United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County
ActivePhilanthropy & Voluntarism
About United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County
United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County brings the whole community together to create long-term, lasting change by improving health, education, and financial stability for people in Lincoln and Lancaster County.
Focus Areas
HealthEducationFinancial Stability
Who They Fund
recently resettled refugees/immigrants (resettlement fund beneficiaries)local communities affected by crises (community response recipients)nonprofit organizations receiving general/program operating support
Funding Style
donor-designated supportprogram operating/general operating supportcommunity collaboration grantsfederation-allocation (% of dollars raised)
About United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County
United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County channels community funding into three priorities: Health, Education, and Financial Stability. Its recent grant record shows a strong pattern of recurring support for local nonprofits, public institutions, and federation partners, with several recipients appearing in multiple years and at multiple funding levels. The largest grants in the dataset go to Combined Health Agencies Drive in Omaha, which received federation-allocation payments in 2023, 2024, and 2025. In Lincoln, Cedars Youth Services appears repeatedly with both community-response and operating support, including a three-year run of program operating cost funding. The pattern points to a funder that combines strategic focus-area grantmaking with donor-designated support, community collaboration grants, and ongoing operating support for organizations working on health, education, and basic needs. Recent allocations also include Lincoln Public Schools, Community Action Partnership of Lancaster & Saunders County, and the Food Bank of Lincoln, showing how the foundation’s work connects direct nonprofit support with broader community distribution mechanisms.
What United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County Funds
In education, the foundation supports both direct program work and broader community efforts. Lincoln Public Schools received community collaboration funding in 2024 and 2025, while its featured education programs include Engage.Empower.Graduate. and Virtual Book Drive. For financial stability, United Way funds organizations that help residents with economic security and basic needs; Community Action Partnership of Lancaster & Saunders County received program operating cost support in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Health funding also reaches local service providers: Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska and the Food Bank of Lincoln each appear in donor-designated support grants tied to community needs. The grant list also includes Hopespoke with repeated operating support, showing continued investment in nonprofit capacity alongside programmatic priorities.
How United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County Gives
Typical grant size is modest to mid-sized, with a p25 of $7,000, a median of $14,632, and a p75 of $33,250. The recent-grants record shows repeated awards to the same recipients across 2023, 2024, and 2025, especially for operating support and federation-style allocations. That recurring pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation’s giving is local, and its structure includes donor-designated support, community collaboration grants, and program operating/general operating support. The data also shows a federation-allocation mechanism through Combined Health Agencies Drive.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$4.5M
Total Assets
$11.3M
Total Revenue
$7.1M
Total Expenses
$7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $7K and $33K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$7K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$33K
Geographic Reach
Local4 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MEAGAN LIESVELD
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