Last month, the Omaha Community Foundation awarded grants to 16 local organizations from three of the Foundation’s specialized grant funds: Creche Early Childhood Fund, Jetton Charitable Fund, and the Richard A. Shaw Fund. Each fund supports specific programming in the community driven by the intent of the Foundation donors who established the grant programs. In total $143,357 was awarded through the three funds.

“It is an honor and privilege to live out the life and legacy of our donors through these grant programs. Their generosity, especially now, is so important to community programming focused on youth, education, arts and culture, history, or the natural sciences.”
Anne Meysenburg, OCF Director of Community Investment

Jetton Fund Grant Recipients

The Jetton Fund supports youth exposure to the performing and visual arts, in addition to student exposure to STEM and/or history programs. The Fund places an emphasis on programs offered by area cultural institutions or nonprofits, rather than traditional classroom instruction.

The following 11 organizations were awarded grants from the Jetton Fund this year:

  • African Culture Connection, 2020/2021 Student-focused Authentic Cultural Experiences with African Culture Connection (ACC), $20,000
  • Big Garden, Big Garden Educational Programming, $20,000
  • Circle Theatre Inc., When We Go Away Tour, $5,000
  • Durham Museum, Sponsored Field Trips and Digital Learning, $5,000
  • Fontenelle Forest, Fontenelle Forest School Programs, $15,000
  • Girls Inc. of Omaha, Virtual and Classroom Art Projects, $7,500
  • Institute for Holocaust Education, Art & the Holocaust, $5,575
  • Kids Can Community Center, STEMsmart Academy, $13,686
  • Metropolitan Community College Foundation, Science on a Sphere: Meteorologist Day Camp, $5,280
  • Nebraska Writers Collective, Louder Than a Bomb: Great Plains Youth Poetry Festival, $10,000
  • Omaha Academy of Ballet, Dance Away Your Afternoons, $10,000
Creche Fund Grant Recipients

The Creche Fund was established following the closure of the Creche Home for Children in 2014. The Fund continues the organization’s 127-year legacy of serving youth in Omaha by distributing a maximum of $25,000 a year to nonprofits providing educational services to underserved children.

This cycle, the Creche Fund awarded the following three grants:

  • Dual Language Academy, Tuition Assistance, $5,000
  • Girls Inc. of Omaha, GIRLStart: Literacy, language arts, and self-discovery for grade-school girls, $10,000
  • Greater Omaha Attendance and Learning Services, Family Advocate – Elementary School Student Services, $8,000
Shaw Fund Grant Recipients

The Shaw Fund awards grants to organizations with a focus on history, the natural sciences, outdoor education, or animals. It was established to honor the life and legacy of Richard A. Shaw, a graduate of Benson High School and the University of Nebraska-Omaha, who worked as a teacher in Ralston and Elkhorn schools throughout his life. Each year the fund distributes $3,500 through two grants that support an organization’s mission.

The Shaw Fund awarded the following two grants:

  • Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands, North Omaha Fishing Club Program, $1,316
  • Take Flight Farms, Equine-Assisted Learning for Youth Experiencing Marginalization, $2,000

Visit the Field of Interest Funds page for more information about each of these funds and their application dates.