Cope Ron & Carol Foundation Trust
Kearney, NE · EIN 36-3693227. Reported 102 grants totalling $3,779,214 to 59 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Cope Ron & Carol Foundation Trust did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $24,620. Half of everything it gave fell between $8,500 and $50,000; the smallest was $2,500 and the largest $298,435. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Nebraska Foundation | Kearney, NE | $745,000 | 8 | 5 | 2025 |
| Family Advocacy Network | Kearney, NE | $450,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation | Kearney, NE | $206,716 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Harmon Sonotorium Restoration Commi | Kearney, NE | $178,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Kearney Family YMCA | Kearney, NE | $160,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Prince of Peace Catholic Church | Kearney, NE | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Rowe Sanctuary | Gibbon, NE | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Buffalo County Historical Society | Kearney, NE | $145,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Kearney Area Communty Foundation | Kearney, NE | $109,835 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Catholic Foundatoin | Kearney, NE | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Jubilee Center | Kearney, NE | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Kearney Partnership | Kearney, NE | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Community Sustainable Housg | Kearney, NE | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Public Schools | Kearney, NE | $72,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Elm Creek Fire Department | Elm Creek, NE | $64,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kearney Public Schools Foundatoin | Kearney, NE | $62,600 | 2 | 1 | 2025 |
| World Theater | Kearney, NE | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Crossroads Mission Avenue | Kearney, NE | $58,829 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hot Meals USA | Kearney, NE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kearney Rescue Cats | Kearney, NE | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Merryman Performing Arts Center | Kearney, NE | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mosaic Axtell | Axtell, NE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nebraska Journalism Trust | Omaha, NE | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Safe Center | Kearney, NE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Buffalo County Community Health Par | Kearney, NE | $39,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mosaic | Axtell, NE | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ravenna Area Vision Fund | Ravenna, NE | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Three Trails Draft Horse Show | Kearney, NE | $33,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Kearney Noon Rotary | Kearney, NE | $30,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Kearney Area Animal Shelter | Kearney, NE | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Community Action Partnership | Kearney, NE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Crossroads Center | Kearney, NE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Master Trauma Foundation | Elkhorn, NE | $24,240 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kearney Catholic Foundation | Kearney, NE | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kearney Womans Club | Kearney, NE | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Little Eagles Learning Center | Overton, NE | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Reunion | Lincoln, NE | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Area Community Foundation | Kearney, NE | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Junior Achievement | Kearney, NE | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Childrens Nebraska Foundation | Omaha, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Crane River Theater | Kearney, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friend Historical Society | Friend, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kearney Housing Development Corp | Kearney, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rowe Sancturary | Gibbon, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Help Care Clinic | Kearney, NE | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Area Arts Council | Kearney, NE | $7,600 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kearney Symphony Orchestra | Kearney, NE | $7,580 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Classic Car Collection | Kearney, NE | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kearney Area Symphony Orchestra | Kearney, NE | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| East Lawn Trailer and Food Pantry | Kearney, NE | $7,314 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Helpcare Clinic | Kearney, NE | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kearney Public Schools Foundation | Kearney, NE | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kearney Woman's Club | Kearney, NE | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Make-a-Wish Greater Nebraska | Kearney, NE | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Elm Creek High School | Elm Creek, NE | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kearney Creates | Kearney, NE | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Make a Wish Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Axtell Oratorio Society | Axtell, NE | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Nebraska Serious Injury & Line of D | Firth, NE | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
25 of 59 (42%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 37%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Rowe Sanctuary
CAPITAL EXPANSION PROJECT - Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation
EMERGENCY ROOM ADDITION & MANIKIN - Harmon Sonotorium Restoration Commi
RESTORE HARMON PARK SONOTORIUM - Crossroads Mission Avenue
FURNITURE FOR TRANSITIONAL HOUSING - Kearney Catholic Foundatoin
1/5 OF OUTDOOR FACILITIES PROJECT - Kearney Public Schools Foundatoin
HANNY ARRAM CENTER ADDITIONA
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 45 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | $664,213 | $27,500 |
| 2022 | 22 | $800,001 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 17 | $760,000 | $24,000 |
| 2024 | 20 | $775,000 | $30,000 |
| 2025 | 25 | $780,000 | $25,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Cope Ron & Carol Foundation Trust has 43 of them, worth $4,908,066. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| University of Nebraska Foundation | Kearney, NE | $716,565 |
| University of Nebraska Foundation | Kearney, NE | $600,000 |
| Kearney Catholic Foundation | Kearney, NE | $400,000 |
| University of Nebraska Foundation | Kearney, NE | $400,000 |
| Kearney Catholic Foundation | Kearney, NE | $350,000 |
| Kearney Catholic Foundation | Kearney, NE | $300,000 |
| Kearney Partnership | Kearney, NE | $200,000 |
| Family Advocacy Network | Kearney, NE | $162,965 |
| Kearney Partnership | Kearney, NE | $160,000 |
| Family Advocacy Network | Kearney, NE | $150,000 |
| Prince of Piece Catholic Church | Kearney, NE | $150,000 |
| Kearney Partnership | Kearney, NE | $120,000 |
| Prince of Piece Catholic Church | Kearney, NE | $100,000 |
| Harmon Sonotorium Restoration Commi | Kearney, NE | $100,000 |
| Harmon Sonotorium Restoration Commi | Kearney, NE | $100,000 |
Where its money goes
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $24,620. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Nebraska.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Cope Ron & Carol Foundation Trust's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 1775, Kearney, NE, 68848. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 36-3693227 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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