School Health Grants in Nebraska | Instrumentl (2024)

NOTE: This grant is closed for the remainder of FY23 which ends June 30, 2024. Nebraska Arts Council anticipates opening the FY24 grants in late April for projects starting July 1, 2024. Please check back then.

Grant applications are due six weeks before the event and are processed on a first-come, first-served basis

Our Mission: The mission of the Nebraska Arts Council is to promote, cultivate and sustain the arts for the people of Nebraska. In doing so, the Nebraska Arts Council provides grants and services to artists, organizations and communities that:

• Build creative and proactive leadership in the arts
• Forge partnerships that create and expand opportunities for the arts
• Cultivate new resources needed to sustain the arts in Nebraska
• Establish the arts as basic to education and lifelong learning
• Use the arts as a catalyst for understanding among cultures
• Advocate for increased awareness and access to the arts

Presenting Nebraska’s State Poet grants provide financial assistance for Nebraska nonprofit organizations and accredited public or private schools hosting virtual or outdoor events featuring the current Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason.

The Presenting Organization, in discussion with the State Poet, should determine the most ideal method for making the event virtually accessible.

The presenting organization is responsible for $50 dollars of the total State Poet’s fee, per contract, per application. The base fee for State Poet readings is $125.00. If workshops are also scheduled, each workshop is $65.00. NAC issues grant payments to the sponsoring organization, not to the artist. Applicants can enter the number of workshops planned, which will automatically determine the total fee and NAC request amount. The State Poet Budget-Contract functions as a contract between the State Poet and the Presenting Organization and should be signed by both parties before uploading to the grant application.

Your organization will be required to attest that its programming and events adhere to local community or county health guidelines, or other public agency health guidelines until such time as the pandemic risk is deemed passed. Presenting organizations that hold performances within a school setting are required to attest that their school-based performances are in compliance with the host school’s health guidelines.

NOTE: Interested parties should contact the NDEE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) Coordinator to discuss their proposed project.

What are “Brownfields”?

Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Often the potential liability associated with contamination complicates business development, property transactions, or expansion on these properties.

Cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields properties is necessary to preserve neighborhoods, reduce urban sprawl, and stop the continued development of new industrial and commercial facilities on farmland. By investigating and cleaning up a brownfields property and addressing the property’s potential health or environmental risks, communities can reuse property - producing jobs, increasing the tax base, and adding other benefits such as creating a park or residential area.

Every city and county, in both rural and urban areas, has brownfields properties. NDEE currently has programs to assist communities with the redevelopment of brownfields properties.

Brownfields Assistance Section 128(a) Assessments

Section 128(a) Assessments are Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) that provide preliminary environmental information to determine if there is contamination on a property. The Nebraska Department of Environment & Energy (NDEE) offers these assessments to communities at no cost.

These assessments are performed in accordance with the “all appropriate inquiry” requirements but may include additional activities such as nearby drinking water well sampling and testing building materials for asbestos, lead-based paint and/or mold.

The first part of the assessment examines the background, setting and past uses of a property. It includes a records review, site reconnaissance, interviews, and, as a final product, a report documenting the environmental conditions at the property.

The second part of the assessment examines and evaluates the environmental conditions identified in the initial assessment. Soil and groundwater sampling and analyses are conducted to determine whether contamination associated with any environmental conditions has occurred on the site. The results of the sampling and analyses are evaluated in the Assessment Report.

NOTE: The U.S. Bank Foundation utilizes an electronic Letter of Interest to identify organizations with unique and innovative programs that fit within our pillars of Work, Home and Play. U.S. Bank Foundation accepts applications by invitation only.

U.S. Bank Foundation

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners. Established partners are annually invited to apply for a grant via an invitation from a Community Affairs Manager. New and emerging organizations bring balance to our grant making through our Letter of Interest (LOI) application, and we ensure funding is set aside each year to explore new opportunities.

Our Community Affairs and Foundation Team works closely with U.S. Bank regional leadership, Business Resource Groups and our National Community Advisory Committee to ensure that the prevailing needs of our communities are met in all communities we serve. Nonprofit organizations new to U.S. Bank Foundation are encouraged to submit a LOI at any time during the year.

Mission & Commitment to Our Communities

We believe all people deserve the opportunity to dream, believe and achieve.

