Cooper Foundation Awards Impact Grant to the Clyde Malone Community Center and Approves Final Round of Rapid Response Grants at September Board Meeting
Thursday, October 1, 2020
Lincoln, Neb. — The Cooper Foundation trustees approved a grant of $140,000 to the Malone Community Center for unrestricted general operating support. These funds, along with the $10,000 Rapid Response grant awarded in June, will provide $100,000 for Malone’s current fiscal year, and $50,000 in the next. “This grant is to support the strong leadership at Malone who have stepped forward to serve the community during unprecedented times,” said Foundation President Victoria Grasso. “The Malone Center was founded in 1955, which was the first year that the Cooper Foundation provided funding. We want to leverage our long relationship with Malone to help create real impact with this funding. We know that the most impactful funding foundations and corporations can give is unrestricted funding, that allows organizations to fill gaps in project funding, support critical salary and overhead expenses, and focus on mission-central work.”
The Malone Center’s programs serve children, youth, and families, including maternal wellness and breastfeeding support, high-quality early childhood education, afterschool programs, and business and leadership programs for teens. The Take Pause program connects Lincoln police for social and learning activities, and the Hold Cops Accountable initiative provides an avenue for meaningful communication between the city of Lincoln, the Lincoln Police Department, and the community. They partner with Legal Aid of Nebraska in Project Uplift to provide free legal assistance, and are the lead agency for the Community Learning Center (CLC) at Culler Middle School. The Malone Center provides access to healthy food, school supplies, and other community needs, and celebrates and advocates for the Black community.
In addition, the Foundation awarded an additional $107,434 in September to 12 diverse nonprofit agencies through the final Rapid Response application cycle, including a gift of $19,434 to the United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County for the 2020 campaign. The grants were awarded to a diverse group of arts, education, environment, human services, and humanities organizations. Grant recipients are located in Lincoln unless otherwise noted.
Bridges to Hope: $7,500
CEDARS Youth Services: $10,000
Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools: $10,000
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Inc.: $5,000
Nebraska Writers Collective (Omaha, NE): $7,500
Northeast Family Center: $10,000
Prairie Loft Center for Outdoor and Agricultural Learning (Hastings, NE): $5,000
TADA Productions, Inc.: $7,500
United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County: $19,934
University of Nebraska State Museum: $5,000
Willa Cather Foundation (Red Cloud, NE): $10,000
Willard Community Center: $10,000
The Cooper Foundation, established by Joseph H. Cooper in 1934, has granted over $25 million to benefit the people of Nebraska. The Foundation makes grants supporting arts, civic and community engagement, education, environment, humanities, and human services, primarily in Lincoln and Lancaster County. For more information about grant eligibility and the application process visit the foundation’s website, www.cooperfoundation.org.