FAQ

We are happy to meet. If your organization is new to Weitz Family Foundation, please contact Emily Nguyen, Executive Director at Emily@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org. For current or past grantees, reach out to Program Associates Robia Qasimyar at Robia@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org (organizations A-M) or Diana Martinez at Diana@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org (organizations N-Z).

If you would like to discuss a current grant, share organizational updates, or explore whether your organization may be a fit for funding, please contact foundation staff. Your Program Associate is the best place to start, and new organizations should contact Emily Nguyen, Executive Director, at Emily@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org. Meetings with our President are not part of the application or funding process. Please see Dr. Katie Weitz’s blog for her reflection about our leadership transition.

Please explore the Yates Illuminates website to learn more about this project and the partnership between Yates and the Gifford Park Neighborhood Association!

Drafting an email or sending a one-pager to Emily Nguyen, Executive Director, at Emily@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org will allow us to see if there is a staff member or resource we can connect with you. Please know we want to make dreams come true, so providing us with as much information up front is helpful. Additionally this could include links, video, other resources, it does not need to be a formal presentation (although we love a good slide deck!)

As a private foundation, we can not give to individuals, including political candidates. We do fund advocacy work as allowable for 501(c)3 organizations.  For more information on what is allowable, see Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy program. 

Thank you for being considerate and carefully reviewing how or whether your agency fits with our foundation. The Weitz Family Foundation prioritizes and supports systemic change that transforms our community into an equitable place to live. Being able to answer how your effort addresses racial equity is crucial. The next question would be, are you working at the level of direct service, systemic change, or something in between? Every piece of the work is vital to our community.

Our funding focuses on organizations working to create long-term, systemic change rather than providing ongoing direct services. As a result, we generally do not fund food pantries, diaper banks, or other basic needs programs. We are also not considering new funding requests for early childhood, after-school, or mentoring programs. One exception is direct service organizations that provide culturally responsive services to a specific community or population in ways that address barriers not otherwise being met. We are grateful there are many other funders who appreciate and respond to appeals for those primarily focused on direct services.

Have more questions?  Please communicate with our Program Associates: Robia Qasimyar at
Robia@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org (organizations A-M) or Diana Martinez at
Diana@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org (organizations N-Z).

• Beloved Community
  • Funding requests $20,000 and under
  • Shorter application
  • First-time applicants are eligible for consideration
  • Multi-year requests for eligible organizations:
    • Must have received a Weitz Family Foundation grant for 5 or more years, does not have to be consecutive.
    • Engaging in advocacy, community organizing, or supporting collective action to address the root problems of poverty, racism, or other inequities OR is meeting a unique need to provide culturally competent and accessible direct services in Omaha.
    • Actively working to improve their organization’s racial equity and accessibility.

• Capacity Building
  • Funding requests starting at $21,000
  • Longer application
  • First-time applicants are not eligible for consideration
  • Capital campaign requests
  • Multi-year requests for eligible organizations:
    • Must have received a Weitz Family Foundation grant for 5 or more years, does not have to be consecutive.
    • Engaging in advocacy, community organizing, or supporting collective action to address the root problems of poverty, racism, or other inequities OR is meeting a unique need to provide culturally competent and accessible direct services in Omaha.
    • Actively working to improve their organization’s racial equity and accessibility.

Our grant applications open in mid-July and close in late August. Notifications will be sent by mid-December. Please see our Process page for more details. 

When you visit the Tutorials page on our website, you will see a video that walks you through the GivingData website and application process. On that same page, you will also be able to access a document that serves as a guide with helpful directions and information.

No, you may only apply for one of the available grants. 

If you have never received a grant from Weitz Family Foundation, or if you have applied in the past but were not selected for funding, you must apply through the Beloved Community grant program. Beloved Community is the primary entry point for new applicants and provides the best opportunity to introduce your organization and its work to the Weitz family and foundation team.

Yes! Please note that all of our funding is disbursed as general operating. We do not fund more than 50% of a specific position’s salary and/or more than 20% of total program budgets. For capital campaigns, we expect either 10% or the entirety of our grant (whichever is less) to go toward contracts with small and emerging businesses.

