OVERVIEW: The Sherwood Foundation supports the state of Nebraska with hundreds of millions in grants each year.
IP TAKE: The Sherwood Foundation is one of three major philanthropies led by Susie Buffett, Warren Buffett’s eldest child, and one of Nebraska’s most important funders. Its giving is broad, substantial and deeply rooted in the state, with a strong concentration in Omaha and Lincoln and additional support across Greater Nebraska.
Sherwood does not spell out detailed program goals, but its grantmaking appears to move through an equity and social justice lens, supporting organizations that address unmet needs and serve under-resourced communities. Tax filings suggest especially strong giving in human services, education, and community and economic development, though its reach touches nearly every part of Nebraska’s nonprofit sector. Grants may support general operations, projects or capital needs.
This is not a cold-proposal funder, but it is more accessible than many large private foundations. Sherwood does not accept unsolicited formal applications; instead, organizations begin with a public Inquiry Form. Staff review the inquiry, may invite a conversation and, if there is alignment, may invite a formal application.
The strongest prospects are Nebraska-serving organizations with trusted local leadership, community partnerships, sound finances and work tied to equity, children and families, housing, health access, education, safety, immigrant and refugee support, workforce development or community power.
PROFILE: Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Sherwood Foundation is grantmaking vehicle steered by Susan “Susie” Alice Buffett, the eldest child of Warren Buffett. Susie oversees Sherwood, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which was named for her mother, and the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, which Susie founded in 2005.
The Sherwood Foundation awards “grants that help make Nebraska a better place to live, work, learn, and play.” It maintains a simple website and does not name specific areas of interest, goals or priorities for its grantmaking. Sherwood’s current public site does identify three grant types:
- Program Grants — restricted support for a specific program.
- Operating Grants — unrestricted support for an organization’s broader work.
- Capital Grants — support for land purchase, construction, renovation, grounds work, significant equipment or other long-term asset purchases.
Observed Grantmaking Categories:
Grants for Human Services
A significant portion of Sherwood’s grantmaking supports services for low-income and vulnerable people in Nebraska, particularly in the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. The foundation does not name specific goals here, but it appears to invest in mental health, vulnerable youth and services for homeless and housing insecure Nebraskans.
- Support for mental health has gone to the Mental Health Innovation Foundation, the Mental Health Association of Nebraska, the Wellbeing Partners of Omaha and Magdalene Omaha, which provides addiction recovery services.
- Youth development and services grantees include the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Omaha’s Collective for Youth and Girls Inc. of Omaha, among many others.
- In the area of housing and homelessness grants tend to focus on emergency and transitional housing. Grantees include Omaha’s Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless, Heartland Family Service, Project Houseworks and Ho-Chunck Community Capital, which serves the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
Grants for Education
Education is another major area of giving for this funder, with large grants supporting schools and educational programs at every level.
- The foundation provides ongoing support to the Buffett Early Childhood Fund. Additional funding for early childhood education and services has gone to Building Blocks Early Childhood and Family Development Center, Spring Creek Kids and the Little Eagles Learning Center in Overton.
- In the K-12 realm, the foundation appears to focus on public schools and educational opportunities for underserved students. Grantees include the Douglas County School District No. 1, Avenue Scholars, the Central High School Foundation in Omaha, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands and Stand for Schools, which works to “protect Nebraska’s public schools from privatization and advance evidence-based solutions to help Nebraska’s public schools better serve all children.”
- And in higher education, ongoing support goes to the University of Nebraska in the millions each year. Other grantees include Metropolitan Community College of Omaha, College Possible and the Nebraska Indian Community College.
Grants for Community and Rural Development
The foundation’s grantmaking for community and economic development tends to stay in Omaha and Lincoln, but a few grants have also supported rural development in the state.
- In the Omaha area, the foundation has made grants to the Southside Redevelopment Corporation, the City of Omaha, the Seventy-Five North Revitalization Corporation and the Economic Empowerment Center of Omaha, which received funding for microfinance programs.
