Cooper Foundation Awards Third Quarter Grants at September Board Meeting
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Lincoln, Neb. — The Cooper Foundation awarded a grant of $10,000 to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities to advance educational components of the web portal, Nebraska Stories of Humanity, which provides interactive stories and documentation from Nebraska Holocaust survivors & WWII veteran/liberator stories. Cooper provided start-up funding of $10,000 in 2021 for the initial stage of data gathering and story mapping of historical primary resources and documents. The website was launched in April 2022, https://nestoriesofhumanity.unl.edu/.
The second phase of the project will address the educational framework and instructional lesson plans and content to meet state standards (aligning with LB888, passed this year, which requires the board of education to adopt academic standards for education about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide). Grant funding will also support the Center as they prepare for larger grants from national funding sources to expand and sustain the site. To learn more, visit, https://cdrh.unl.edu/.
In addition, the Cooper Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved 12 grants to a diverse group of arts, civic and community engagement, education, environment, human services, and humanities organizations. Grant recipients are located in Lincoln unless otherwise noted.
Arts
Lincoln Orchestra Association: $7,500
General operating support for Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra 2022-23 season.
Nebraskans for the Arts (Omaha, NE): $5,000
Towards strategic planning and capacity building to support arts advocacy in Nebraska.
Civic and Community Engagement
I Be Black Girl (Omaha, NE): $5,000
To support statewide advocacy and initiatives centering on Black women, femmes, and girls. I Be Black Girl (IBBG) is a reproductive justice-focused organization working to support an environment where Black women, femmes, and girls can live wholly and participate in policy and advocacy.
Nebraska Civic Engagement Table: $7,500
Towards programming, tools, resources, and technical assistance to grow civic engagement capacity throughout the state.
OpenSky Policy Institute: $7,500
General operating to support non-partisan fiscal research, analysis, communications, and outreach that advocates for a strong Nebraska through sound tax and budget policy.
Education
Cause Collective: $5,925
For educational activities and capacity building programming for Lincoln and Lancaster County nonprofits.
Literacy Council of Grand Island: $5,000
To support adult literacy programming in central Nebraska.
Environment
National Audubon, Spring Creek Prairie (Denton, NE): $7,500
General operating support for conservation work and education programming at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center.
Human Services
Centro Hispano Comunitario de Nebraska, (Columbus, NE): $7,500
To support bilingual programming centered around immigration, education, and family support. Voz de Esperanza is a BIPOC-led organization and the only bilingual serving organization spanning a 6-county area to include Platte, Boone, Nance, Colfax, Madison, and Butler counties.
Lincoln/Lancaster County Habitat for Humanity: $7,500
Support for technology.
United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County: $21,420
Towards the 2022 campaign.
Humanities
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities: $10,000
Toward the Nebraska Holocaust survivor & WWII veteran/liberator stories project.
The Cooper Foundation, established by Joseph H. Cooper in 1934, has granted over $27 million to benefit the people of Nebraska. The Foundation makes quarterly grants supporting the arts, civic and community engagement, education, environment, the humanities, and human services primarily in Lincoln and Lancaster County. For more information about grant guidelines and deadlines, visit the foundation’s web site, www.cooperfoundation.org.