Agencies that work in the Omaha metro area are eligible to apply. We do fund several national organizations with satellites/chapters in Omaha. If your agency is primarily located and works outside of Omaha, especially outside of Nebraska, we will say no. We receive so many worthy requests, our criteria for funding begins with the simple geographic question. Please understand that although your proposal may be wonderful, if it is not taking place in the Omaha area, we are unlikely to be your funder.

While we recognize that the Omaha and Council Bluffs communities are closely connected, our grantmaking is focused on the Omaha metropolitan area. We generally do not fund organizations based outside our geographic focus, including those in Council Bluffs, unless they have a significant impact in Omaha.

No worries! We are happy to find a solution that works for you. Please email Rose at Rose@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org.

Yes, your organization must be designated as a 501(c)3 to be considered for grant funding. If you submitted your application to the IRS and are pending approval, you are still welcome to apply. However, you will need to keep us updated about the status of your application and, if your application is approved, we may withhold funds until your designation comes through. If you do not have a 501(c)3 designation but secure a fiscal sponsor that does, you are eligible to apply for funding. You must disclose this and share the contact information for your fiscal sponsor in your application.

Our team is actively engaged with nonprofit organizations throughout the year. Unless you have an existing personal relationship with an individual family member, please direct all funding inquiries to the foundation rather than to individual members of the Weitz family.

If your organization is new to Weitz Family Foundation, please contact Emily Nguyen to schedule an introductory conversation before applying at Emily@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org. For current or past grantees, Program Associates are available to answer questions about funding priorities and the application process: Robia Qasimyar at Robia@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org for organizations A–M and Diana Martinez at Diana@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org for organizations N–Z.

If you would like to meet before applying, we encourage you to reach out well in advance of the application deadline. The weeks immediately following the opening of the application are our busiest time, and our availability for meetings is limited. Please note that meeting with foundation staff does not indicate the likelihood of receiving a grant.

Yes. Our Beloved Community grants are meant to provide funds for the day-to-day costs of operating non-profit agencies that fit within our mission. If you are applying for a Capacity Building grant, overhead costs can be included. In these programmatic areas, we prefer to see overhead that doesn’t exceed 20 percent. Additionally, if you intend to use any portion of the grant to fund an event, please indicate that on your application.

While we do not have a maximum threshold for how long responses must be, you will see that we have word limit suggestions on our application. Ultimately, we are looking for responses that offer complete, direct, and honest answers to our questions. Provide enough information that will allow our team to get a solid idea of the picture you are trying to paint, but please do not feel like you must include every minute detail.

Our funding focuses on organizations working to create long-term, systemic change rather than providing ongoing direct services. As a result, we generally do not fund food pantries, diaper banks, or other basic needs programs. Other areas we do not fund include organizations centered on religion, sports, animals, and the environment. We are also not considering new funding requests for early childhood, after-school, or mentoring programs. One exception is direct service organizations that provide culturally responsive services to a specific community or population in ways that address barriers not otherwise being met. If your work is primarily focused on direct services, there may be other funders whose priorities are a better fit.

No.

You’re welcome to contact us so that we can determine a means by which you can still apply for grant funding. Please email Rose at Rose@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org.

Yes. If you would like feedback on your application, please email Emily Nguyen at Emily@WeitzFamilyFoundation.org to request a conversation. We are happy to share feedback and insights where we can to help you better understand our decision and determine whether Weitz Family Foundation may be a good fit in the future.

Please note that these conversations are intended to provide feedback, not to reconsider or appeal a funding decision. We receive many strong applications each year and, unfortunately, are not able to fund every worthy request.

Yes!

If you are seeking support for an event or sponsorship, we encourage you to include that request as part of your annual grant application. The application includes a dedicated section for event and sponsorship requests, including the amount requested and the associated sponsorship level.

Outside of the application process, we generally do not consider unsolicited sponsorship requests. In limited circumstances, we may consider requests from current grantees or organizations with which we have an existing relationship.

If we provide sponsorship support, you are welcome to recognize Weitz Family Foundation in your event and marketing materials.

If you have an active multi-year operating grant from Weitz Family Foundation, you are not eligible to apply for an additional operating grant during your grant term.

We may consider requests for capital projects that fall outside of your operating grant.

If there is a time-sensitive need for an additional request while you have an active multi-year grant, we encourage you to contact your Program Associate to discuss.