The building blocks of vibrant communities – a stable job, a home to call your own and a community connected through culture, recreation and play – continue to be atthe heart of possibility for all of us. Through U.S. Bank’s Community Possible Platform, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating positive and transformative change in our communities.

Community Possible is designed to embrace thediversity in our communities. We consider grant requests without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexualorientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, marital status, genetic information, veteran status or other factors that are protected by law.While the U.S. Bank Foundation generously funds many nonprofit organizations in our communities, it's impossible to fund every request. To make the most meaningful impact in ourlocal communities, we focus our grant giving to fund economic development tied to Work, Home and Play.

Community Possible Grant Program

We support organizations and programs that advance the following funding priorities, focusing on organizations that have an intentional approach to addressing immediate needs and systemic economic and racial barriers to success. As part of our commitment to a sustainable future, environmental stewardship is a consideration in each of our three focus areas:

Grant Categories

• Play: Arts, culture and places to play.
  • Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education:
    • Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:
      • Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
      • Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
      • Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers
  • Supporting learning through play:
    • Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:
      • Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
      • Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities
  • Outdoor places to play:
    • Environmental stewardship enhances and improves the livability of our communities. Supporting efforts to preserve, protect and enhance outdoor spaces is now part of our Play pillar of giving. Funding support includes:
      • Cleanup efforts in community spaces, including (but not limited to) beaches, rivers, and streams
      • Protecting green spaces within the community, including planting trees, mangroves and seagrass
      • Programs that support community, native and/or pollinator gardens, including community composting
• Work: Workforce education and economic prosperity.
  • Investing in the workforce:
    • We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:
      • Small business technical assistance programs
      • Job skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force
  • Providing pathways for educational success:
    • To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:
      • Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
      • Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students
  • Teaching financial well-being for work and life:
    • Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:
      • K-12 and college student financial literacy
      • Adult and workforce financial literacy
      • Senior financial fraud prevention
      • Military service member and veteran financial literacy
• Home: Neighborhood stability and revitalization.
  • Access to safe, affordable energy-efficient housing:
    • We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:
      • Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
      • Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct stepping stone to permanent housing
      • Organizations that focus on veterans housing and homeownership
      • Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
      • Clean energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments
      • Organizations that provide access to renewable energy
      • Improving waste management systems to include recycling and composting programs
  • Homeownership education:
    • Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:
      • Homebuyer education
      • Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
      • Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

Types of Funding Requests

• Operating grants: An operating grant is given to cover an organization’s day-to-day, ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies and more. We consider operating support requests from organizations where the entire mission of the organization fits a Community Possible grant focus area.
• Program or project grants: A program or project grant is given to support a specific, connected set of activities, with a beginning and an end, explicit objectives and a predetermined cost. We consider highly effective and innovative programs that meet our Community Possible grant focus areas.
• Capital grants: A capital grant is given to finance fixed assets. The U.S. Bank Foundation considers a small number of requests for capital support from organizations that meet all other funding criteria, whose entire mission statement fits a Community Possible grant focus area, and with which the Foundation has a funding history. All organizations requesting capital funding must also have a U.S. Bank employee on the board of directors. U.S. Bank does not fund more than 1% of the non-endowment total capital campaign fundraising goal. All capital grant requests are reviewed and approved by the national U.S. Bank Foundation Board or by the U.S. Bank Foundation President.

Factors of Consideration

Because the Foundation receives funding requests in excess to the annual grant program budget, we must decline support to worthy organizations and programs. We may decline support to organizations we have previously supported to expand community engagements. Support should not be expected to continue in perpetuity and declination does not reflect a negative appraisal of the organization or the value of its programs and service.

The following factors are among those the foundation will consider:

• Innovation and/or differentiation in our focus areas of Work, Home and Play
• Programming and services that advance positive community engagement efforts
• Demonstrated outcomes and impact
• Service delivery to low-and moderate-income, women and people of color
• Diversity in the management and governing board of the organization
• The financial health of the organization

NOTE: The application deadlines are generally the first business day of the following months: January, April, July and October. Grants must be submitted to the Fremont Area Community Foundation office by 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date.

