FREMONT, NE – Eleven area nonprofits were recently awarded grants totaling $226,100 during the Fremont Area Community Foundation’s first competitive grant cycle of 2026. Grants were awarded to the following organizations and projects:

• American Legion Post #154 (Blair). $20,000 to support construction of new ADA-compliant restrooms and updates to the organization’s Event Center and Lounge, ensuring the facility remains accessible, safe, and welcoming for veterans and the broader Blair and Washington County community.
• Colon Volunteer Fire Department. $25,000 to help purchase critical extrication equipment, reducing dangerous delays caused by reliance on mutual aid and enabling faster rescues, improved patient outcomes, and enhanced responder safety across its rural service area.
• Fremont Family YMCA. $80,000 to sustain the Learn to Thrive program, a schoolyear and summer initiative promoting youth development, water safety, physical activity, and outdoor skills for elementary students across Fremont and Dodge County.
• Fremont Police Department. $30,000 for a Police Technology Improvement Project. The grant will help replace outdated in-car computers with portable mobile workstations, improving efficiency, accuracy, and victim-centered response.
• Fremont Rural Fire Department. $13,600 to purchase lightweight wildland turnout gear for volunteer firefighters serving rural and agricultural areas, enhancing safety and effectiveness during grass fires, vehicle accidents, and rescue operations.
• Hooper Area Community Foundation. $5,000 to support Hooper’s 150th Celebration, a community-wide Fourth of July event honoring Hooper’s sesquicentennial with family-friendly activities including a parade, fireworks, tournaments, and a street dance.
• Nickerson Volunteer Fire Department. $30,000 to replace outdated self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units—essential life-saving equipment used in smoke-filled and toxic environments.
• Oakland-Craig Public Schools Foundation. $10,000 to support the Inclusive Playground Project at Oakland-Craig Elementary, featuring accessible surfacing, ramps, inclusive play features, and sensory elements to ensure children of all abilities can play together.
• Roots to Wings. $2,500 for the Farmer Project Fund, a hands-on program for individuals with disabilities that builds life and work skills, building confidence, independence, and basic employment experience.
• Scribner Area Foundation. $10,000 to help complete the Heroes Memorial Project, a community memorial dedicated to honoring veterans from Scribner, Dodge County, and beyond.

FACF competitive grants are funded in part by:

• The Lester Walker Fund, which provides grant funding to 501(c)(3) organizations in the Fremont area for civic, cultural, educational, health and welfare purposes, and honors the life and philanthropy of the late Lester A. Walker, former owner and publisher of the Fremont Tribune.
• The Fremont Forever Fund, the foundation’s unrestricted endowment fund which is the “engine” that powers FACF’s grantmaking and transcends generations to support the improvement of the quality of life in our community, today and in the future.
• Fremont Forever Friends, who have created the following unrestricted endowment funds: Tanya and Blake Dillon Family Endowment Fund, RVR Bank Giving Fund, Todd and Shannon Hansen Family Endowment Fund, Libby and John Headid Endowment Fund, Robert and Dian Hillis Endowment Fund, Cheryl A. Lamme Endowment Fund, Roger and Pam Pannier Charitable Fund, Peg and Steve Pribnow Family Fund, Neil and Bonnie Schilke Endowment Fund, Wikert Endowment Fund, and Tom and Deanna Wolf Endowment Fund.

“The foundation is proud to support these organizations and the important work they’re leading across the greater Fremont area,” said Melissa Diers, Executive Director of the Fremont Area Community Foundation. “Because of the generosity of our donors, we’re able to invest in projects that strengthen communities today and build opportunity for the future.”

Founded in 1980 with a single estate gift, the Fremont Area Community Foundation connects donors, nonprofits, and community leaders to address local needs and create lasting impact. Over the life of the foundation so far, more than $49 million has been distributed throughout Fremont and the greater Dodge County area in the form of scholarships and grants in five areas of interest: arts and culture, civic improvement, education, health and recreation, and social services. The foundation currently administers over $39 million in community assets.

The next deadline for competitive grant applications is April 1, 2026. For more information or an application, visit www.facfoundation.org or call 402-721-4252.