About Peter Kiewit Foundation

The foundation supports efforts that align with our strategic impact areas, primarily in the Omaha metro area and across the state of Nebraska. We also make grants in that portion of Western Iowa within 100 miles of Omaha, as well as other geographies of interest to Mr. Kiewit.

Strategic Priorities

College Access and Success

• Goal: Increase (2- and 4- year) college-going, persistence, and completion.
• Investments in:
  • Programs and initiatives that help students to improve readiness for, access to, and success in post-secondary education.
  • Post-secondary institutions’ efforts to build their own capacity to improve student success outcomes.
  • Programs and initiatives that strengthen the alignment between high schools, post-secondaries, and employers to create a seamless school-to-career pathway.
• Two Scholarship Programs:
  • “Kiewit Vocational Scholarship” Program with Nebraska Community Colleges and Iowa Western
  • “Peter Kiewit Foundation Engineering Academy” at the University of Nebraska

Youth Development

• Out Of School Time
  • Goal: Increase the number of opportunity youth (K-12) participating in high quality out-of-school programs that enhance academic, professional, and personal learning.
  • Investments in:
    • Omaha metro area nonprofit organizations that provide high-quality out of school programs (after school/summer learning, college/career readiness, mentoring, and character-building).
    • Nebraska nonprofit intermediaries working to build the quality, capacity, and reach of the out-of-school time and mentoring sectors across the state.
• Stem Learning
  • Goal: Increase the number of high-quality STEM programs and learning experiences accessed by youth (outside of school).
  • Investments in:
    • Omaha metro nonprofit organizations and educational institutions that provide high quality STEM awareness, experiences, and exposure opportunities.
    • Quality of place amenities that provide STEM experiences (science museums, children’s museums, libraries, etc.)
    • Networks that support quality STEM experiences and connect them to educational and career pathways.

Economic Development and Opportunities

• Strengthen Omaha’s Urban Core
  • Goal: Increase the number of people who live, work, and play in Downtown Omaha
  • Investments in:
    • Civic, cultural, and recreational amenities that engage and improve the quality of life for residents in the Omaha Metro’s Downtown and Urban Core.
    • Catalyst projects that spur economic development in jobs, talent attraction, or housing.
    • Efforts that build an “ecosystem” for entrepreneurs to thrive and spur innovation.
    • Efforts that take a capital project from “basic to beautiful.”
    • Efforts that support walkable, bikeable communities as well as multi-modal transportation options (e.g., bikeshare programs, trail networks, bus rapid transit programs and supports, etc.

• Revitalize Distressed Communities
  • Goal: Improve the built environment to stabilize and grow neighborhoods and communities experiencing decline and disinvestment.
  • Investments in:
    • Catalyst projects and initiatives that revitalize the built environment.
• Economic Opportunity
  • Goal: Increase employment, jobs, and building of financial assets in distressed communities.
  • Investments in:
    • Small business programs that provide financial and technical assistance to minority- and female-owned businesses (e.g., loan funds, business acumen programs, business coaching/training).
    • Programs that build financial literacy for community residents to acquire assets and build wealth.
    • Workforce development programs that build skills and connect individuals to employment.
    • Programs that provide support and technical assistance to spur housing development and homeownership.

Quality of Place Amenities

• Goal: Increase access to quality civic, arts, and cultural and recreational amenities.
• Investments in:
  • Capital projects with community-wide support.
  • Innovative programs and collaborations that engage broad, diverse audiences and are inclusive of the entire community.
  • Occasional operating grants to arts and culture organizations pursuing innovation and best practices.

Community Capacity in Greater Nebraska

• Goal: Improve communities’ ability to lead and respond to their own needs and opportunities.
• Investments in:
  • Planning efforts to develop a community-wide plan for improvement and growth.
  • Community foundations and regional networks working to build capacity of community leaders.

In addition to these strategic impact areas we occasionally support responses to address emerging issues or opportunities that have a large scale, community-wide impact.

Project Type

We consider proposals that are closely aligned to the foundation’s Strategic Impact Areas. We fund general operations, programs, and capital projects.

Matching Funds

Peter Kiewit Foundation grants are awarded on a matching funds basis. An applicant must have developed at least a portion of the matching funds needed before submitting a request.

NOTE:

• Teams must apply and get approval for the John Deere FIRST grant PRIOR to completing (paying for) registration. You can register with FIRST but SHOULD NOT PAY for your registration as you will forfeit receiving a John Deere grant.
• For FIRST teams that receive a John Deere grant, one of the requirements is for all coaches, lead mentors along with FTC & FRC students to take the free, three part, on-line FIRST Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training with this link if not taken before. This will help your team to use the strategies for better recruitment and support.

