Good government is one that helps those who help themselves, right? This is a great example of it. Dozens of nonprofits have received money from the state of Nebraska for “shovel ready” grants. It’s not just free money being flung carelessly around, though.
Here are Five Fast Facts about those shovel ready grants:
- 💰💰Where Did It Come From? Seventy-six nonprofits were given parts of $100 million from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The Legislature got the money from the Feds for the purpose of helping groups who planned museums, sports facilities, arts, and recreation projects for communities.
- ⚾⚽The Big Bucks - The biggest grants ($12.7 million each) both went to youth sports complexes - the Nebraska Multisports Complex in La Vista, and the Columbus Community Hospital’s Fieldhouse Sports Complex. Don’t read too much into the hospital partnership.
- 🏊🐘The Smaller (But Still Big) Bucks - Some of the other big recipients include YMCAs in Hastings, Beatrice, and Kearney ($4.5M-$5M each), wellness centers, parks, and Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo ($3.8M). When the “small” awards are this big, no one walks away unhappy!
- ⚒️The Catch - The eligible nonprofits had to have raised private funds to match the ARPA request, and construction had to begin by the end of June. Oh, and they had to demonstrate fundraising difficulties due to the pandemic. #pieceofcake
- 📈👪How About Those Paychecks? This effort will benefit Paychecks directly because about 11% of Nebraska’s workforce is employed by a nonprofit. Also, construction jobs to build all the things.
🔥Bottom line: This is a big win for Nebraska on all levels. Projects like these eventually benefit everyone around the state. For example, the new youth sports facility in Elkhorn is projected to eventually get over 1 million visitors a year, fill up to 40,000 hotel room nights, and be used up to 30 weekends per year. That’s a lot of kid soccer and baseball games!
Are any of these new projects happening near you?
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