Victoria Grasso Appointed President of the Cooper Foundation

Friday, October 12, 2018

Victoria Grasso

The trustees of the Cooper Foundation have appointed Victoria Grasso as President, effective January 1, 2019.  Ms. Grasso joined the Foundation in 1994 as Secretary/Receptionist and was promoted to Grants Administrator, Program Officer, and most recently Senior Program Officer. As Senior Program Officer, she has led all aspects of the Foundation’s grantmaking as well as much of the day-to-day management.

Ms. Grasso earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She has an Executive Certificate in Finance and Accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a participant in the 2018 Career Pathways program, the flagship leadership development program of the Council on Foundations. She has served on a number of boards and committees for nonprofit organizations including Darger HQ, Vital Signs, Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, EducationQuest Foundation, and Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties. Ms. Grasso and her husband Dan have two children and three grandchildren.

Art Thompson

Ms. Grasso will succeed Art Thompson, who was elected to the board in 1984 and appointed President in 1990.  He is a member of the Council on Foundations and is a past member of its Legislation Committee and Committee for Philanthropy and the Rural Initiative. Earlier he held positions with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Nebraska Interstate Bicentennial Sculpture Project, and the Lincoln Telephone Company, among others. He is past president of the Nebraska Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Nebraska Art Association, and the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools as well as chair of the Mid America Arts Alliance and a member of the board of the Nebraska Arts Council.

The Cooper Foundation was established in 1934 by Joseph H. Cooper, owner of the Cooper Theatres, a multi-state movie theatre business. Since its founding, the foundation has made grants of over $24 million in support of education, human services, the arts and humanities, and the environment.