Grow Omaha
Non-Profit News

Polina Gardens, Lauritzen Gardens’ first satellite location, opens on June 3 at 727 South 13th Street downtown. The free community space features art, gathering spaces and more than 120 trees and shrubs combined with 25,000 plants.

The Munroe-Meyer Guild’s 57th annual Garden Walk is set for June 14, and tickets are on sale now. Participants can tour five gardens spread across Omaha while raising money to support projects such as innovative virtual reality therapy for children with cerebral palsy, specialized therapy designed to bolster social skills for children on the autism spectrum and more.

MyCity Greater Omaha, a program which expands knowledge of leadership and civic engagement among Omaha’s immigrant and refugee populations, has produced its first cohort of graduates. The group includes 24 participants, who received a $500 stipend along with a $1,000 scholarship for continued development. MyCity GO was launched by the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement in collaboration with the Greater Omaha Chamber.

Grant applications for Omaha Community Foundation’s Field of Interest Funds open June 1. There are three funds: The Jetton Charitable Fund, which goes toward youth access to the arts, history and natural sciences; the Creche Childhood Education Fund for early childhood education; and the Richard A. Shaw Fund, which funds history, natural sciences and outdoor education. Applications close July 15.

Malcolm X Memorial Foundation announced phase 2 of its cultural campus at 3448 Evans Street in north Omaha this week. The campus will feature a museum, cultural center, hotel, affordable housing and a financial incubator. The foundation plans to begin construction on the $40 million project in 2027 and open in 2030.

The Joslyn Castle’s Carriage House Cafe opens today – May 21. The Carriage House Café is a social enterprise designed to provide meaningful workforce development experiences for young adults served by the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe Meyer Institute.

Omaha-based Sunflower Grant Writers is launching Sunflower Scholar School, a five-week, cohort-based grant training and coaching program designed to help nonprofits confidently pursue grant funding. The program officially launches June 2 with an educational open house and kickoff event at Forge Event Hall in The Catalyst in Omaha.

A proposed city ordinance aims to “reverse the prohibition against city employees fundraising during work hours.” The ordinance would allow city employees to fundraise for nonprofits at work five times a year, given that the nonprofit’s mission aligns with the public safety, community welfare or public health and be consistent with the mission of the City of Omaha. The city council plans to vote on the ordinance on June 2.

The NonProfit Times has named Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For in 2026. The Omaha chapter of the organization placed #7 out of 50 top organizations nationwide while employing 44 individuals.

The Bellevue Food Pantry last Friday broke ground on its facility in the former Bellevue Public Library at 1003 Lincoln Road. The future location is 20 times the size of the 1,000 sq. ft. space Bellevue Food Pantry has occupied for more than 15 years. After renovations, the new space will include a 3,000 sq. ft. pantry, walk-in coolers and freezers, community meeting areas and a community garden. The facility is expected to open this December.

The American Heart Association is hosting the 2026 Greater Omaha Heart & Stroke Walk this Saturday at Gene Leahy Mall. So far, the event has raised more than $250,000 which will go toward research and CPR training efforts.

Generation Diamond, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults aged 19 and older overcome barriers to stability, safety and self‐sufficiency, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. Home to Omaha’s only free Tattoo Removal Program, the organization also announced that Founder Blanca Mejia will be stepping down as executive director, and Marina Rosado will take on the role.