Locally and Statewide, the Cooper Foundation Provides Support
“The Cooper Foundation was involved in the Nebraska Cultural Endowment from the very beginning,” said Victoria Grasso, President of The Cooper Foundation. “In fact, my predecessor, Art Thompson, facilitated the task force meeting back in 1998 to discuss the creation of a cultural endowment for Nebraska.”
Founded in 1934, The Cooper Foundation has since granted over $23 million to support programs and projects in Nebraska. This includes their generous support to help build the capacity of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
“The Nebraska Cultural Endowment is an enormously effective organization. Having an organization that provides funding for the Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) and Humanities Nebraska (HN) is a great fit for us,” says Victoria.
The Cooper Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the areas of education, human services, the arts, the humanities, and the environment throughout Nebraska, primarily Lincoln. However, as Victoria expresses, “The kind of support the NCE provides to the entire state is the thing that we can’t do on our own. But investing through the Nebraska Cultural Endowment allows us to touch every part of the state.”
The kind of support the NCE provides to the entire state is the thing that we can’t do on our own. But investing through the Nebraska Cultural Endowment allows us to touch every part of the state.
Victoria Grasso,
Cooper Foundation President
“Since the beginning, and consistently thereafter, the Cooper Foundation has provided transformational support which has made the NCE what it is today,” Kyle Cartwright, NCE Executive Director, remarked. “We would be telling a very different story were it not for having the Cooper Foundation as a visionary foundation partner.”
With the Cooper Foundation’s long-term support for the NCE’s operations, the organization has steadily and sustainably increased funding for the incredible arts and humanities nonprofits around the state, in collaboration with NAC and HN.
“There are really wonderful organizations in this state, with very talented and dedicated people that work so hard to bring these cultural opportunities to us,” says Victoria. “Having the opportunity to support those organizations has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life.”
The NCE is grateful to the Cooper Foundation and looks forward to continuing to serve our shared mission well into the future. We invite foundations whose mission includes supporting the arts and humanities to consider how the NCE may be a strategic philanthropic partner. Please contact kyle@nebraskaculture.org to learn more.