Deadline: 01-Aug-21
The Omaha Community Foundation is committed to mobilizing support through the Fund for Omaha for organizations leading racial and social justice work in the community.
Goals
The Foundation is committed to tackling existing funding gaps by expanding opportunities for organizations that intentionally amplify and care for BIPOC voices. Program goals include:
- Building grassroots capacity of nonprofit organizations.
- Supporting advocacy efforts to address systems change in communities of color.
- Increasing connections within and across communities.
- Working to ensure equitable access for people of color throughout the community.
Priority Areas
The Foundation believes this work can happen through investments that address racial equity gaps. Funding priorities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Arts & Culture: Providing equitable access to the tools and resources needed to engage the community in arts and cultural programming
- Neighborhoods: Ensuring safe and affordable housing, homeownership paths, and public spaces suitable for social connectivity for BIPOC communities
- Economic Opportunity: Expanding access to job opportunities and equitable pay in the community for people of color
- Health: Enabling access or removing barriers to quality healthcare, mental health, and nutrition for BIPOC
- Transportation: Advocating for and supports expanded options for people of color to have reliable and efficient transportation to areas with the most jobs
- Vibrant Communities: Amplifying the voices of those least often heard
Strategies
- Community Innovation Program Fit: Does the project use inclusive, collaborative and resourceful processes to pursue an innovative solution to a community challenge?
- Inclusive. Does the project meaningfully engage key stakeholders? Does it thoughtfully identify those needed to create the intended change and, whenever possible, include those directly affected by the problem?
- Collaborative. Is the project a true joint effort, with partners willing to share ownership and decision-making as they pursue an innovation together?
- Resourceful. Does the project use existing resources and assets creatively to make the most of what a community already has?
- Implementation Plans
- Is the project plan thoughtful and realistic? Does it address the identified community need?
- Does the applicant have the capacity to execute the work effectively or have a plan to meet the needed capacity?
- Potential Impact of the Project
- Will the project likely make a significant, sustainable difference, now or in the future?
- Will the project inspire or inform others?
Funding Information
Award Size: Applicants can request up to $25,000. This grant is ultimately considered an operating support grant and can be used flexibly to accomplish the program or goals outlined in the application.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants are those defined as public, tax-exempt organizations by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that provide services in the Omaha metropolitan area (Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie counties), or working with a 501(c)(3) fiscal agent who can receive funds on your behalf.
- Organizations that have an annual operating budget of $5 million or less are eligible to apply.
- Organizations that received funding in the prior year are no longer prohibited from funding. This is a change from past funding cycles in which organizations were not funded for consecutive years.
- The Foundation supports local nonprofits that are working to ensure equitable access to opportunity for people throughout the community. With this in mind, funding decisions are made considering the following:
- Equitable Access: Does the nonprofit provide an opportunity for Black, Indigenous, and people of color to thrive; especially those whose voices are least heard?
- Cultural Awareness: Does the nonprofit demonstrate an understanding of the many cultures represented in the fabric of the community?
- Authentic Engagement: Does the nonprofit prioritize Black, Indigenous, and people of color’s lived experience in the development, deployment, and facilitation of efforts to impact the community?
- Capacity Building: Does the grant increase the nonprofit’s reach and bolster its efforts in the above three ways?
For more information, visit https://omahafoundation.org/nonprofits/fund-for-omaha/