Mini-Grants Available to Empower Collective Growth in Omaha
SkateFest was a 2021 recipient of a mini-grant from One Omaha. Photo credit: One Omaha
By Alex O’Hanlon, One Omaha
Alex O’Hanlon is the engagement manager at One Omaha
As the weather gets warmer, community events amp up. There’s a lot to look forward to this coming summer, including the City Charter Convention and Affordable Housing Action Plan. Engaging with city officials as they make plans for Omaha is important, but it’s equally, if not more important, to be drivers of the culture that we want to see in our city. One Omaha aims to support community organizers with this goal through our mini-grant program.
Our mini-grant is designed to support emerging organizers by lowering barriers to creating change through providing direct funding to those who seek to make a positive impact in their community.
Groups that are eligible for the grant are:
Located in Omaha
Resident-led
Have at least four organizers
Are NOT listed in the Neighborhood Directory
Groups can apply for up to $500 in funding for projects that will be completed between June and November 2022.
Projects are judged on one or more of the following criteria:
Organize additional members of the community
Put multiple people into leadership roles
Identify issues and seek a community-based solution
Uplift marginalized folks
Be a short-term project that is part of an ongoing initiative for social change
This year our theme is “collective growth,” meaning we are looking to fund projects that empower multiple people to achieve a shared goal. We offer both a general application and an audiovisual application, in which photos and videos can be used to illustrate your project.
Applications are open from May 9 - May 27.
One Omaha has been providing mini-grants for emerging organizers since 2020. That year, we provided $8,500 to 18 local groups looking to mobilize for racial justice. Grant funds were used to purchase PPE; compensate local artists, speakers, and graphic designers; purchase food for events; and rent/buy equipment and supplies for events and programs. Of the 18 groups funded, 11 were newly formed in 2020.
Some groups who received the mobilizing mini-grant include Culxr House, What Youth Can Do, All Kinds Accessibility, Omaha Street Medics, and NOISE. NOISE used their mini-grant to cover printing costs of the Omaha Civil Rights Timeline which illustrates Omaha’s history of violence and racism, as well as social responsibility and advocacy.
In 2021, our mini-grant theme was community-building. We were able to fund nine groups for various community-focused projects, including:
Village Co-op was a 2021 recipient of a mini-grant from One Omaha. Photo credit: One Omaha
Village Co-op summer camps where funds were used to buy tools to help teach students cooking, photography, coding, and musical theater skills.
Blank skateboard decks for Skatefest Omaha’s auction to fund the first Skatefest event.
Healing Roots garden party to educate neighbors on seed saving and purchase flower bulbs.
Feed the People Omaha canvassing campaign in support of a permanent community center to continue distributing food and goods to individual community members.
Healing Roots was a 2021 recipient of a mini-grant from One Omaha. Photo credit: One Omaha
If you are interested in applying but don’t know where to start, we’ve put together a guide with tips for first-time grant writers. You can also email alex@oneomaha.org for help with idea generation, ways to get more people involved, or just general questions.
If your group is already listed in the Neighborhood Directory, please pass on this opportunity to folks who are eligible for the mini-grant. For already-established groups, One Omaha can provide services and support for visioning grant projects for the Omaha Neighborhood Grants Program and the Mayor’s Grant.