John Deere FIRST

John Deere and FIRST are together committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion which encourages teams to be more innovation, creative, and make better decisions. We encourage your team to support and encourage diversity within your team.

John Deere grants are focused on increasing the participation and positive outcomes for students in John Deere home communities who historically have been underserved and underrepresented in STEM (Engineering, Computer Science/IT, and Manufacturing). This focus is supporting John Deere’s Bold Commitment of reaching at least one million underserved/underrepresented youth by 2030.

Current U.S. & Canada John Deere Inspire Home Communities

United States:

• California - Torrance
• Georgia - Augusta
• Illinois - Champaign & Quad Cities
• Iowa - Des Moines, Dubuque, Paton, Ottumwa, Quad Cities, & Waterloo
• Kansas - Coffeyville
• Louisiana - Thibodaux
• Missouri - Springfield
• North Carolina - Raleigh-Durham
• North Dakota - Fargo & Valley City
• Tennessee - Greeneville
• Wisconsin – Horicon

Canada:

• Alberta - Edmonton 
• Manitoba - Altona
• Ontario - Grimsby
• Ontario - Oakville
• Saskatchewan - Regina

NOTE:

• Teams must apply and get approval for the John Deere FIRST grant PRIOR to completing (paying for) registration. You can register with FIRST but SHOULD NOT PAY for your registration as you will forfeit receiving a John Deere grant.
• For FIRST teams that receive a John Deere grant, one of the requirements is for all coaches, lead mentors along with FTC & FRC students to take the free, three part, on-line FIRST Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training with this link if not taken before. This will help your team to use the strategies for better recruitment and support.

John Deere FIRST

John Deere and FIRST are together committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion which encourages teams to be more innovation, creative, and make better decisions. We encourage your team to support and encourage diversity within your team.

John Deere grants are focused on increasing the participation and positive outcomes for students in John Deere home communities who historically have been underserved and underrepresented in STEM (Engineering, Computer Science/IT, and Manufacturing). This focus is supporting John Deere’s Bold Commitment of reaching at least one million underserved/underrepresented youth by 2030.

Current U.S. & Canada John Deere Inspire Home Communities

United States:

• California - Torrance
• Georgia - Augusta
• Illinois - Champaign & Quad Cities
• Iowa - Des Moines, Dubuque, Paton, Ottumwa, Quad Cities, & Waterloo
• Kansas - Coffeyville
• Louisiana - Thibodaux
• Missouri - Springfield
• North Carolina - Raleigh-Durham
• North Dakota - Fargo & Valley City
• Tennessee - Greeneville
• Wisconsin – Horicon

Canada:

• Alberta - Edmonton 
• Manitoba - Altona
• Ontario - Grimsby
• Ontario - Oakville
• Saskatchewan - Regina

NOTE: A Letter of Interest may be submitted at any time throughout the year. Applications are reviewed on a Semi-Annual Cycle.

The Foundation began as a focused way to affect positive change for children in poverty. The Foundation’s  values are the result of lessons learned from a rural upbringing and lifestyle where commitment to community, neighbor and family, and satisfaction in a job done well are held in high regard.

Mission

To encourage and multiply opportunities for children in poverty

Priorities

The Foundation will create, mentor and sustain projects such as, but not limited to:

• Impactful programs which support children in poverty
• Partnership programs with schools & organizations fostering job skill fundamentals of the Building Construction Trades

Value Statement

The Foundation focuses on practical applications, programs and projects specific to Human Health, Community Well-Being, and Education. The Foundation will seek partnerships which create access to  programs and improvements changing the lives of children living within the confines of poverty.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Veridian Credit Union has partnered with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to provide the Veridian Credit Union’s Nonprofit Partnership Grants. Grants are made possible by the Veridian Credit Union Fund of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. This fund provides general operating support grants to nonprofit organizations whose work plays a vital role in enriching communities in Veridian Credit Union’s service area in Iowa and Nebraska.

Grants

The Veridian Credit Union’s Nonprofit Partnership Grants are general operating grants of up to $5,000, and are made available to nonprofits that are strengthening communities by helping individuals become more financially stable.

The purpose of these grants is to provide support to nonprofits whose work is primarily focused on addressing barriers to financial stability by educating individuals in financial literacy or employment readiness.

Grants are not for projects or programs, but are for organizations that are fully engaged in work centered around financial literacy or employment readiness. If an agency leads a variety of programs, then financial literacy or employment readiness needs to be a key component throughout its programming. Please note that general mentoring programs for youth are not considered as addressing barriers to financial stability.

NOTE:

• Teams must apply and get approval for the John Deere FIRST grant PRIOR to completing (paying for) registration. You can register with FIRST but SHOULD NOT PAY for your registration as you will forfeit receiving a John Deere grant.
• For FIRST teams that receive a John Deere grant, one of the requirements is for all coaches, lead mentors along with FTC & FRC students to take the free, three part, on-line FIRST Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training with this link if not taken before. This will help your team to use the strategies for better recruitment and support.

