OVERVIEW: The Sherwood Foundation supports the state of Nebraska with hundreds of millions in grants each year. Areas of focus include human services, education, economic and community development, criminal justice, health and more.
IP TAKE: The Sherwood Foundation is one of three major philanthropies headed by Susie Buffett, Warren Buffett‘s eldest child. Sherwood’s funding largely stays in the state of Nebraska, where it provides vital support to organizations of every size across a broad array of interest areas. It makes hundreds of grants each year and gives away hundreds of millions. More than half of its grants stay in the Omaha and Lincoln areas of the state. Sherwood does not name or describe its specific interests or goals, but appears to give through a social justice lens, prioritizing initiatives that address unmet needs and underserved communities. Grants provide general operating, project and capital support, and the foundation accepts applications via its website. Due dates vary by grant type. This is a surprisingly accessible foundation given the breadth of its giving in the state of Nebraska. Organizations based in Nebraska that are closely aligned are best positioned here.
PROFILE: Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Sherwood Foundation is grantmaking vehicle steered by Susan “Susie” Alice Buffett, the eldest child of Warren Buffett. Susie worked as a teacher in Omaha, but now dedicates most of her time to philanthropy, overseeing Sherwood, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which was named for her mother, and the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, which Susie founded in 2005.
The Sherwood Foundation awards “grants that help make Nebraska a better place to live, work, learn, and play.” It maintains a simple website and does not name specific areas of interest, goals or priorities for its grantmaking. The foundation does, however, organize its grants by type, providing general operating, program and capital grants to Nebraska nonprofits of every size. Tax filings suggest that this funder’s largest giving areas are human services, education and community and economic development, but its giving touches just about every type of nonprofit in the state. Sherwood has over $700 million in assets and makes hundreds of millions in grants each year, mainly in the state of Nebraska.
Grants for Human Services, Mental Health, Housing and Homelessness
A significant portion of Sherwood’s grantmaking supports services for low-income and vulnerable people in Nebraska, particularly in the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. The foundation does not name specific goals here, but it appears to prioritize mental health, vulnerable youth and services for homeless and housing insecure Nebraskans.
- Support for mental health has gone to the Mental Health Innovation Foundation, the Mental Health Association of Nebraska, the Wellbeing Partners of Omaha and Magdalene Omaha, which provides addiction recovery services.
- Youth development and services grantees include the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Omaha’s Collective for Youth and Girls Inc. of Omaha, among many others.
- In the area of housing and homelessness grants tend to focus on emergency and transitional housing. Grantees include Omaha’s Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless, Heartland Family Service, Project Houseworks and Ho-Chunck Community Capital, which serves the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
Grants for Early Childhood, K-12 and Higher Education
Education is another major area of giving for this funder, with large grants supporting schools and educational programs at every level.
- The foundation provides ongoing support to the Buffett Early Childhood Fund. Additional funding for early childhood education and services has gone to Building Blocks Early Childhood and Family Development Center, Spring Creek Kids and the Little Eagles Learning Center in Overton.
- In the K-12 realm, the foundation appears to focus on public schools and educational opportunities for underserved students, in keeping with Susie Buffett’s experience as a public school teacher in Omaha. Grantees include the Douglas County School District No. 1, Avenue Scholars, the Central High School Foundation in Omaha, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands and Stand for Schools, which works to “protect Nebraska’s public schools from privatization and advance evidence-based solutions to help Nebraska’s public schools better serve all children.”
- And in higher education, ongoing support goes to the University of Nebraska in the millions each year. Other grantees include Metropolitan Community College of Omaha, College Possible and the Nebraska Indian Community College.
Grants for Community and Economic Development
The foundation’s grantmaking for community and economic development tends to stay in Omaha and Lincoln, but a few grants have also supported rural development in the state.
- In the Omaha area, the foundation has made grants to the Southside Redevelopment Corporation, the City of Omaha, the Seventy-Five North Revitalization Corporation and the Economic Empowerment Center of Omaha, which received funding for microfinance programs.
- Rural development is a smaller area of giving. Recipients include the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons and the South Central Economic Development District in Holdredge.
Grants for Public Health, Reproductive and Maternal Health
Susie Buffett is a staunch supporter of women’s reproductive rights. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which she also chairs, is “the No. 1 provider of private funding in the U.S. to protect abortion rights,” according to past IP coverage.
- Sherwood provides ongoing support in the millions to the Reproductive Health Collaborative of Nebraska. It also supports the Nebraska Abortion and Reproductive Justice Fund and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Des Moines, Iowa.
- Other health grantees appear to focus on access to quality care throughout the state. Grantees include the Health Center Association of Nebraska, OneWorld Community Health Centers of Omaha, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Dignity Health Collective, which “strive[s] to cultivate a health and wellness ecosystem inclusive of all lived experiences.”
Grants for Civic Engagement, Democracy and Journalism
Civic engagement and local journalism appear to be growing areas of interest for this funder.
- Civic engagement grantees include Civic Nebraska, the Open Sky Policy Institute in Lincoln, the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table and Nebraska Appleseed, which aims to “improve the lives of low-income and marginalized people in Nebraska through public policy, legal action, and community organizing.”
- The foundation also supports journalism and media organizations in Nebraska including the Omaha Star Institute and the Nebraska Journalism Trust.
Grants for Criminal Justice Reform
According to past IP coverage, Sherwood is one of the four biggest supporters of criminal justice in the Midwest. Specific areas of interest include restorative justice and human services for formerly incarcerated people.
- Grantees include the Community Justice Center of Lincoln, the Nebraska Youth Justice Initiative, the Black Police Officers Association of Omaha and Creighton University, which received funding for its juvenile justice legal clinic.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
The Sherwood Foundation makes grants to organizations that support Nebraska’s BIPOC, cultural and Indigenous communities.
- Recipients include the Chicano Awareness Center, the POC Collaborative Community Resource Center of Omaha, the African Culture Connection, the Santee Sioux Nation and Borderless–A Black and Indigenous Collective, among others.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts and culture are smaller areas of giving for Sherwood, but the foundation provides vital support to a range of organizations in the state.
- Grantees include Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum, the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, the Omaha Theater Company, the Omaha Conservatory of Music and the Durham Museum, which received a capital grant to replace its roof.
Grants for Environment
Conservation is another smaller area of giving, with only a few grants awarded each year.
- The Conservation Foundation of Dickson County is the foundation’s largest grantee in this area, receiving upwards of $9 million in a recent year.
- Other grantees include the Omaha Parks Foundation and Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska.
Important Grant Details:
With the exception of a few major Nebraska organizations that receive ongoing support, grants range from $1,000 to about $5.6 million. The foundation’s median grant size is about $75,000. This funder made over $250 million in grants in a recent year.
- This funder supports organizations of every size in Nebraska with grants for operating, project or capital support.
- Grantmaking supports a broad range of interests and is responsive to local needs in the state of Nebraska.
- The foundation accepts applications via its website, but grantseekers should email the foundation at info@sherwoodfoundation.org to set up a consultation. Application due dates vary by grant type.
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