Area Nonprofits Receive 6 Grants

In its 10th year of assisting nonprofit organizations, The Viking Foundation of Lincoln recently awarded grants totaling $110,000 to nonprofit organizations, including six in Polk County.

“As we move into our second decade, our board of directors is delighted to continue supporting a broad range of benevolent organizations,” said Steve Eggland, the foundation’s president and founder. “With the recent increase in inflation, nonprofits and those they serve have been hit very hard. We are pleased to do our part to provide assistance.”

The Viking foundation supported 23 grants, including these in Polk County:

• $3,000 to Children and Families of Iowa—for general support of its services and programs;
• $6,000 to Children’s Cancer Connection—help pay costs of day camp for children with cancer;
• $3,000 to Des Moines Pastoral Counseling—for diversity training and bilingual therapists;
• $10,000 to Everybody Wins! Iowa—for hiring and training a coordinator and purchasing books;
• $6,000 to Foster Squad—provides backpacks with hygiene items, blankets, etc. to kids entering foster care; and
• $2,000 to Holy Family School—for new books for their library.

In addition to these contributions, The Viking Foundation awarded a total of $30,000 to these nonprofit organizations in Denver County, Colorado: Adam’s Camp, BookGive, Colorado Youth Tennis and Deserving Dental. Also, $50,000 were given to these nonprofits in Lancaster County, Nebraska: Center for People in need, Child Advocacy Center, Common Threads Sewing Group, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Eastridge Presbyterian Church food pantry, HopeSpoke, Lincoln Fencing, Malone Center, Nebraska Appleseed, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Willard Community Center and Yazda-Yazidi Cultural Center.

The Viking Foundation was created to help improve and enrich the lives of individuals—especially children—who are less fortunate. The foundation provides charitable grants to 501(c)(3) organizations primarily in three counties. The grants are directed to those who are challenged with issues related to poverty, housing, gender, education, mental and physical health, and others.

The 2023 grant proposal submission deadline is Oct. 1. Detailed information about the foundation, and its history, values and proposal guidelines, can be found at vikingfoundation.webs.com.