The Fremont Area Community Foundation’s mission is to support activities which provide civic improvement, educational, health and recreation, social services, or arts and cultural benefits to Fremont, Nebraska and its surrounding communities. The Foundation gives grants from two funds: the Fremont Forever Fund, established by many donors, and the Lester A. Walker Fund, which was founded under the will of Lester A. Walker who was the publisher of the Fremont Tribune for many years.

NOTE: Grant requests totaling $50,000 or more are reviewed one time annually during January of each year and it is recommended that organizations submit a Letter of Intent prior to a full application. The deadline for the Letter of Intent is December 1st of each year.

The Fremont Area Community Foundation’s mission is to support activities which provide civic improvement, educational, health and recreation, social services, or arts and cultural benefits to Fremont, Nebraska and its surrounding communities. The Foundation gives grants from two funds: the Fremont Forever Fund, established by many donors, and the Lester A. Walker Fund, which was founded under the will of Lester A. Walker who was the publisher of the Fremont Tribune for many years.

NOTE: If the deadline to apply for your state has passed, please reach out to your state coordinator for a deadline extension

The Arbor Day Foundation

We plant trees because people need trees. Our health and the health of our planet are interconnected, and the simple act of planting trees benefits both. The Arbor Day Foundation works to connect opportunities, people, and organizations to plant trees and forests to help solve some of the most critical issues facing our planet.

Tree Campus Higher Education Program

No matter where you’re from, trees and green space are an integral part of the college experience. They make campuses more livable, healthy, and beautiful, benefiting students and the environment as a whole.

Tree Campus Higher Education was founded to foster that tradition of excellence. The program provides a simple framework for colleges and universities to grow their community forests, achieve national recognition, and create a campus their students and staff are proud of.

Why should my school participate?

• A commitment to trees can significantly reduce the amount of energy your campus, and community, needs to generate.
• Planting and maintaining trees absorbs carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, mitigating the effects of climate change.
• Green space provides important mental health benefits to students, faculty, and staff, as well as encourages physical activity.
• Involving students in tree-related service-learning projects helps educate the next generation about the importance of caring for the environment.

Recognition also builds pride among your campus and the wider community. We make it easy for you to share your designation, sending flags, press releases, logos and graphics, and other materials after your acceptance.

NOTE: The Sherwood Foundation will NOT have an open program and capital grant cycle in 2023. We will provide updates for future grant cycles as they become available.

Mission

The Sherwood Foundation® promotes equity through social justice initiatives enhancing the quality of life in Nebraska.

Vision

We believe social justice is the proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes, and actions that all produce equitable power, access, opportunities, treatment, impacts, and outcomes for all.

Who We Fund

The Sherwood Foundation® limits grants to organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), government entities, schools, or churches that are serving Nebraska. These organizations must be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service.

What We Fund

The Sherwood Foundation® limits grants to nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that predominately benefit those that are serving Nebraska and must address one of our categories:

Urban Community Partnerships

Our work in Nebraska’s urban communities focuses on family stability and child wellbeing with an overarching emphasis on community context. Using a two-generation approach, we are interested in the relationship between direct service provision and the greater systems that impact a community. Applicants are wise to cite specific research that influences a service model or approach to solving a community challenge.

Omaha Public Schools

Guidelines:

• OPS employees must obtain approval from the District before submitting an application.
• Applications lacking such documentation will not receive consideration.
• For assistance, please contact the OPS Grant Coordinator at 402.557.2151.

Rural Community Partnerships

Through these grants, The Sherwood Foundation® promotes local capacity to address locally-identified priorities and thereby strengthen the common good we enjoy as fellow Nebraskans. Requests from communities outside of the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas are considered on an ongoing basis.

The following priorities guide The Sherwood Foundation’s Rural Community Partnership grants:

• Community leadership development that helps local community members expand and deepen their skills and experiences to better serve their home community through learning and innovation.
• Community inclusion that is broad-based and intentionally developed to leverage the diverse skills and perspectives of community members in service to the benefits and responsibilities of community life.
• Community collaboration that aligns stakeholders and resources in order to strategically build upon and utilize locally-controlled assets.

Early Childhood Education

The Sherwood Foundation® supports early childhood education on a regional and national basis through The Buffett Early Childhood Fund

What the Sherwood Foundation Values

The Sherwood Foundation has strongly held values regarding civil liberties, equality and fairness with a particular focus on women and people oppressed because of their race, sexual orientation, and/or religion or lack-thereof.

