Omaha nonprofit no longer funded as council approves 2027 budget; funds moved to food bank

OMAHA, Neb. —

The Omaha City Council unanimously voted to reallocate $40,000 in the mayor’s 2027 budget proposal from nonprofit One Omaha to another nonprofit.

Instead, Food Bank For The Heartland will receive the funds.

Several community advocates attended the meeting to support One Omaha. They said they also support the food bank.

“Food is important,” one community advocate said, “but also, economic empowerment is important. And it’s important for underserved communities. So I’m not understanding why funding could not be found for both equally important organizations.”

Kimara Snipes, the executive director of One Omaha, said the $40,000 would have been used for workshops on grant writing, project development, and other assistance for neighborhood groups, including for the city’s neighborhood grants.

“Most neighborhood associations are led by volunteers,” Snipes told the council Tuesday. “They don’t have paid staff, professional grant writers, or technology departments.”

Outside of city council chambers after the vote, Anthony Rogers-Wright, a community advocate who testified against the amendment, discussed recalling city councilmembers with other advocates.

“This is definitely a political eff around and find out moment,” Rogers-Wright said. “And the way you vote on this item today will absolutely have consequences tomorrow.”

The proposal to reallocate the funds came from Councilmember LaVonya Goodwin, who represents many, if not most, of the residents who opposed the budget amendment.

“Really right now, our most vulnerable people are in a food crisis,” Goodwin said. She said that thousands of residents have lost access to SNAP benefits this year. She said money is not being taken away from One Omaha because it hadn’t been given at all yet. This isn’t really about pitting two organizations against the other. Money through budget processes, through grant processes, are reallocated all the time.”

Goodwin said the council’s decision was about maximizing impact for the community.

A spokesperson for Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. told KETV this would have been the first time since 2021 that One Omaha received city funding. One Omaha received city funding from 2016 to 2021, she said. The spokesperson did not say whether Ewing supported the funding.

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