The Omaha Community Foundation and SHARE Omaha are joining together again to celebrate the region’s generosity through #GivingTuesday402. This year, donors are encouraged to give early starting November 1, to help capture the full impact of community generosity leading up to Giving Tuesday, on December 2.
“Early giving allows every dollar to be counted toward Omaha’s Giving Tuesday totals, helping showcase the collective power of local philanthropy. Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to maximize collective generosity in our community,” said Donna Kush, president and CEO of the Omaha Community Foundation. “As nonprofits face mounting challenges from an increased demand for services to rising operational costs, this one-day emphasis on giving plays an important role in sustaining the organizations that strengthen and serve our community.”
Research shows that communities with a central Giving Tuesday organizer raise nearly twice as much as those without. The Omaha Metro proves this point: before SHARE Omaha launched the community-wide effort in 2019, Giving Tuesday generated about $800,000. In 2024, local giving soared to over $3.7 million across 30,000 gifts, with 470 nonprofits receiving funds.
Since 2019, the Omaha metro has inspired more than $22.5 million in Giving Tuesday donations. Nearly one in four donors (24%) supported a new-to-them nonprofit last year, showing that Giving Tuesday continues to connect people with causes that matter.
Omaha Community Foundation fundholders played a big role, with a 60 percent increase in grants made to nonprofits through their OCF charitable accounts in 2024. Many donors also reported that Giving Tuesday encouraged them to give more overall, regardless of economic conditions.
Donors can give directly through their Omaha Community Foundation fund or at SHAREomaha.org to support participating nonprofits. Giving through these channels means that donation represents Omaha’s giving number and the global total.
Photo by Brad Williams