• We respect that not all nonprofit organizations share the same values as the Foundation.
• We don’t ask nonprofits to change values for us or for funding.
• We do ask that nonprofits leaders respect our values and save everyone time and energy by not seeking funding if our organizational values aren’t aligned.

Equal rights.

We believe all humans are created equal. We work to eliminate government and social barriers to equality.

Access to civic life.

We are proud to live in a democracy and believe that the rights provided to individuals in the United States should be protected and the best way to protect those rights is to ensure equal access to the voting polls.

Reproductive justice.

We support a woman’s right to self-determination about reproductive health choices. We expect our grantees serving women and girls to ensure access and education to all health care options, including abortion.

Opportunity to thrive.

We believe a zip code should not determine the outcome of a life. We see how government institutions and laws have historically and do presently oppress and suppress opportunity, particularly for people of color but also other minority populations and women. We work with our community to undo systemic oppression and build systems that meet the needs of citizens and do not further oppress. We seek economic justice for our neighbors and the opportunity that lies therein.

Access to services.

We expect grantees to ensure that clients have access to services and that service providers work to remove barriers rather than create barriers to care and compassion. A service provider’s religious belief system should not be imposed upon those who seek their services, whether through proselytization, coercion, guilt, or an unspoken quid-pro-quo expectation to participate in faith-based classes or religious services.

NOTE: The application deadline has been extended to January 1, 2024 (confirmed by the foundation).

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursem*nt to support the following activities:

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff.
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

Rooted in Evidence Grants

The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN) is pleased to release the Request for Proposals (RFP) for its third round of the Rooted in Evidence Food Bank Evaluation and Grant Program (herein referred to as “Rooted in Evidence”). Rooted in Evidence is an opportunity for selected food banks and their partners to enhance measurement and evaluation related to their programming. In addition, this program will provide funding for innovative and dynamic programming to improve the health and dietary quality of emergency food recipients. A highlight of this opportunity is to work in partnership with GSCN to conduct a robust evaluation of the grant activities in order to better understand the impact of funded projects and to create meaningful communication pieces. The overarching goal of this RFP is to strengthen the skills and competency of funded organizations to effectively evaluate the impact of their programming and share findings with their communities.

The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, established in 1973 with a focus on research and evaluation related to healthy eating and active living, improving food security and healthy food access, promoting local food systems and applying a health equity lens across all initiatives. GSCN specializes in both process and outcome evaluation, including the development and implementation of quantitative (e.g., survey) and qualitative (e.g., interview, focus groups) approaches, measurement development, and statistical analysis. GSCN works collaboratively with partners to design feasible, yet rigorous, study designs, along with developing complementary high-quality reports and other communication deliverables. Through Rooted in Evidence, grantee food banks can expect to work collaboratively to design and implement a high-quality project and accompanying evaluation that will yield meaningful data and information to share with partners and leverage future funding.

What We Aim to Fund

Since the focus of Rooted in Evidence is to enhance evaluation and dissemination capacity, we anticipate that food banks will allocate dedicated staff time for communication and collaboration with GSCN through virtual trainings and technical assistance, data collection and management activities, and reporting. It is highly recommended that food bank applicants partner with a local researcher/evaluator/graduate student to assist in the development of their evaluation plans and to help with data collection efforts if their internal staff has limited experience with evaluation.

GSCN intends to fund innovative and dynamic programming and/or initiatives that seek to improve dietary quality among food pantry and food bank clients. Applicants should consider basing their proposal around evaluation efforts of a program that is either novel (i.e., not commonly done by food banks) or has an innovative twist. For example, while many food banks have BackPack programs, an innovative change to this program could be working with a new partner or taking a novel approach to delivery, such as working with a local Head Start to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to participants. Additionally, these approaches could include existing or new/adapted programming that may include various:

• Settings and distribution sites (e.g., home delivery models, mobile or other “pop-up” pantries, college campuses, schools, child care settings, traditional pantries, clinics, including FQHCs).
• Components or levels of the emergency food system (e.g., distribution, procurement, food environment, client interactions to target knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to promote healthy eating).
• Target populations (e.g., children, adults, families, seniors, ethnic/racial minorities, new American/immigrant populations, college students, staff/volunteers, cancer survivors or other disease conditions, urban/rural).

