 All Writes Reserved Program
- Omaha ForUs • $15,000 for Best Life Behavioral Health/Wellness
- Omaha Theater Company • $5,000 for Teens’ n’ Theater Season #30
- OutNebraska • $10,000 for LGBTQ+ Training for Omaha Area
- Planned Parenthood of the Heartland • $13,250 for Holistic Care for LGBTQIA2S+ Patients
- Preserve Omaha • $10,000 for LGBTQIA2S+ History of Omaha Map
- River City Mixed Chorus • $15,000 for Pauli Murray: A New Commissioning
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, 2025.