- Rural development is a smaller area of giving. Recipients include the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons and the South Central Economic Development District in Holdredge.
Grants for Public Health, Reproductive and Maternal Health
Susie Buffett is a staunch supporter of women’s reproductive rights. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which she also chairs, is “the No. 1 provider of private funding in the U.S. to protect abortion rights,” according to past IP coverage.
- Sherwood provides ongoing support in the millions to the Reproductive Health Collaborative of Nebraska. It also supports the Nebraska Abortion and Reproductive Justice Fund and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Des Moines, Iowa.
- Other health grantees appear to focus on access to quality care throughout the state. Grantees include the Health Center Association of Nebraska, OneWorld Community Health Centers of Omaha, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Dignity Health Collective, which “strive[s] to cultivate a health and wellness ecosystem inclusive of all lived experiences.”
Grants for Civic Engagement and Journalism
Civic engagement and local journalism appear to be growing areas of interest for this funder.
- Civic engagement grantees include Civic Nebraska, the Open Sky Policy Institute in Lincoln, the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table and Nebraska Appleseed, which aims to “improve the lives of low-income and marginalized people in Nebraska through public policy, legal action, and community organizing.”
- The foundation also supports journalism and media organizations in Nebraska including the Omaha Star Institute and the Nebraska Journalism Trust.
Grants for Criminal Justice Reform
According to past IP coverage, Sherwood is one of the four biggest supporters of criminal justice in the Midwest. Specific areas of interest include restorative justice and human services for formerly incarcerated people.
- Grantees include the Community Justice Center of Lincoln, the Nebraska Youth Justice Initiative, the Black Police Officers Association of Omaha and Creighton University, which received funding for its juvenile justice legal clinic.
- Recipients include the Chicano Awareness Center, the POC Collaborative Community Resource Center of Omaha, the African Culture Connection, the Santee Sioux Nation and Borderless–A Black and Indigenous Collective, among others.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts and culture are smaller areas of giving for Sherwood, but the foundation provides vital support to a range of organizations in the state.
- Grantees include Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum, the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, the Omaha Theater Company, the Omaha Conservatory of Music and the Durham Museum, which received a capital grant to replace its roof.
Grants for Environment
Conservation is another smaller area of giving, with only a few grants awarded each year.
- The Conservation Foundation of Dickson County is the foundation’s largest grantee in this area, receiving upwards of $9 million in a recent year.
- Other grantees include the Omaha Parks Foundation and Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska.
Important Grant Details:
With the exception of a few major Nebraska organizations that receive ongoing support, grants range from $1,000 to about $5.6 million. The organization had FY2025 revenue of about $943.4 million, expenses of about $319.4 million, and charitable disbursements of about $309.2 million. FY2024 charitable disbursements were about $264 million.
- Type of support: This funder supports organizations of every size in Nebraska with grants for operating, project or capital support.
- Due Dates: operating grants by invitation only from September 1–September 30; program grants by invitation only from February 1–February 28; capital grants by invitation only from February 1–February 28.
- Geography: The Inquiry Form’s geography choices are North Omaha, South Omaha, Omaha, Lincoln and Greater Nebraska.
- Likely work types: Direct services, capacity building, advocacy, organizing/power-building, community infrastructure, youth and family supports, housing, safety, education, workforce development and capital projects. Sherwood’s focus list explicitly includes advocacy, activism, capacity building, power sharing, power building, housing, safety and workforce development.
- Notable grantees: Major support has gone to the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, University of Nebraska Foundation, Omaha Public Schools Foundation, Omaha Community Foundation and Southside Redevelopment Corporation.
- Grantmaking supports a broad range of interests and is responsive to local needs in the state of Nebraska.
- Email the foundation at info@sherwoodfoundation.org to set up a consultation. Application due dates vary by grant type.
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