NOTE: This grant is closed for the remainder of FY23 which ends June 30, 2024. Nebraska Arts Council anticipates opening the FY24 grants in late April for projects starting July 1, 2024. Please check back then.

Grant applications are due six weeks before the event and are processed on a first-come, first-served basis

Our Mission: The mission of the Nebraska Arts Council is to promote, cultivate and sustain the arts for the people of Nebraska. In doing so, the Nebraska Arts Council provides grants and services to artists, organizations and communities that:

• Build creative and proactive leadership in the arts
• Forge partnerships that create and expand opportunities for the arts
• Cultivate new resources needed to sustain the arts in Nebraska
• Establish the arts as basic to education and lifelong learning
• Use the arts as a catalyst for understanding among cultures
• Advocate for increased awareness and access to the arts

Presenting Nebraska’s State Poet grants provide financial assistance for Nebraska nonprofit organizations and accredited public or private schools hosting virtual or outdoor events featuring the current Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason.

The Presenting Organization, in discussion with the State Poet, should determine the most ideal method for making the event virtually accessible.

The presenting organization is responsible for $50 dollars of the total State Poet’s fee, per contract, per application. The base fee for State Poet readings is $125.00. If workshops are also scheduled, each workshop is $65.00. NAC issues grant payments to the sponsoring organization, not to the artist. Applicants can enter the number of workshops planned, which will automatically determine the total fee and NAC request amount. The State Poet Budget-Contract functions as a contract between the State Poet and the Presenting Organization and should be signed by both parties before uploading to the grant application.

Your organization will be required to attest that its programming and events adhere to local community or county health guidelines, or other public agency health guidelines until such time as the pandemic risk is deemed passed. Presenting organizations that hold performances within a school setting are required to attest that their school-based performances are in compliance with the host school’s health guidelines.

NOTE: Interested parties should contact the NDEE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) Coordinator to discuss their proposed project.

What are “Brownfields”?

Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Often the potential liability associated with contamination complicates business development, property transactions, or expansion on these properties.

Cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields properties is necessary to preserve neighborhoods, reduce urban sprawl, and stop the continued development of new industrial and commercial facilities on farmland. By investigating and cleaning up a brownfields property and addressing the property’s potential health or environmental risks, communities can reuse property - producing jobs, increasing the tax base, and adding other benefits such as creating a park or residential area.

Every city and county, in both rural and urban areas, has brownfields properties. NDEE currently has programs to assist communities with the redevelopment of brownfields properties.

Brownfields Assistance Section 128(a) Assessments

Section 128(a) Assessments are Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) that provide preliminary environmental information to determine if there is contamination on a property. The Nebraska Department of Environment & Energy (NDEE) offers these assessments to communities at no cost.

These assessments are performed in accordance with the “all appropriate inquiry” requirements but may include additional activities such as nearby drinking water well sampling and testing building materials for asbestos, lead-based paint and/or mold.

The first part of the assessment examines the background, setting and past uses of a property. It includes a records review, site reconnaissance, interviews, and, as a final product, a report documenting the environmental conditions at the property.

The second part of the assessment examines and evaluates the environmental conditions identified in the initial assessment. Soil and groundwater sampling and analyses are conducted to determine whether contamination associated with any environmental conditions has occurred on the site. The results of the sampling and analyses are evaluated in the Assessment Report.

NOTE: The U.S. Bank Foundation utilizes an electronic Letter of Interest to identify organizations with unique and innovative programs that fit within our pillars of Work, Home and Play. U.S. Bank Foundation accepts applications by invitation only.

U.S. Bank Foundation

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners. Established partners are annually invited to apply for a grant via an invitation from a Community Affairs Manager. New and emerging organizations bring balance to our grant making through our Letter of Interest (LOI) application, and we ensure funding is set aside each year to explore new opportunities.

Our Community Affairs and Foundation Team works closely with U.S. Bank regional leadership, Business Resource Groups and our National Community Advisory Committee to ensure that the prevailing needs of our communities are met in all communities we serve. Nonprofit organizations new to U.S. Bank Foundation are encouraged to submit a LOI at any time during the year.

Mission & Commitment to Our Communities

We believe all people deserve the opportunity to dream, believe and achieve.

