The Giving 3 Foundation

The Giving 3 Foundation is a Nebraska-based private family foundation with $92.6 million in total assets, managed by President Henry A Davis and Director Lauren B Davis — both uncompensated officers. This is not a staffed grantmaking institution; it is a personal philanthropic vehicle operated by the Davis family, and that distinction defines every aspect of the approach.

The single most important fact for prospective grant seekers: the foundation's website explicitly describes it as a non-solicitation organization. The foundation does not accept or respond to unsolicited proposals, letters of inquiry, or grant applications. Funding flows from relationships the Davis family has personally cultivated — not from an open application process. The DB field marking the foundation as 'accepting applications' reflects a default value, not an open-door policy.

The foundation's stated mission — providing 'meaningful and relevant resources to people, groups, and communities in order to promote well-being, safety, and vitality' — maps to five named focus areas: Youth Empowerment, Mental Health Care & Human Services, Arts & Culture, Urgent Needs (global humanitarian), and Animal Welfare.

Geographically, 46 of 94 documented grants (49%) went to Nebraska, with a strong anchor in Greater Omaha. A secondary California cluster (7 grants, including a $420,000 gift to the Orange County Museum of Art) likely reflects the Davis family's personal ties to Orange County. New York (13 grants) and Washington D.C. (7 grants) round out the footprint, with several national and international organizations receiving recurring smaller gifts.

First-time applicants should invest in mapping the Davis family's civic footprint — board service at Omaha-area institutions, membership in civic and cultural organizations, and known philanthropic networks — before making any contact. A warm introduction through a shared trustee, civic leader, or established grantee relationship is the only realistic entry point. Organizations invited into conversation should come prepared with a focused program brief, not a full proposal.

Across 94 documented grants totaling $3,959,207, The Giving 3 Foundation's grantmaking is highly concentrated: the top 5 grantees account for approximately $2,945,000 — or 74% of all recorded giving. This is a hallmark of relationship-driven family philanthropy where the foundation makes transformational bets on a small number of trusted partners.

Grant size distribution: The database-reported typical grant range is $500 to $200,000, with a median of $5,000 and an average of $21,974 (based on 19 recent grants). However, historical outliers substantially exceed this range: $1,000,000 to Omaha Discovery Trust (Kiewit Luminarium Capital Campaign), $700,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands (2 grants), $600,000 to Northstar Foundation scholarships (3 grants), and $420,000 to Orange County Museum of Art (1 grant). These represent capital campaign and long-term anchor relationships.

Tier structure: A practical three-tier model emerges from the data. Tier 1 (capital/anchor gifts): $250,000–$1,000,000+ to cornerstone Omaha institutions and close personal projects. Tier 2 (program/recurring): $20,000–$100,000 to established organizational partners including United Way of the Midlands ($225K total), UNICEF ($85K), Immigrant Legal Center ($100K), and the World Food Program ($71K). Tier 3 (small/discretionary): $1,000–$10,000 to cultural institutions, animal welfare, and community groups such as Omaha Symphony ($3K), Raptor Conservation Alliance ($6K), and Holocaust Memorial ($2K).

Annual giving trends: FY 2021 was an outlier year with $7.3M in grants paid, coinciding with over $59M in contributions received. Giving normalized to $875K in FY 2022, rose to $2.2M in FY 2023, then moderated to $1.4M in FY 2024. The base payout rate (~1.5–2.5% of assets annually) is conservative relative to the 5% minimum required of private foundations.

Sector breakdown: Arts & Culture leads in total dollars (Omaha Discovery Trust $1M, OCMA $420K, Joslyn Art Museum $60K). Youth/Education is second (Boys & Girls Clubs $700K, Northstar Foundation $600K). International humanitarian giving is consistent but smaller-scale ($85K–$100K range per organization).

The Giving 3 Foundation sits in a cohort of similarly-sized (~$92M assets) independent family foundations classified under NTEE T20 (Philanthropy & Grantmaking). The following table compares the foundation to its four closest asset-size peers:

Among this peer group, The Giving 3 Foundation stands out for its operational transparency: it maintains an active website with named focus areas and contact information, which is more than most comparably-sized family foundations provide. The Ronald & Joyce Wanek Foundation (FL, $92.8M) is the only peer with a similarly navigable public presence. The Giving 3's breadth of sector coverage — spanning local civic institutions to international humanitarian organizations — is also distinctive; most family foundations of this size concentrate giving within one or two sectors. The foundation's transformational gift capacity ($1M+ to a single capital campaign) distinguishes it from peers that may distribute a larger number of smaller grants.

The Giving 3 Foundation maintains an intentionally low public profile, and no foundation-issued press releases, news coverage, or grant announcements were located for 2025 or 2026.

The most recent confirmed activity is the FY 2024 Form 990-PF, filed March 19, 2025, reporting $92.6M in total assets and $1.4M in charitable disbursements. This filing represents a moderate decrease from FY 2023's $2.2M in grants paid. Notably, contributions received in FY 2024 dropped to $0, compared to $19.8M in FY 2023 and $18.8M in FY 2022 — suggesting the endowment-building phase has concluded and the foundation now operates primarily on investment returns.

The $1,000,000 Kiewit Luminarium Capital Campaign gift to Omaha Discovery Trust remains the largest documented single-year commitment on record and represents the foundation's most publicly visible philanthropic act in recent years. This gift contributed to Omaha's science and discovery museum expansion — a project with significant civic visibility in the Greater Omaha community.

Leadership has been stable: Henry A Davis has served as President across multiple 990 filings, and Lauren B Davis as Director, with no changes identified. Both positions remain uncompensated. No new hires, board expansions, or leadership transitions were found in web research.

Given the foundation's non-solicitation policy, the advice below is oriented toward relationship-building rather than application mechanics — because a formal application process does not exist.

Do not cold-apply. Submitting an unsolicited proposal, LOI, or inquiry email through board@thegiving3.org without a prior warm connection is almost certain to be ignored or declined. The foundation's single contact channel is the board email, and there is no grants staff to route or evaluate cold submissions.

Map the Davis network first. Henry A Davis and Lauren B Davis are the foundation's decision-makers. Research their board memberships, civic associations, and community roles in Omaha. Organizations with board members who have direct relationships with the Davis family are dramatically better positioned. The Omaha business and civic community — including organizations like the Greater Omaha Chamber, Aksarben Foundation (a current grantee), and Jewish Federation of Omaha (a current grantee) — are natural relationship nodes.

Align explicitly to the five focus areas when any communication does occur: Youth Empowerment, Mental Health Care & Human Services, Arts & Culture, Urgent Needs, Animal Welfare. Use this exact vocabulary. If your work spans multiple focus areas, identify the primary one rather than claiming all five.

For capital campaigns: The foundation has demonstrated willingness to make $420,000–$1,000,000 commitments to named capital projects at institutions it is personally connected to. If your organization is launching a capital campaign and has a relationship with the Davis family, frame the ask explicitly as a naming or legacy giving opportunity.

Optimal timing: The foundation files its 990 in March (for the prior fiscal year), suggesting a calendar-year grant cycle. Relationship-building initiated in spring and summer may position an organization for year-end giving decisions in November–December.

For established humanitarian organizations: UNICEF, World Food Program, and Doctors Without Borders appear to receive recurring gifts without solicitation — these are likely personal Davis family commitments. If you are a similar-tier global organization, a factual outreach letter referencing the foundation's prior giving history and your organizational alignment may be appropriate.