The Fund supports a broad range of activities which include, but are not limited to, the Areas of Interest described below. We are interested in reviewing plans for pilot projects and innovative programs, as well as sustained growth for organizations whose work coincides with the purposes of the foundation. The foundation funds both direct services and policy programs.

The Fund looks forward to opportunities to review proposals joining partners (academic, community, government, business, public service, faith-based) to explore ways to integrate perspectives and talents toward common goals. We support projects that involve coalition-building, public education and advocacy to affect positive social change and improve opportunities for all citizens.

Click below to learn more about each area of Interest:

  • Arts & Culture»
  • Arts & Culture»

    • Visual art, literature, dance, theater and music are cornerstones of a community's aesthetic and ethical being. They can bind people through shared experience and understanding. They stimulate thought, communication and creativity. Woods supports programs in the arts and humanities that will enhance or develop the common aesthetic spirit.

    Programs that connect the arts and humanities with nontraditional participants are of special interest to the Fund.

    Recent Arts & Culture Grants »

  • Civic & Community»
  • Civic & Community»

    • To sustain or increase its vitality, a community must consistently nurture its development, particularly as that development impacts lower income citizens. The Fund supports projects that empower less advantaged Lincoln residents to participate in the economic system and that foster community participation and responsibility, thus engaging people to solve problems and improve opportunities for all. Woods recognizes the growing need in Lincoln for affordable housing and supports programs that expand its availability. Advocacy groups and neighborhood, citizen and community organizations are effective avenues to promote citizen involvement and strengthen neighborhoods.

    The need for individuals to achieve self-sufficiency has been identified as a primary community concern. The Fund encourages submission of proposals that suggest creative approaches to helping people escape poverty and become work ready.

    Recent Civic & Community Grants »

  • Education»
  • Education»

    • Our educational systems face the challenge of preparing individuals for a rapidly changing society. Today, more than ever before, education touches the lives of people of all ages - students at all levels, newcomers learning a second language and culture, adults retraining to handle new job responsibilities. The Fund looks forward to opportunities to review proposals from existing educational institutions and from creative new programs to meet the challenge.

    Recent Education Grants »

  • Human Services»
  • Human Services»

    • A significant cornerstone in community life is the family. Its power to mold and develop mentally healthy, secure, loving members determines Woods' interest in supporting projects to strengthen families and provide opportunities for youth to achieve their full potential. This is a broad category and may include either direct service or policy programs focused on child care, single parenthood, the elderly, family planning, shelter, troubled families as well as others.

    The Fund will give special consideration to programs and initiatives designed to prevent youth and family violence.

    Recent Human Services Grants »

The Fund gives special consideration to programs and initiatives designed to:

  • Support organizations that haven't traditionally served refugees and immigrants but are trying to integrate them into their client bases and work forces;
  • Expand English language education for New Americans;
  • Help develop community acceptance and appreciation for New Americans; and
  • Extend research and planning concerning immigrants and refugees in Lincoln.
 
Art Credits

CLOSE Woods Charitable Fund acknowledges those whose artwork appears on this web site. The following were taken from past annual reports of WCF.

Sectional illustration by 5th year Master of Architecture student Jamie Wietfeld for The Design Build House Project, a 2005 collaborative venture of NeighborWorks Lincoln and the University of Nebraska College of Architecture.

Photo by Lora Curry and selected among 1,000 photo entries for Reality at the Roots, a 2004 project of Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.

"Our Community-Larger Than Life" photo mural by Larry Roots, installed in June 2007 along Lincoln's downtown skywalk on 12th Street between "O" and "N" Streets.

Artwork by Reynold Peterson, A to Z Printing, for WCF's 2005 Annual Report.

Pen and ink artwork by Rhonda Schrader, artist and participant in the Open Studio and Writer's Wordshop.