The building blocks of vibrant communities – a stable job, a home to call your own and a community connected through culture, recreation and play – continue to be atthe heart of possibility for all of us. Through U.S. Bank’s Community Possible Platform, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating positive and transformative change in our communities.

Community Possible is designed to embrace thediversity in our communities. We consider grant requests without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexualorientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, marital status, genetic information, veteran status or other factors that are protected by law.While the U.S. Bank Foundation generously funds many nonprofit organizations in our communities, it's impossible to fund every request. To make the most meaningful impact in ourlocal communities, we focus our grant giving to fund economic development tied to Work, Home and Play.

Community Possible Grant Program

We support organizations and programs that advance the following funding priorities, focusing on organizations that have an intentional approach to addressing immediate needs and systemic economic and racial barriers to success. As part of our commitment to a sustainable future, environmental stewardship is a consideration in each of our three focus areas:

Grant Categories

• Play: Arts, culture and places to play.
  • Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education:
    • Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:
      • Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
      • Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
      • Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers
  • Supporting learning through play:
    • Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:
      • Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
      • Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities
  • Outdoor places to play:
    • Environmental stewardship enhances and improves the livability of our communities. Supporting efforts to preserve, protect and enhance outdoor spaces is now part of our Play pillar of giving. Funding support includes:
      • Cleanup efforts in community spaces, including (but not limited to) beaches, rivers, and streams
      • Protecting green spaces within the community, including planting trees, mangroves and seagrass
      • Programs that support community, native and/or pollinator gardens, including community composting
• Work: Workforce education and economic prosperity.
  • Investing in the workforce:
    • We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:
      • Small business technical assistance programs
      • Job skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force
  • Providing pathways for educational success:
    • To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:
      • Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
      • Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students
  • Teaching financial well-being for work and life:
    • Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:
      • K-12 and college student financial literacy
      • Adult and workforce financial literacy
      • Senior financial fraud prevention
      • Military service member and veteran financial literacy
• Home: Neighborhood stability and revitalization.
  • Access to safe, affordable energy-efficient housing:
    • We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:
      • Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
      • Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct stepping stone to permanent housing
      • Organizations that focus on veterans housing and homeownership
      • Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
      • Clean energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments
      • Organizations that provide access to renewable energy
      • Improving waste management systems to include recycling and composting programs
  • Homeownership education:
    • Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:
      • Homebuyer education
      • Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
      • Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

Types of Funding Requests

• Operating grants: An operating grant is given to cover an organization’s day-to-day, ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies and more. We consider operating support requests from organizations where the entire mission of the organization fits a Community Possible grant focus area.
• Program or project grants: A program or project grant is given to support a specific, connected set of activities, with a beginning and an end, explicit objectives and a predetermined cost. We consider highly effective and innovative programs that meet our Community Possible grant focus areas.
• Capital grants: A capital grant is given to finance fixed assets. The U.S. Bank Foundation considers a small number of requests for capital support from organizations that meet all other funding criteria, whose entire mission statement fits a Community Possible grant focus area, and with which the Foundation has a funding history. All organizations requesting capital funding must also have a U.S. Bank employee on the board of directors. U.S. Bank does not fund more than 1% of the non-endowment total capital campaign fundraising goal. All capital grant requests are reviewed and approved by the national U.S. Bank Foundation Board or by the U.S. Bank Foundation President.

Factors of Consideration

Because the Foundation receives funding requests in excess to the annual grant program budget, we must decline support to worthy organizations and programs. We may decline support to organizations we have previously supported to expand community engagements. Support should not be expected to continue in perpetuity and declination does not reflect a negative appraisal of the organization or the value of its programs and service.

The following factors are among those the foundation will consider:

• Innovation and/or differentiation in our focus areas of Work, Home and Play
• Programming and services that advance positive community engagement efforts
• Demonstrated outcomes and impact
• Service delivery to low-and moderate-income, women and people of color
• Diversity in the management and governing board of the organization
• The financial health of the organization

NOTE: The application deadlines are generally the first business day of the following months: January, April, July and October. Grants must be submitted to the Fremont Area Community Foundation office by 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date.

The Fremont Area Community Foundation’s mission is to support activities which provide civic improvement, educational, health and recreation, social services, or arts and cultural benefits to Fremont, Nebraska and its surrounding communities. The Foundation gives grants from two funds: the Fremont Forever Fund, established by many donors, and the Lester A. Walker Fund, which was founded under the will of Lester A. Walker who was the publisher of the Fremont Tribune for many years.

