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If you’ve lived in Nebraska for any amount of time, you know that Nebraskans give back.
The rest of the country is still discovering our penchant for generosity.
Though our state may not have the largest population or the most nonprofits, Nebraska consistently ranks among the top five states for charitable dollars received per capita, according to new research released by Candid, GivingTuesday and Network for Good.
These findings intrigued researchers, prompting them to investigate Nebraska’s culture of giving.
Among other reasons, they suggest that our stable economy, religious influences and Midwest values contribute to their findings.
Researchers cite an AmeriCorps ranking that lists Nebraska second in the nation in terms of informal giving, which they define as neighbors helping neighbors through house sitting, lending tools, and other seemingly small kindnesses – we also landed at fourth in charitable giving and seventh in formal volunteering.
To me, those rankings are the result of a culture that prioritizes community. How many times have we heard of Nebraskans unifying to help a neighbor in need? Or banding together to save a local service or amenity? Or collabo rating to support new and inventive entrepreneurs on our main streets? It’s who we are as Nebraskans.
Their research also found that 60% of grant dollars awarded by Nebraska grant makers go to local organizations.
At Nebraska Community Foundation, we see the generosity of Nebraskans at work every day.
In just five years, we’ve received 45,669 contributions from people who believe in the future of Greater Nebraska, whether they continue to live there today or have moved elsewhere.
Together they’ve built endowments totaling $164 million – that’s capital that will fuel progress in the future and create the kind of quality of life that will attract young families to our hometowns.
Through their giving, these donors have helped bring locally grown food into school lunchrooms, cutting-edge equipment to rural hospitals, inclusive playgrounds to our parks and state-of-the-art early childhood education to our next generation.
When you live in a rural community, you realize that if you want certain amenities, you have to be the one to roll up your sleeves and create them. We work with Nebraskans every day who are lending their valuable time, talent, and treasure because they feel a real sense of responsibility in creating the community they want to live in.
There’s a very good chance your hometown has a Nebraska Community Foundation affiliated fund. If you feel inspired to support the place you love, NCF has an abundance of free information on charitable giving at https:// nebcommfound.giftlegacy.com.
This time of year, we are helping lots of folks give with non-cash assets such as charitable IRA rollovers, appreciated securities, ag commodities and real estate – all tax-wise ways to make an even greater impact. As we near the end of 2024 and the closing of another year, many of us are thinking about the people and places important to us and the responsibility we have to support them.
We all want to see Greater Nebraska become an even better place for us all to thriv e.
As we lean into our culture of giving this holiday season, consider including your hometown on your list of recipients.
It’s the Nebraska way.
Jeff Yost is president and CEO of the Nebraska Community Foundation. Learn more about Nebraska Commuity Foundation’s work at NebraskaHometown. org.
