FREMONT, NE – Nine area nonprofits were recently awarded grants totaling $123,818 during the Fremont Area Community Foundation’s third competitive grant cycle of 2025. Grants were awarded to the following organizations and projects:

• CASA of the Midlands. $20,000 to recruit and support volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children in court, helping ensure every child has a trusted advocate and a path to a safe, permanent home.
• Colon Volunteer Fire Department. $3,500 for emergency replacement of gas detection equipment, ensuring the department is equipped to respond safely to hazardous incidents.
• ESU #2. $5,518.63 to purchase a portable hearing screening device to detect hearing issues early in children across Fremont and rural areas, improving access and supporting timely interventions.
• Fremont Area Art Association. $3,400 to create “A Minute Past Normal,” a commemorative exhibit honoring survivors, families, and first responders impacted by the Pathfinder Hotel explosion of 1976.
• Fremont Area Chamber Foundation. $5,400 to launch App My Community, a mobile app designed to promote local events, businesses, and nonprofits, boosting community engagement and economic activity, and connecting area residents to needed resources.
• Heartland Workers Center. $15,000 to support ELL classes, interpreter services, and on-site language instruction at local businesses, empowering immigrant and underrepresented communities by reducing communication barriers.
• RESPECT2. $5,000 to bring interactive theatre programs to Fremont addressing bullying, mental health, and dating violence, reaching more than 1,200 people through research-based performances.
• The Salvation Army. $20,000 to provide hygiene items and emergency aid—such as rent, utility, and gas assistance—to help families in Dodge and Burt Counties remain stable.
• The Bridge. $40,000 to help cover a budget shortfall caused by reduced federal funding, allowing the organization to continue providing emergency shelter, crisis intervention, advocacy, and prevention education for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in five eastern Nebraska counties.
• Trinity Lutheran School. $6,000 to launch STEM in a Box, a sustainable curriculum and toolkit that will enhance STEM learning across all grade levels.

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 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, 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 grateful to partner with these organizations who are making an impact across our communities,” said Melissa Diers, Executive Director of the Fremont Area Community Foundation. “The generosity of donors—past, present, and future—makes this grantmaking possible.”

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 $40 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 approximately $34 million in community assets.

The next deadline for competitive grant applications is October 1, 2025. For more information or an application, visit www.facfoundation.org or call 402-721-4252.