Four grants awarded in this cycle will fund organizations serving Lincoln’s immigrant and refugee communities. Three cultural centers – the Asian Community and Cultural Center, El Centro de las Américas and Good Neighbor Community Center’s MENA Hope project – have received general-operating grants as they collaborate on efforts to build a cultural centers campus near 22nd and Vine streets.

An additional grant supports Nebraska Appleseed’s Nebraska Is Home project, which provides leadership of statewide refugee and immigrant inclusion and welcoming efforts.

The majority of the approved funding – 60% – will support human services agencies. Additionally, 27% of the grants benefit civic and community projects, 11 percent education organizations and 2 percent arts and culture programs.

To date in 2023, Woods Charitable Fund has paid grants totaling $935,600. WCF has paid grants totaling $107,644,232 since the fund’s inception in 1941.

WCF approved the following for funding:

Asian Community and Cultural Center ($30,000) – An operating grant for this cultural center supporting Lincoln’s Asian and New American communities.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Lincoln ($45,000) – A program-related investment for this agency that coordinates and professionally supports community-based one-to-one mentoring relationships for at-risk children.

Center for People ($20,000) – Support for staffing and related operating expenses for its food distribution program.

City of Lincoln ($35,000) – A project grant to support the Lincoln Police Department’s Victim Assistance Unit.

Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties ($10,000) – Support for staffing for its Emergency Services program that provides rent, utility and deposit assistance to families experiencing financial hardships.

El Centro de las Américas ($50,000) – General-operating support for this cultural center serving Lincoln’s Hispanic and Latino population and the community.

Family Service Association of Lincoln ($10,000) – Support for staffing and operations of Community Crops, which provides education, advocacy and opportunities to grow local food.

Good Neighbor Community Center ($30,000) – General-operating support for this agency serving basic and emergency needs and the MENA Hope Project, serving Lincoln’s New Americans from the Middle East and North Africa.

HUB Central Access Point for Young Adults ($25,000) – General-operating support for this organization supporting youth transitioning to adulthood who are disconnected from family and/or the community.

Legal Aid of Nebraska ($20,000) – Staffing support for an attorney in Lincoln specializing in housing legal issues for the organization’s Housing Justice Project.

Lincoln Littles ($41,500) – Continued salary and related support for this organization that seeks to help children under age 6 have access to high-quality care and education regardless of race, ethnicity or income, ensuring they are ready for school and a life of learning.

Lux Center for the Arts ($10,000) – Funding for the Artist in Residence program at this Lincoln community arts center.

Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest ($40,000) – Two-year funding for Nebraska Is Home, its immigrant and refugee welcoming and inclusion initiative.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland ($10,000) – Continued support of comprehensive and inclusive sexual educational programming in Lincoln.

The Set Me Free Project ($10,000) – To support staffing and programming in Lincoln that focuses on prevention education on the dangers of human trafficking and social media safety for elementary, middle- and high-school students.

Woods Charitable Fund makes grants twice a year to tax-exempt organizations seeking funding for Lincoln-focused programs in the areas of human services, civic and community, education, arts and culture, and through its Breakthrough Initiative Grant program.

For more information, call 402-436-5971, visit www.woodscharitable.org or write to Tom Woods, Kathy Steinauer Smith or Nicole Juranek at 1248 O St., Suite 1130, Lincoln, NE 68508, or at [email protected].