Community Vitality

Inclusion & Accessibility – Changing Lives Through Art

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Community Vitality, Education, Visual Arts

Inclusivity and Accessibility have taken on a renewed importance in recent months. At the heart of the Carnegie Arts Center is the drive to make art meaningful – regardless of a family’s income, access to transportation, or any physical, mental, or developmental disabilities.   Modeling this value, the Carnegie cultivated its educational outreach by partnering with groups that serve seniors, children, and families to offer accessible art classes.  “Our educational outreach absolutely would not be possible without generous grant support,” said Kyren Conley, Executive Director. With […]

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A Legacy for Family & Community

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Donor Story, Humanities

Jacquelyn E. “Jackie” Rosenlof was a champion for many causes during her lifetime. She also cared deeply for her children and grandchildren, and she left a legacy of values by sharing this love of community with them. Jackie’s four children and 14 grandchildren would often visit her in Kearney. They would go to the Archway, Kearney […]

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Arts Provide Hope for Omaha Community

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Civic Engagement, Community Vitality, Education, Visual Arts

In 2020, the importance of our relationships and sense of community became paramount. The Union for Contemporary Art (The Union) fosters this sense of community with every fiber of their organization and in the programs they create. The North Omaha community that The Union serves has been disproportionately impacted by the health and economic effects […]

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NCE Executive Director Earns Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy Designation

Nebraska • Arts, Civic Engagement, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Fine Arts, Humanities, Statewide

Kyle Cartwright, Executive Director, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, has earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy Designation (CAP®) professional designation after a year-long program of intensive study at The American College of Financial Services. The CAP® program is a three-course curriculum designed to bring nonprofit fundraisers and professional advisors together to help donors and clients achieve their […]

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Additional Relief via PPP Round 2

Nebraska • Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Government, Humanities, Statewide

The SBA announced that the PPP loan program will be-reopening this week. Community-based financial institutions, such as your local bank, may have started initiating PPP loan applications as of Monday, January 11th. If you meet the following, you may be eligible: 300 or fewer employees (or per location for restaurants and accommodations) AND 25% reduction […]

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Humanities Nebraska Awards Nearly $309,000 in Pandemic Relief Grants

Nebraska • Access, Community Vitality, Economic Development, Humanities, Statewide

Humanities Nebraska recently provided an additional $308,956 in relieft grants to 74 humanities organizations across Nebraska, each of which continues to battle the challenges of the novel cornavirus pandemic.  This funding was made possible by a special distribution to HN from the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, which in turn was matched by an anonymous funder. As […]

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An Old Concept, A New Need

Scottsbluff • Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Media Arts

 Drive-ins typically conjure up nostalgic images of days gone by; of first dates and family outings to the movies in the car. When the Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff closed its doors temporarily due to COVID-19, Executive Director Billy Estes immediately missed the interaction of the theater. It wasn’t long before Estes had the creative idea to implement a drive-in theater, and the SkyView Drive-In Theater was born.   Improvising a screen on a box truck in […]

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Finding Ways to Rewrite Historical Loss

Omaha • Access, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Education, Government, History, Humanities

The Durham Museum is a staple of Nebraska’s core cultural fabric. Like many other important institutions, the Durham relies on a mix of philanthropy and earned revenues, which have been significantly strained since March. Fortunately, many of the educational programs offered by The Durham Museum were already offered in a digital learning format, so transitioning […]

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Nebraska Cultural Endowment Grants $300,000 in Additional Funding

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Humanities, Statewide

Special fund distribution to help sustain Nebraska arts and cultural programs The Board of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment announced the distribution of $300,000 in grant funding to support Nebraska’s cultural infrastructure. The special distribution is in addition to NCE’s normal annual distribution, most recently $460,000 in April 2020. “The decision to make this unprecedented distribution […]

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Telling an Endless Story

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Education, Government, Humanities, Statewide

How does one tell an endless story in a way that captivates imagination while providing concrete examples? This was the challenge faced by the Nebraska Cultural Endowment when we revisited our creative strategy. A creative strategy uses images and text to share a message with an audience. For many years, the Endowment’s creative strategy focused […]

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