Participatory Grantmaking involves community in all parts of the giving process as to build and strengthen social movements for good. Our funding framework distributes resources through three tracks:

ELEVATE YOUTH POWER

Funding initiatives that directly serve youth and amplify their capacity to do more good.

ADVANCE COMMUNITY IMPACT

Funding community-based organizations that implement programs and services for youth.

ENHANCE SYSTEMS OF CARE

Funding initiatives that advance the youth serving system of care with youth and community participation.

 

This study was born from Snow-Redfern Foundation’s (SRF) curiosity about practices to engage more collaboratively with community-based organizations and the youth they serve. After learning more about the Participatory Philanthropy and Participatory Grantmaking (PGM), SRF committed to transforming how it serves Nebraska’s youth system of care.

Participatory Grantmaking is a structured funding process through which people with lived experience make decisions about funding that impacts them. It shifts power from funding entities to those most affected and empowers grantees as community advocates. This requires a Participatory Design, which refers to the structured practices that center the participation of people with lived experience relevant to the issue and utilizes a participatory decision-making process.

SRF Grantmaking Study Report

This year, we provided supportive funding for a Teen Opportunity Survey to amplify youth voice and to measure perceptions of their community, future education and career plans, and living in the local area in the future.

Over 3,800 middle school through high school students attending twenty-two school districts in the Nebraska Panhandle participated in a survey during the fall semester of the 2023-24 school year.

Western Nebraska Teen Opportunities Survey and Data Charts …

SRF contributes to the youth-serving system of care by advocating for participatory practices, engaging communities, supporting partners and providing resources. The majority of SRF funding is distributed through grants to community organizations, and historically directed toward three areas: Basic Needs, Well-Being and Education. SRF also funds scholarships, administers a young women’s leadership program and collaborates with partners to advance career readiness.

Recently, SRF has facilitated special projects to better understand the needs of young people and how we might elevate their voices into the system of care that serves them. Through Participatory Philanthropy, we can promote youth and community involvement by activating their role and empowering them for action.

This 2024-2026 Strategic Plan reflects our commitment to implementing participatory design in all we do. The three-year roadmap will advance business processes that promote inclusivity in the planning, grantmaking, implementation and evaluation of youth focused initiatives. To begin, we’ve reorganized our funding framework for an improved pathway to ‘Invest in the Good Life for Kids’.

Each year Snow-Redfern Foundation awards scholarships to high school seniors that are pursuing post-secondary education. In collaboration with donors that have established a memorial scholarship fund to honor a loved one, the scholarships are awarded based on criteria set forth by the donor and which align with the values and mission of the Snow-Redfern Foundation.

We encourage those interested in creating a memorial scholarship program to reach out to us to learn more.

Current Scholarship Programs

The following scholarships are open from February 1 through March 31 each year.

K.M. Dahlstedt Memorial Scholarship

The Dahlstedt family established an annual memorial scholarship fund to provide support to high school students who are pursuing a degree in vocational training education. To be eligible, students must be enrolled as a high school student who will graduate in the current year, is a citizen of the United States, is a resident of Box Butte County, and has been accepted to an accredited technical college as a full-time degree seeking student.

Edward M. and Eda S. Hempel Family Memorial Scholarship

Through the generosity of the Edward M. and Eda S. Hempel and family, a scholarship fund was created that integrates the vision and beliefs once taught to young people at the Nebraska Boys Ranch. Mr. and Ms. Hempel were integral in sustaining the Boys Ranch over the years and were generous contributors. Mr. Hempel was a long-time board member and he and his family gave generously of themselves through service and contributions so that the lives of kids might be better.

To be eligible, students must be citizens and permanent resident of Nebraska, be motivated to successfully complete a college degree, plan to attend a Nebraska college within the next year, be enrolled at a high school within Box Butte or Morrill County and be nominated by a school designee (such as school counselor).

Snow-Redfern Foundation in collaboration with the Panhandle Partnership, initiated an environmental scan to collect the most recent available data and host conversations with youth serving organizations in the Nebraska panhandle.

SRF engaged Blue Agate Collaborative to co-create project design and facilitate workshops, and GIS and Human Dimensions to perform the data collection and environmental scan reporting.

SRF Grantmaking Study Report

Black and white portrait of Arvilla Snow-Redfern

With a pioneering spirit and a devotion to young people, the Snow-Redfern Foundation is a fitting reflection of our namesake and founder.

Arvilla Snow-Redfern…Her Story

The Snow-Redfern Foundation started with one woman’s vision and grew into a network of support for all those making a difference in the lives of children. Take a look back at some of the highlights from our first 70 years.

She lived the hard yet rewarding life of a Sandhills rancher, overcame a pair of defining personal tragedies, and left an inspired legacy of caring for children in need.

Arvilla Snow-Redfern’s grandparents, Charles and Alice D. Snow, arrived in Alliance, Nebraska in 1894. They homesteaded in nearby Morrill County in 1902 and began purchasing adjacent land. Over time, the original Snow Ranch grew to over 20,000 acres.

Historical photo of Snow RanchCharles and Alice’s son Jason and his wife Alice raised three children on the ranch – Charles, Chester, and Arvilla. Charles moved to town and Chester struck out for Alaska, where he became a prominent political figure. Arvilla, who shared her grandfather and father’s passion for the ranch, stayed on.

Ranch life has a way of making people resilient, but a pair of personal tragedies would further test Arvilla’s strength – and plant the seed for what became her legacy.

In 1920, Arvilla married (Charles) Montgomery Redfern. The couple soon conceived, but tragically, Mr. Redfern died before their son, Monte, was born in 1921. Suddenly, Arvilla faced working the ranch as a widowed single mother.

Historical photo of the Snow-Redfern Boys HomeShe home-schooled Monte from a young age and wanted him to have a more formal education. In time, she sent him to the Junior Military Academy in Bloomington Springs, Tennessee, for 5 years.

While visiting home after graduation, Monte was riding his favorite pony. The horse reared up, and the saddle horn pierced Monte’s leg, mortally wounding him. He died on July 10, 1935, just short of his 14th birthday.

Arvilla was heartbroken. She had dedicated her life to raising her son, and she longed to find a way to continue caring for children in his memory. She tried opening two different educational institutions before turning her attention to fostering children.

While caring for as many as 14 children, Arvilla began to envision a way that she could help more children in need—for the rest of her life and beyond. She knew she would need the help of people she could trust, and she began cultivating a group of friends and advisors from the Alliance community.

In 1951, the Snow-Redfern Memorial Foundation was incorporated, and Arvilla’s dream became reality.

“So, I commend to the community in the broadest sense, the Snow-Redfern Memorial Foundation. To anyone anywhere who loves to lend a hand I say, may you work hand in hand to the glory and honor of the One and Only Source of us all and thus give an answer through actions to the great question—who is my neighbor?” – Yours with Love and Good Will, Arvilla Snow-Redfern

 

The following projects, programs, and activities have been awarded or allocated for 2024:

  • Root2Rise- a Young Women’s Leadership Workshop Series and Scholarship Program
  • Priority Community Grant for Box Butte County
  • Career Pathways Grant
  • Legacy Scholarship Fund for Trades
  • Individual Scholarships
  • Participatory Grantmaking Projects (selected across the state)
  • Quality Improvement-Focused Projects

Changes in Our Grantmaking Landscape

Snow-Redfern Foundation annually announces grant funding opportunities, which may vary from year to year.

Beginning with various changes to our funding opportunities this year, we will soon begin shifting away from a traditional grant-making model, historically used by Snow-Redfern Foundation for Project Grants, towards a more transparent, inclusive, and collaborative grantmaking approach.

More information about our commitment to elevating youth voice and community engagement through Participatory Philanthropy will be shared soon!

The 20,000-acre Snow ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills was the catalyst for creating an ongoing legacy of giving, and this legacy continues to grow through the bequests and gifts of those that share the belief that kids need a home, encouragement, and training to create a better future.

With our “cowboy roots,” we have partnered with many cowboys, who inspire the notion of offering assistance and coming to the aid of kids!

Roy Rogers once said, “A cowboy is as good as they come. He is a straight shooter and can sit a horse as if he were born in the saddle. He can yodel like nobody’s business. He walks the straight and narrow in his hand-tooled boots and lives by a code worthy of his white Stetson.”

Like Roy Rogers, our donor community is filled with legends and heroes. What kind of hero are you?

THE LEGEND – $25,000 or more

An individual that shares purpose with others, as demonstrated by their notable support for charitable giving as a mechanism for creating a meaningful legacy. A Legend has donated $25,000 or more to Snow-Redfern Foundation in their lifetime. This includes the cowboys that bequest their estates, appreciated stock, charitable remainders, IRA’s, real estate, etc.

THE TRAIL BOSS – $10,000 – $24,000

Responsible for overseeing the cattle drive to its destination, The Trail Boss is the most highly ranked cowboy on a cattle drive and now leads charitable giving to set an example for others. Trail Bosses have shared between $10,000 and $24,000 with Snow-Redfern over their lifetime.

THE POINT RIDER – $5,000 – $9,000

Riding in front of the herd, determining direction of, and controlling the speed of the cattle drive is the role of the Point Rider. Being observant of the great needs of others, the Point Rider has shared between $5,000 and $9,000 with Snow-Redfern over their lifetime.

THE FLANK RIDER – $2,000 – $4,000

Flank riders ride on each side of the herd, near the rear, to swing riders up and keep the cattle bunched, preventing the back of the herd from fanning out and keeping the herd moving. Through lifetime donations of $2,000 to $4,000, the Flank Riders help ensure funds can be used to support kids.

THE COWBOY – $500 – $1,000

As the Cowboy tends cattle on horseback and performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks, the role is diverse and necessary to the ranch’s everyday success. As a donor, a Cowboy donates when called upon by sharing lifetime gifts of $500 to $1,000.

IN CAHOOTS – Annual Gifts

As a function of this partnership, company, or band, “those who are in cahoots together” share annual gifts with Snow-Redfern Foundation to help meet the day-to-day needs of children.

There are so many ways your support can change young lives. There are also several convenient ways for you to give.

By supporting the Snow-Redfern Foundation through a designated scholarship or grant fund, estate or stock gifts, a memorial, or an unrestricted donation, you can accelerate the pace of change. Whatever your means, whatever your goals, we want to make giving as simple and satisfying as possible. Here are four ways to help you put your intentions into action.

Monthly Giving

This popular option enables you to have a tremendous ongoing impact without making a large one-time donation or dealing with recurring donations. We can help you set up automatic deposits.

Planned Giving

When you include Snow-Redfern Foundation in your will or estate plan, your generosity has an impact now and far into the future. Please join us in helping to continue Snow-Redfern Foundation’s legacy of helping countless young people reach their potential through planned gifts.

IRA

Money from an individual retirement account (IRA) can be donated to Snow-Redfern Foundation. What’s more, if you’ve reached the age where you need to take required minimum distributions from your traditional IRAs, you can avoid paying taxes on the money by donating it.

Charitable Remainder Trust

A CRT provides a steady stream of income for you and/or your loved ones and is income that can last for life, or a specific number of years. Upon creating a CRT, you may be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction and when the income stream comes to its scheduled end, the remaining assets in the trust support your favorite nonprofits. CRTs can be funded with a variety of assets, such as cash, stock, real estate, farm equipment and more and gifts often avoid immediate recognition of capital gain.

Appreciated Stock

If you have appreciated stock, the donation you make and the deduction you get may be greater than they would be if you were to sell the shares and donate the cash proceeds instead.

Retirment Assets

For many, our most valuable assets are those held in retirement accounts. Over the past several decades, you’ve likely been putting money away for retirement. You may discover that you’ve saved more than youneed, giving you more to share.  Retirement assets can make excellent charitable gifts for both the donor and nonprofits.

Life Insurance

New or existing policies can be donated so that you can make affordable gifts over time in the form of premium payments. The ultimate death benefit is often much larger than the total premiums paid, and ongoing premium payments often result in charitable income tax deductions.

Real Estate

Real estate can be used to create a significant charitable legacy. It is one of the most beneficial charitable gifts for both the donor and the nonprofit. The charitable deduction is based on the fair market value of the real estate on the day of the gift, capital gain is typically avoided when given to a nonprofit, real estate can be used to establish many types of gifts, such as a charitable remainder trust or retained life estate, and many types of real estate can be donated, such as residential, commercial, vacation, agricultural and rental properties.

Please contact us to discuss how you can invest in the good life for kids for generations to come through these giving options. If you need guidance to take the first step, our investment partner, Bridges Trust, can help.