Holland Foundation

The Holland Foundation — established by Omaha business leader Richard 'Dick' Holland and his wife Mary Holland — is among Nebraska's most consequential private funders, having channeled hundreds of millions of dollars into the state's arts, education, and human services landscape over three decades. Founded in 1996, the foundation built its identity around three explicit pillars: (1) children and families in crisis or need, (2) arts and arts organizations that enhance community vitality, and (3) public education at all levels.

The single most critical strategic fact for any prospective applicant is this: the Holland Foundation is sunsetting. Per founder Dick Holland's directive that the foundation wind down 10 years after his death, the board formally closed applications to new organizations in August 2023. All organizations eligible for future funding received an invitation to apply via email by August 9, 2023. If your organization did not receive that invitation, there is no path to a grant.

For organizations that are existing grantees, the approach is relationship stewardship above all else. Foundation President Debra J Love — compensated at approximately $216,000 annually — is the primary point of contact and decision-maker. She has publicly emphasized honoring the founders' legacy in final grant cycles, suggesting proposals should directly reference alignment with Dick and Mary Holland's personal values: arts access, youth opportunity, community health, and Nebraska civic life.

The foundation exclusively funds Nebraska nonprofits. Of 83 tracked grants, 75 went to Nebraska organizations and the vast majority to Omaha specifically. The few out-of-state grants (Teachers College Columbia University at $608,179; a handful of Texas and Virginia recipients) appear tied to national organizations with strong Nebraska affiliations.

Almost all grants in the tracked dataset are designated 'OPERATING' support — general operating grants rather than project-specific or capital funding. Organizations should frame requests as sustaining and expanding organizational capacity rather than launching new initiatives. Capital campaign requests are explicitly excluded.

The Holland Foundation's financial trajectory tells a clear story of planned drawdown. Total assets peaked at $158.8M in 2014 and have declined steadily to $79.8M in 2023 — a 50% reduction reflecting both market performance and accelerating grantmaking. The 2023 fiscal year saw an extraordinary spike: $31.66M in grants paid against net investment income of only $520,008, meaning the foundation spent down roughly $31M of principal in a single year. This compares to $16.57M granted in 2022 and $18.39M in 2021.

Grant size analysis (from 83-grant dataset representing primarily 2022 activity): - Median grant: $59,500 - Average grant: $199,648 (heavily skewed by large outliers) - Range: $500 to $3,123,866 - Total tracked giving in dataset: $16.57M across 83 grants

The distribution is highly bimodal. A cluster of transformational grants at $500,000–$2.16M goes to flagship institutions (Opera Omaha $2.16M, Omaha Performing Arts Society $1.67M, Partnership 4 Kids $900,000, Union for Contemporary Art $875,000, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland $703,291). A separate cluster of mid-range grants runs $100,000–$350,000 for established mid-tier nonprofits. Smaller organizations receive $50,000–$85,000.

Sector allocation (estimated from 2022 grantee data): - Arts & Culture: ~38% (Opera Omaha, Performing Arts, Symphony, Bemis Center, Film Streams, etc.) - Children, Families & Human Services: ~22% (Partnership 4 Kids, Project Harmony, Educare, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation) - Education: ~16% (University of Nebraska Foundation, Teachers College Columbia, Central High School Foundation, scholarships) - Health & Reproductive Rights: ~8% (Planned Parenthood, One World Community Health Centers) - Civic & Advocacy: ~10% (ACLU Nebraska, Nebraska Appleseed, Immigrant Legal Center, Civic Nebraska) - Environment: ~3% (The Nature Conservancy, Downtown Riverfront Trust)

In 2024, giving has concentrated further on large institutional endowments: $4.5M to UNO/UNMC in January 2024 and $2.1M in December 2024, signaling a legacy-consolidation strategy in the final grant cycles.

The following table compares the Holland Foundation to similar private foundations matched by asset size and NTEE classification. Note that database peers are matched algorithmically by Human Services category and asset range; the Holland Foundation's actual program focus spans arts, education, and human services.

The Holland Foundation stands out sharply from its asset-class peers in two respects. First, its annual giving ratio is extraordinary: at $31.7M granted against $79.8M in assets, it distributed roughly 40% of its asset base in fiscal 2023 — a pace only explicable by the planned sunset. Typical foundations distribute 5% annually. Second, the Holland Foundation's program breadth (arts, education, health, civic advocacy) is far broader than the narrowly focused Human Services peer group with which it shares NTEE classification. For Nebraska nonprofits seeking comparable regional funders, the Sherwood Foundation and Omaha Community Foundation are more programmatically similar alternatives — both remain open to new applicants.

The Holland Foundation's most notable recent activity centers on legacy-defining gifts to the University of Nebraska system. On January 31, 2024, the foundation announced a $4.5 million investment split between UNO and UNMC: $2.5 million expanded the Richard Holland Endowed Scholarship Fund at UNO (bringing it to $3 million total, supporting approximately 12 scholarships annually for first-generation and financially-need students in the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media), while $2 million established the Richard D. Holland Presidential Chair in Public Health at UNMC, with Dean Ali S. Khan as the anticipated inaugural recipient.

On December 17, 2024, President Deb Love announced a further $2.1 million commitment: $1 million for a presidential chair in cardiovascular sciences at UNMC (awarded to Dr. John Windle), $1 million for the John Lewis Holland Chair in industrial organizational psychology at UNO (Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon), and $100,000 for the Healing Arts program at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine. Love's public statement — 'Through these investments, we seek to honor the legacy of our founders, Dick and Mary Holland' — signals the foundation's end-stage posture.

The 2023 990 data (most recent filed) shows the single largest grant year in recent history at $31.66M across approximately 86 grants, including $7M to the University of Nebraska Foundation and $3.1M each to College of Saint Mary and Metropolitan Community College Foundation. No leadership changes have been announced; Deb Love has served as president continuously through this period.

For organizations that ARE existing Holland Foundation grantees:

Your most important action is maintaining a warm, ongoing relationship with President Deb Love. She is reachable at (402) 502-7622 and is the primary decision-maker for the foundation's remaining grant cycles. Do not treat this as a transactional relationship — the Holland Foundation has always been values-driven, and Deb Love has explicitly framed final grants as honoring Dick and Mary Holland's legacy.

When you submit your renewal proposal, the foundation's stated requirements are: (1) a written description of your organization and the specific project or operating need, (2) financial information on both the organization and the project, and (3) a statement of benefits derived from the grant. Keep these components crisp and evidence-based. Because operating support is the near-universal grant type, your financials should demonstrate organizational health and sustainability — not just need.

Aligh your language explicitly with the three founding pillars: children and families in crisis, arts and community vitality, and public education. Cite Dick Holland's specific values where authentic. Reference Omaha community impact with specific numbers (people served, years of operation, community reach).

Timing: proposals are accepted on a rolling basis with no fixed deadline, but given the foundation's sunsetting timeline, do not delay. The foundation has 2-3 years of operation remaining from 2023, meaning 2025-2026 may represent the last grant cycles. Submit as early in each calendar year as possible.

For organizations that are NOT existing grantees: No path exists to a grant at this time. The foundation formally closed to new applicants in August 2023. Focus your energy on comparable Nebraska funders — the Sherwood Foundation, Omaha Community Foundation, Peter Kiewit Foundation, or Weitz Family Foundation — which remain open to applications.