Through Nonprofits
In the beginning, we worked with young people directly. Today, we’re here to empower those who are helping kids right now.
We Know Great Work When We See It
In our early years the Snow-Redfern Foundation was a true hands-on operation, imparting the values of life and work at our Nebraska Boys’ Ranch. We’ve learned the joys and challenges of creating opportunity—and we know the value of a helping hand. Today there are many specialized organizations helping young people everywhere. Our focus is giving them the funding, support, and other resources to do more of the things they do best.
We’re proud of the awardees we work with. Of course, we’re always looking for new partners to join our work. If you’re interested, keep reading to apply for a grant.
Give Today to support the Snow-Redfern Foundation and our family of nonprofit partners.
Want to know more About us? Learn how we’re Helping Kids, see how our support is Making Impact, or Contact us directly. To see what we’ve been up to lately, check our News page.

Panhandle youth program

Alliance Recreation Center

Bravehearts, Kearney
Awardees
Your efforts are multiplied when you support people who truly make a difference. We seek out and work with the best.
We’re Proud to Introduce Our Partners
The Snow-Redfern Foundation is always seeking new partners to address the basic needs, well-being, and education of young people. Here are a few of the outstanding nonprofit organizations and individuals that received grants and scholarships in our 2022 awards cycle. Our endorsement is your assurance of the importance of their mission, the effectiveness of their team, and the success of their efforts.
Basic Needs
- CASA of South-Central Nebraska & District 10 Probation
- Dawson County Parent-Child Protective Services, Inc
- Families CARE, Inc
- Lexington Public Schools
- Lexington Public Schools Backpack Program
- Maryland Living Center
- Panhandle Public Health District
- United Way of Western Nebraska
- We Can Do This
Education
- African Culture Connection
- Alliance Public Schools
- Camp Scott
- Carnegie Arts Center
- City Sprouts
- Crawford TeamMates Mentoring Program
- DIBS for Kids
- Hay Springs School-Community Foundation
- Omaha Conservatory of Music
Well-being
- Alliance Recreation Center
- Banister’s Leadership Academy
- Carpenter Center
- Chadron Recreation Center
- Cirrus House, Inc
- EPIC! For Girls
- Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska
- Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy
- Kearney Public Schools
- LyonHeart Equine Assisted Learning
- Nebraska CASA Association
- Nebraska Children’s Home Society
- Omaha Street School, Inc.
- Panhandle Partnership, Inc
- Prarie Loft
- TeamMates of Scotts Bluff County
- WhyArts, Inc
Career Connections
- Gering Public Schools
- Panhandle Public Health District
Program Grant- Youth In Power
- Panhandle Partnership, Inc.
Young Women's Leadership and Enviornmental Scan Project
- Panhandle Partnership, Inc
Individual Grants- Student Scholarships
2022 Root2Rise- Young Women’s Leadership Scholarship Recipients:
- Paris Vance
- Ashley Hunter
- Blaine Tewadade
- Kierra Miller
- Claire Linders
- Arielle Lawrence
2023 Hempel Family Scholarship Recipients:
- Carver Hauptman
- Tegan Rice
- Arielle Lawrence
2023 K.M. Dahlstedt Scholarship Recipients:
- Tyler Cotton
- Avery Davies
- Kason Loomis
- Delaney Childers
- Cambree Schmaltz
Grant Seekers
We’re always looking for partners who need our support. If you think your cause and ours might be a good fit for each other, take the first step here.
Let’s Work Together
The Snow-Redfern Foundation supports work that supports young people. If you share our passion to create opportunities that change lives, we’d like to know more about you. To help you get started, here’s a bit more about how we award grants.
Areas of Focus
We concentrate on supporting young people in three main areas:
Basic Needs
such as safety, security, a place to live and enough to eat
Well-Being
in physical, mental, and emotional dimensions to unlock the potential for growth
Education
to develop strengths, create possibilities, and prepare for fulfilling adult lives
Types of Grants
Our grants are awarded in several different categories:
Career Pathways Funding
We are invested in supporting the development of a rural Career Pathways model that is focused on the development of strong, vibrant rural economies where businesses thrive, people want to live and work, and students are provided pathways to attain the education, skills, and postsecondary credentials necessary for high-demand, family-supporting careers that keep them in the Panhandle. Funds are invested in the cross-agency collaboratives that design and implement these programs.
Project Grants
Are one-time micro awards to support specific projects, specifically aimed at improving quality of life for children in the areas of education, basic needs, and well-being. This grant program is open annually between July 1 and August 1.
Capacity and Innovation Grants
As a mechanism for improving systemic capacity, honoring innovation, bridging the gaps between need and effective support systems, various grants are awarded to eligible nonprofits and collaboratives that address key issues impacting children. If you have a solution for a challenge impacting children in Nebraska, send us a grant inquiry that proposes your idea.
Priority Community Grants
Communities that prioritize their role in creating a better future for children are the communities that we seek to support. Because we believe communities know how to best achieve desired outcomes for their own people, our role is to provide supportive encouragement and opportunities for selected communities to collaborate and create sustainable and innovative solutions to the biggest challenges impacting the success of kids within their towns, rural geographic landscapes, and cities. Communities are selected based upon the results of an environmental scan highlighting areas that could most benefit from innovative and strategic planning and implementation. Box Butte County was selected for the 2023-2025 grant years. Stay tuned to hear about all of their great work!
Grant Reporting
We feel a strong obligation to the young people we’re helping, and to the donors who make it possible. Our grants come with thorough reporting requirements to ensure that we’re getting the most from every dollar.
Project Grants
Snow-Redfern Project Grants are awarded on an annual cycle and can be submitted through our online portal from July 1 through August 1. Interested nonprofits should review the grant guidelines to determine if their project aligns with the Snow-Redfern Foundation priorities.
See our funding calendar for grant timelines including submission and award dates.
Grant Guidelines
The Snow-Redfern Foundation supports work that supports young people. Our role is to provide the funding that empowers the work nonprofits do to improve the lives of Nebraska kids.
Grant Inquiry
To better support the innovative work in which nonprofits are involved in across Nebraska, we are now providing a grant inquiry option. If your child-serving nonprofit, or a community collaborative you are involved in, has a creative and functional idea that would positively impact the lives of children, consider sharing your idea in the form of a grant inquiry. If your project or idea is approved, you will be provided access to our grant portal and asked to submit a grant application.