John Deere FIRST

John Deere and FIRST are together committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion which encourages teams to be more innovation, creative, and make better decisions. We encourage your team to support and encourage diversity within your team.

John Deere grants are focused on increasing the participation and positive outcomes for students in John Deere home communities who historically have been underserved and underrepresented in STEM (Engineering, Computer Science/IT, and Manufacturing). This focus is supporting John Deere’s Bold Commitment of reaching at least one million underserved/underrepresented youth by 2030.

Current U.S. & Canada John Deere Inspire Home Communities

United States:

• California - Torrance
• Georgia - Augusta
• Illinois - Champaign & Quad Cities
• Iowa - Des Moines, Dubuque, Paton, Ottumwa, Quad Cities, & Waterloo
• Kansas - Coffeyville
• Louisiana - Thibodaux
• Missouri - Springfield
• North Carolina - Raleigh-Durham
• North Dakota - Fargo & Valley City
• Tennessee - Greeneville
• Wisconsin – Horicon

Canada:

• Alberta - Edmonton 
• Manitoba - Altona
• Ontario - Grimsby
• Ontario - Oakville
• Saskatchewan - Regina

NOTE:

• Teams must apply and get approval for the John Deere FIRST grant PRIOR to completing (paying for) registration for the 2022-2023 FIRST season. You can register with FIRST but SHOULD NOT PAY for your registration as you will forfeit receiving a John Deere grant.
• For FIRST teams that receive a John Deere grant, one of the requirements is for all coaches, lead mentors along with FTC & FRC students to take the free, three part, on-line FIRST Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training with this link if not taken before. This will help your team to use the strategies for better recruitment and support.

John Deere and FIRST are together committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion which encourages teams to be more innovation, creative, and make better decisions. We encourage your team to support and encourage diversity within your team.

John Deere grants are focused on increasing the participation and positive outcomes for students in John Deere home communities who historically have been underserved and underrepresented in STEM (Engineering, Computer Science/IT, and Manufacturing). This focus is supporting John Deere’s Bold Commitment of reaching at least one million underserved/underrepresented youth by 2030.

Current U.S. & Canada John Deere Inspire Home Communities

United States:

• California - Torrance
• Georgia - Augusta
• Illinois - Champaign & Quad Cities
• Iowa - Des Moines, Dubuque, Paton, Ottumwa, Quad Cities, & Waterloo
• Kansas - Coffeyville
• Louisiana - Thibodaux
• Missouri - Springfield
• North Carolina - Raleigh-Durham
• North Dakota - Fargo & Valley City
• Tennessee - Greeneville
• Wisconsin – Horicon

Canada:

• Alberta - Edmonton 
• Manitoba - Altona
• Ontario - Grimsby
• Ontario - Oakville
• Saskatchewan - Regina

FIRST Tech Challenge

FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams design, build, and code robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Robots are built from a reusable platform, powered by Android technology, and can be coded using a variety of levels of Java-based programming

NOTE:

• Teams must apply and get approval for the John Deere FIRST grant PRIOR to completing (paying for) registration. You can register with FIRST but SHOULD NOT PAY for your registration as you will forfeit receiving a John Deere grant.
• For FIRST teams that receive a John Deere grant, one of the requirements is for all coaches, lead mentors along with FTC & FRC students to take the free, three part, on-line FIRST Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training with this link if not taken before. This will help your team to use the strategies for better recruitment and support.

John Deere FIRST

John Deere and FIRST are together committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion which encourages teams to be more innovation, creative, and make better decisions. We encourage your team to support and encourage diversity within your team.

John Deere grants are focused on increasing the participation and positive outcomes for students in John Deere home communities who historically have been underserved and underrepresented in STEM (Engineering, Computer Science/IT, and Manufacturing). This focus is supporting John Deere’s Bold Commitment of reaching at least one million underserved/underrepresented youth by 2030.

Current U.S. & Canada John Deere Inspire Home Communities

United States:

• California - Torrance
• Georgia - Augusta
• Illinois - Champaign & Quad Cities
• Iowa - Des Moines, Dubuque, Paton, Ottumwa, Quad Cities, & Waterloo
• Kansas - Coffeyville
• Louisiana - Thibodaux
• Missouri - Springfield
• North Carolina - Raleigh-Durham
• North Dakota - Fargo & Valley City
• Tennessee - Greeneville
• Wisconsin – Horicon

Canada:

• Alberta - Edmonton 
• Manitoba - Altona
• Ontario - Grimsby
• Ontario - Oakville
• Saskatchewan - Regina

FIRST Robotics Competition

Combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology