Grants

Omaha area community grants

By Nickolas Bagley

Posted on February 14, 2024

OUR GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: Youth Today’s grant listings are carefully curated for our subscribers working in youth-related industries. Subscribers will find local, state, regional and national grant opportunities.

THIS GRANT’S FOCUS: Community Development/Improvement, LGBTQIA+, Minority/Disadvantaged Communities, Omaha, Nebraska
Deadline: Mar. 1, 2024

“Grants made through our Community Interest Funds are strategic investments meant to increase access, equity, and opportunity. We engage everyday community members to lead grant processes, and we rely on them to exercise and apply 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 based on the needs they are seeing in their communities, they decide which projects will have the greatest impact. These grant programs connect and support on-the-ground organizations and provide application assistance and training as needed. It’s a grassroots approach to addressing local priorities, practicing and growing active citizenship, and building community.

Omaha Neighborhood Grants: Supports community leaders doing impactful work in their own neighborhoods; it’s about supporting residents who are making a difference right where they live and empowering neighbors to work together. By connecting and empowering resident-led organizations and providing technical assistance and training, the Omaha Neighborhood Grants program takes a grassroots approach to addressing local priorities. Through practicing and growing active citizenship, we are building communities that reflect the vibrancy of Omaha. Successful proposals will clearly address the primary goal of this program—to develop leadership skills of neighborhood residents which may include consensus-building, communications, project planning, fundraising, teamwork, and more.
African American Unity Fund: supports initiatives and organizations that benefit this community in Omaha. Grounded in resident-led decision making, the program is guided by a committee of African American representatives who understand what investments will be most impactful in addressing the needs of their community. Funding priorities: Arts and Culture (visual arts, arts education, cultural programs); Basic Human Needs (food, shelter, clothing); Community Development (leadership training, neighborhood groups, youth programs); Health and Wellness (medical, dental, mental or behavioral health, nutrition, physical activities); Capacity Building (fundraising, technology or operating expenses).
Futuro Latino Fund: supports initiatives and organizations that benefit Latino communities in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. Grounded in resident-led decision making, the program is guided by a committee of Latino representatives who understand which investments will be most impactful in addressing the needs of their community. Program goals: To contribute to the cultural enrichment, socioeconomic well-being, civic participation, and long-term sustainability of local Latino families, neighborhoods, and organizations; To promote organizational models that are self-sustaining and can effectively address the interests and concerns of the diverse Latino population; To support capacity-building and self-empowerment strategies among local Latino leaders and organizations.
LGBTQIA2S+ Equality Fund: has been established to cultivate a community that supports, includes, and respects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and non-binary individuals and families. The vision is an intersectional LGBTQIA2S+ community whose voices and needs are amplified to create deeper understanding and acceptance within the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. Program goals: (1) Provide LGBTQIA2S+ community members, especially youth and elders, a strong network of support.; (2) Achieve collective impact by organizing within the LGBTQIA2S+ community and investing in leadership development opportunities. (3) Increase visibility and acknowledgement of intersectionality within the queer community, empowering diverse voices and experiences to be heard. (4) Foster inclusivity, openness, and acceptance with and within the greater community around LGBTQIA2S+ issues. (5) Deliver equitable access to critical services AND address issues of inequity within our current social, economic, political, and justice systems.
Refugee Community Grant Fund: supports initiatives and organizations that benefit this community in Omaha. The Omaha Community Foundation is in partnership with an advisory board to aid in funding decisions. However, this committee will transition to being led by individuals who identify as current or former refugees in the coming months. In addition, the committee representatives will have a deep understanding of what investments will be most impactful in addressing the needs of their community. Funding priorities: Family stabilization and youth support services/programs; Education and culture; Physical and mental health; Belonging and inclusion.”