Last week, multiple Omaha nonprofits were notified that federal grants they had won from the National Endowment for the Arts are set to be terminated at the end of May. According to the email notifying affected nonprofits, “The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.” Among those affected by this funding termination are the Omaha Conservatory of Music, Great Plains Theatre Commons, Anastasis Theatre, Omaha Theatre Company, Benson First Friday and WhyArts.
Partnership 4 Kids is facing a $260,000 annual gap after Department of Government Efficiency reductions impacted AmeriCorps-supported programs. Partnership 4 Kids, which says these cuts threaten its ability to continue serving more than 3,000 students in underserved neighborhoods, is the only non-profit in Nebraska that receives assistance from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism.
Dunham House broke ground on Tuesday at a 40-acre site in north Omaha for its first-of-its-kind, transformational housing initiative meant to serve combat-wounded veterans in need of long-term residential-centered care. Dunham House is being developed in collaboration with Omaha-based nonprofit Wounded Warriors Family Support. When it opens in July 2026, Dunham House will be home to 30 veterans who require supportive care yet seek to maintain independence. The single-story complex will span approximately 27,500 sq. ft.
Lauritzen Gardens’ Spring Plant Sale is returning on May 9 and 10. The sale will be held on the festival garden lawn and feature a selection of pollinator packs and plants curated for gardens of the Great Plains as well as orchids, houseplants and succulents from the garden’s collection. Proceeds from the sale will support the garden’s efforts to practice and promote thoughtful, ecologically minded practices.
Nebraska Wildlife Rehab hosted Bats Over Omaha on Monday at The RiverFront’s Heartland of America Park. The yearly event invited spectators to watch Nebraska Wildlife Rehab staff release hundreds of bats which were injured or displaced this winter and turned in for rehabilitation.