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The Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation recognizes that for people and places to truly be healthy, the basic needs of individuals must first be met. The Foundation values the work of health and human service agencies that care for our community’s most vulnerable members and strive to assist in times of high demand and financial uncertainty.

The Omaha Award is a competitive grants program that provides support to nonprofit organizations working directly in the areas of food, personal care items, shelter and health for residents of the Omaha metro area.  Eligible organizations can request a maximum grant of $75,000 annually.

Funding priorities of the Omaha Award include:

  • General operating support for those organizations whose programs are 100% focused on basic needs
  • Program support for direct expenses incurred as part of meeting critical needs services for clients
  • Organizations or projects that demonstrate creativity, collaboration, impact and sustainability while creating a welcoming community
  • Services which are offered to anyone who demonstrates need, where there is a lack of “safety net” resources and agency services are essential to survival

Eligibility

Geographic Area

Organization and/or service should be located in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area.

Tax-Exempt Status

Grants are only made to organizations that are tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) and must be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service or be a government entity described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Length of Funding Period

Nonprofits can receive one grant per calendar year. Nonprofits may reapply annually for funding. Award of a grant does not mean that future support will automatically be available.

Apply

Click here for the Omaha Award Grant Application Guidelines, Restrictions, and Application.

Past Winners

Launched in 1998, the Omaha Award was established to energize Omaha’s philanthropic spirit by encouraging nonprofit organizations to improve the community collaboratively. The original vision of our founders was to create a unique funding opportunity fostering creativity and efficiencies. Applications were invitation only and grants were awarded for both new and existing programs and services from 1998 – 2001 and again in 2015.

The Omaha Award was re-imagined and relaunched in 2019 with new criteria, guidelines, and application. While the criteria changed, the original vision to offer a unique funding opportunity to nonprofits encouraging creativity, collaboration, and to be a catalyst for positive change remains the same.

Omaha Career Network

The first recipient of the Omaha Award embodied its essence. Intensely collaborative, The Omaha Career Network helped young people who didn’t attend college select a suitable, enjoyable and profitable career track. A consortium of educational institutions and business and employment agencies won the first grant to implement job training and placement for high school dropouts and non-college attenders in search of careers.

The Omaha Cultural and Academic Cooperative

The second recipient of the Omaha Award expressed the innovative approach to community service that the Award seeks to ignite. Seven organizations (the Durham Western Heritage Museum; Joslyn Museum; Omaha Botanical Gardens; Henry Doorly Zoo; SAC Museum; Metropolitan Community College; and the University of Nebraska at Omaha) proposed a program to create internships at all organizations to teach high school and college students about possible careers in volunteer work.

Lutheran Family Services

The third recipient of the Omaha Award, Lutheran Family Services, has long served the Omaha community and helped families in many ways. In 2000, it received a $1 million grant for its Strong Urban Neighborhoods (SUN) proposal, which expanded sex offender treatment services for victims.

Catholic Charities & Child Saving Institute

From protecting children to developing new small business owners to feeding the hungry, the Child Saving Institute and Catholic Charities of Omaha serve many in the Omaha area. In 2001, the charities received the Omaha Award and a grant to uplift the community in a collaborative way.

Outlook Nebraska

The most recent recipient of the Omaha Award, Outlook Nebraska, is campaigning to raise $2.3 million for facility renovations and expansion that will allow it to conduct outreach programs and deliver skills to individuals with vision loss. Grant funds will expand the reach and effectiveness of ONI programs and employment opportunities.