NOTE: Grant requests totaling $50,000 or more are reviewed one time annually during January of each year and it is recommended that organizations submit a Letter of Intent prior to a full application. The deadline for the Letter of Intent is December 1st of each year.

The Fremont Area Community Foundation’s mission is to support activities which provide civic improvement, educational, health and recreation, social services, or arts and cultural benefits to Fremont, Nebraska and its surrounding communities. The Foundation gives grants from two funds: the Fremont Forever Fund, established by many donors, and the Lester A. Walker Fund, which was founded under the will of Lester A. Walker who was the publisher of the Fremont Tribune for many years.

NOTE: If the deadline to apply for your state has passed, please reach out to your state coordinator for a deadline extension

The Arbor Day Foundation

We plant trees because people need trees. Our health and the health of our planet are interconnected, and the simple act of planting trees benefits both. The Arbor Day Foundation works to connect opportunities, people, and organizations to plant trees and forests to help solve some of the most critical issues facing our planet.

Tree Campus Higher Education Program

No matter where you’re from, trees and green space are an integral part of the college experience. They make campuses more livable, healthy, and beautiful, benefiting students and the environment as a whole.

Tree Campus Higher Education was founded to foster that tradition of excellence. The program provides a simple framework for colleges and universities to grow their community forests, achieve national recognition, and create a campus their students and staff are proud of.

Why should my school participate?

• A commitment to trees can significantly reduce the amount of energy your campus, and community, needs to generate.
• Planting and maintaining trees absorbs carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, mitigating the effects of climate change.
• Green space provides important mental health benefits to students, faculty, and staff, as well as encourages physical activity.
• Involving students in tree-related service-learning projects helps educate the next generation about the importance of caring for the environment.

Recognition also builds pride among your campus and the wider community. We make it easy for you to share your designation, sending flags, press releases, logos and graphics, and other materials after your acceptance.

NOTE: The Sherwood Foundation will NOT have an open program and capital grant cycle in 2023. We will provide updates for future grant cycles as they become available.

Mission

The Sherwood Foundation® promotes equity through social justice initiatives enhancing the quality of life in Nebraska.

Vision

We believe social justice is the proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes, and actions that all produce equitable power, access, opportunities, treatment, impacts, and outcomes for all.

Who We Fund

The Sherwood Foundation® limits grants to organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), government entities, schools, or churches that are serving Nebraska. These organizations must be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service.

What We Fund

The Sherwood Foundation® limits grants to nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that predominately benefit those that are serving Nebraska and must address one of our categories:

Urban Community Partnerships

Our work in Nebraska’s urban communities focuses on family stability and child wellbeing with an overarching emphasis on community context. Using a two-generation approach, we are interested in the relationship between direct service provision and the greater systems that impact a community. Applicants are wise to cite specific research that influences a service model or approach to solving a community challenge.

Omaha Public Schools

Guidelines:

• OPS employees must obtain approval from the District before submitting an application.
• Applications lacking such documentation will not receive consideration.
• For assistance, please contact the OPS Grant Coordinator at 402.557.2151.

Rural Community Partnerships

Through these grants, The Sherwood Foundation® promotes local capacity to address locally-identified priorities and thereby strengthen the common good we enjoy as fellow Nebraskans. Requests from communities outside of the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas are considered on an ongoing basis.

The following priorities guide The Sherwood Foundation’s Rural Community Partnership grants:

• Community leadership development that helps local community members expand and deepen their skills and experiences to better serve their home community through learning and innovation.
• Community inclusion that is broad-based and intentionally developed to leverage the diverse skills and perspectives of community members in service to the benefits and responsibilities of community life.
• Community collaboration that aligns stakeholders and resources in order to strategically build upon and utilize locally-controlled assets.

Early Childhood Education

The Sherwood Foundation® supports early childhood education on a regional and national basis through The Buffett Early Childhood Fund

What the Sherwood Foundation Values

The Sherwood Foundation has strongly held values regarding civil liberties, equality and fairness with a particular focus on women and people oppressed because of their race, sexual orientation, and/or religion or lack-thereof.

