The Custer County Foundation concentrates its giving on locally focused, practical community needs in and around Broken Bow, NE—prioritizing emergency services, municipal/civic operations, and local education. A large share of funds go to support rural fire departments and other place-based organizations, suggesting a focus on community safety, basic services, and town-level capacity. Grants are few but substantial, aimed at immediate, tangible needs rather than broad national causes.
Highly concentrated and locally targeted: very few (4) grants that are large in size, with repeat funding to rural fire departments and a major allocation to miscellaneous local organizations rather than many small awards.
A single $405,080 grant to Other Local Organizations in Broken Bow signals the scale and local orientation of Custer County Foundation Inc’s recent giving. The foundation’s awards are concentrated in Custer County, Nebraska, with support directed to community institutions that serve daily local needs rather than broad regional or national programs. Recent grants also show a recurring pattern of fire-relief support in Merna and combined education-and-civic funding in Broken Bow. The foundation’s grantmaking is shaped by practical community use: rural fire departments, local schools, and city or civic organizations. That mix points to a funder working through place-based institutions that handle emergency response, basic services, and community continuity. In the recent grants record, rural fire departments received $130,044 in 2024 and $106,091 in 2023 for fire relief, while schools and cities in Broken Bow received $57,675 in 2025 for education and civic purposes. Scholarly or national issue areas do not appear in the pattern; the giving is local, recurring, and tied to organizations rooted in Custer County. The foundation also administers scholarship programs for students with ties to the county, adding an education-support layer alongside its institutional grants.
Fire relief is a visible part of the foundation’s recent grant pattern. In 2024, it gave $130,044 to Rural Fire Departments in Merna for fire relief grants, followed by $106,091 to the same recipient category in 2023 for the same purpose. That continuity suggests an ongoing response to emergency needs in rural parts of Custer County. Education appears in both grant and scholarship form. The foundation awarded $57,675 in 2025 to Local Schools and Cities in Broken Bow for education and civic purposes, and it also administers scholarship programs for Custer County students. Those scholarships include support for school-specific and student-type aid, including college level, nontraditional, CNA/med-aid, and dual-credit high school students. Civic infrastructure is another clear thread. The foundation’s community grants program supports nonprofit organizations, community projects, and programs serving Custer County, with stated attention to community development, local services, health and human services, arts and culture, and capacity building.
$463K
$8.1M
$1.9M
$903K
Most grants fall between $112K and $124K, with a median of $118K.
25th Percentile
$112K
Median
$118K
75th Percentile
$124K
ANDREW TICKLE
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Notable grantees: Rural Fire Departments (multiple grants for fire relief), Local schools and city governments (education and civic support), Other Local Organizations (large, unspecified community grants)
Typical grants are tightly clustered: the 25th percentile is $112,079, the median is $118,068, and the 75th percentile is $124,056. That range shows a relatively narrow band around six-figure awards, with one much larger outlier in the recent record. The grant list shows repeat support across years, especially for rural fire departments, which received fire-relief funding in both 2023 and 2024. The foundation appears to operate through both general community grants and scholarship programs, and one active community-grants program accepts unsolicited applications while another scholarship program does not. There is no evidence in the provided data of grants to individuals or program-related investments.
Grantmaking is entirely in Nebraska: 100% of grants went to recipients in the HQ state, and the geographic scope is local. Broken Bow and Merna appear in the recent grant record, with Broken Bow receiving support for other local organizations and for local schools and cities, while Merna appears as the location for rural fire department fire-relief grants. The available data points to county-centered giving within Custer County rather than broader statewide or out-of-state distribution.
The foundation supports local nonprofits, community projects, schools, cities, rural fire departments, and scholarship recipients tied to Custer County. Its active programs include community grants and multiple scholarship programs, and its recent grants show support for local organizations, fire departments, and school-and-civic purposes in Broken Bow and Merna.
Typical awards are in a narrow six-figure range. The 25th percentile is $112,079, the median is $118,068, and the 75th percentile is $124,056. Recent grants include one much larger award of $405,080, but most grants cluster close to the median.
Yes. Rural fire departments received fire-relief grants in both 2023 and 2024, with awards of $106,091 and $130,044. The pattern shows recurring support for the same recipient category across multiple years rather than one-time-only giving.
The active community grants program for Custer County Foundation Inc accepts unsolicited applications. One scholarship program listed by the foundation also accepts unsolicited applications, while another scholarship program does not.
The recent record points to rural fire relief, local education, and civic or municipal support. Grants were made for fire relief in Merna, and for education and civic purposes in Broken Bow. The foundation’s community grants program also names community development, local services, health and human services, arts and culture, and capacity building.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Custer County Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Any nonprofit organization that falls under the foundation’s grant policy may apply.
Deadline: Two closing dates each year; one referenced deadline is October 31.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS | BROKEN BOW, NE | $405,080 | 2025 | — |
| LOCAL SCHOOLS AND CITIES | BROKEN BOW, NE | $57,675 | 2025 | EDUCATION AND CIVIC |
| RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS | MERNA, NE | $130,044 | 2024 | FIRE RELIEF GRANTS |
| RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS | MERNA, NE | $106,091 | 2023 | FIRE RELIEF GRANTS |
OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
$405,080LOCAL SCHOOLS AND CITIES
$57,675EDUCATION AND CIVIC
RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS
$130,044FIRE RELIEF GRANTS
RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS
$106,091FIRE RELIEF GRANTS