• We respect that not all nonprofit organizations share the same values as the Foundation.
• We don’t ask nonprofits to change values for us or for funding.
• We do ask that nonprofits leaders respect our values and save everyone time and energy by not seeking funding if our organizational values aren’t aligned.

Equal rights.

We believe all humans are created equal. We work to eliminate government and social barriers to equality.

Access to civic life.

We are proud to live in a democracy and believe that the rights provided to individuals in the United States should be protected and the best way to protect those rights is to ensure equal access to the voting polls.

Reproductive justice.

We support a woman’s right to self-determination about reproductive health choices. We expect our grantees serving women and girls to ensure access and education to all health care options, including abortion.

Opportunity to thrive.

We believe a zip code should not determine the outcome of a life. We see how government institutions and laws have historically and do presently oppress and suppress opportunity, particularly for people of color but also other minority populations and women. We work with our community to undo systemic oppression and build systems that meet the needs of citizens and do not further oppress. We seek economic justice for our neighbors and the opportunity that lies therein.

Access to services.

We expect grantees to ensure that clients have access to services and that service providers work to remove barriers rather than create barriers to care and compassion. A service provider’s religious belief system should not be imposed upon those who seek their services, whether through proselytization, coercion, guilt, or an unspoken quid-pro-quo expectation to participate in faith-based classes or religious services.

NOTE: The application deadline has been extended to January 1, 2024 (confirmed by the foundation).

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursem*nt to support the following activities:

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff.
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

Rooted in Evidence Grants

The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN) is pleased to release the Request for Proposals (RFP) for its third round of the Rooted in Evidence Food Bank Evaluation and Grant Program (herein referred to as “Rooted in Evidence”). Rooted in Evidence is an opportunity for selected food banks and their partners to enhance measurement and evaluation related to their programming. In addition, this program will provide funding for innovative and dynamic programming to improve the health and dietary quality of emergency food recipients. A highlight of this opportunity is to work in partnership with GSCN to conduct a robust evaluation of the grant activities in order to better understand the impact of funded projects and to create meaningful communication pieces. The overarching goal of this RFP is to strengthen the skills and competency of funded organizations to effectively evaluate the impact of their programming and share findings with their communities.

The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, established in 1973 with a focus on research and evaluation related to healthy eating and active living, improving food security and healthy food access, promoting local food systems and applying a health equity lens across all initiatives. GSCN specializes in both process and outcome evaluation, including the development and implementation of quantitative (e.g., survey) and qualitative (e.g., interview, focus groups) approaches, measurement development, and statistical analysis. GSCN works collaboratively with partners to design feasible, yet rigorous, study designs, along with developing complementary high-quality reports and other communication deliverables. Through Rooted in Evidence, grantee food banks can expect to work collaboratively to design and implement a high-quality project and accompanying evaluation that will yield meaningful data and information to share with partners and leverage future funding.

What We Aim to Fund

Since the focus of Rooted in Evidence is to enhance evaluation and dissemination capacity, we anticipate that food banks will allocate dedicated staff time for communication and collaboration with GSCN through virtual trainings and technical assistance, data collection and management activities, and reporting. It is highly recommended that food bank applicants partner with a local researcher/evaluator/graduate student to assist in the development of their evaluation plans and to help with data collection efforts if their internal staff has limited experience with evaluation.

GSCN intends to fund innovative and dynamic programming and/or initiatives that seek to improve dietary quality among food pantry and food bank clients. Applicants should consider basing their proposal around evaluation efforts of a program that is either novel (i.e., not commonly done by food banks) or has an innovative twist. For example, while many food banks have BackPack programs, an innovative change to this program could be working with a new partner or taking a novel approach to delivery, such as working with a local Head Start to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to participants. Additionally, these approaches could include existing or new/adapted programming that may include various:

• Settings and distribution sites (e.g., home delivery models, mobile or other “pop-up” pantries, college campuses, schools, child care settings, traditional pantries, clinics, including FQHCs).
• Components or levels of the emergency food system (e.g., distribution, procurement, food environment, client interactions to target knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to promote healthy eating).
• Target populations (e.g., children, adults, families, seniors, ethnic/racial minorities, new American/immigrant populations, college students, staff/volunteers, cancer survivors or other disease conditions, urban/rural).

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