GrOW Program Among Five Winners;
Voting Opens for Additional ‘People’s Choice’ Award
Nebraska, July 23, 2020 – Google, together with a panel of Nebraska judges, today announced five winning nonprofits for the Nebraska Google.org Impact Challenge. Greater Omaha Worklab (GrOW), a program of the Greater Omaha Chamber, was among the winning organizations and will receive $175,000.
“To be among the winners in the competition represents a major endorsement for the efficacy of the work that GrOW is doing and its context within the work that all of us do at the Chamber each and every day,” said Chad Mares, director, workforce services, Greater Omaha Chamber.”
For the next phase of the Challenge, Nebraskans are invited to vote for one nonprofit to be crowned ‘People’s Choice’ winner and awarded an additional $125,000.
In total, Google.org will contribute $1 million to Nebraska nonprofit organizations. The Google.org Impact Challenge supports ‘Grow with Google,’ the tech company’s initiative to create economic opportunities for people across the country.
“We are very grateful for Google’s continued investment in Nebraska,” said Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts. “These funds will go far in helping deserving nonprofits create innovative solutions for their communities and accelerate economic growth across the state.”
“We had an overwhelming response to the Impact Challenge from Nebraska’s nonprofit community,” said Dan Harbeke, Google’s Regional Head of External Affairs. “The grant winners are making a big impact in Nebraska, especially in serving underrepresented populations in the state during this difficult time. We are excited to see these projects come to life and look forward to following the economic growth these programs create in Nebraska.”
Google selected a panel of Nebraska judges to review applications from nonprofits across the state and chose five winners who proposed bold and creative ideas to create economic opportunity in their communities.
The five winners are:
- New Americans Task Force: CareerLadder (Lincoln) – connects Lincoln’s immigrants and refugees to high-skill and high-wage career pathways.
- Greater Omaha Worklab (GrOW) (Omaha) – partners with employers and nonprofit organizations by offering resource navigation and personalized coaching to help people achieve success in their lives.
- Kearney Works (Kearney) – tackles the issue of rural workforce development through services to help clients to be well prepared for the labor pool.
- Metropolitan Community College (Omaha) – prepares Omaha Correctional Center residents for successful re-entry into the workforce.
- Native360 Loan Fund, Inc. (Grand Island) – provides affordable capital and technical assistance to Native American business owners.
In the next stage of the Google.org Impact Challenge, the public is invited to visit g.co/nebraskachallenge to learn more about the nominees and vote for one organization to be named the ‘People’s Choice’ winner awarded an additional $125,000. Voting begins Thursday, July 23, 2020.
The Nebraska Google.org Impact Challenge statewide judge’s panel includes:
- Garry Clark – Executive Director, Greater Fremont Development Council
- Shonna Dorsey – Independent Talent Development Consultant
- Jane Miller – President & Chief Operating Officer, Gallup Inc.
- Owen Palm – CEO, 21st Century Equipment
- Yesenia Peck – Diversity Manager, Nebraska Public Power District and President, Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- John Wirtz – Chief Product Officer, Hudl
Google announced the Google.org Impact Challenge Nebraska last year. In their 2019 Economic Impact Report, Google announced that Google that businesses in Nebraska generated $3.58 billion of economic activity for 7,300 Nebraska organizations by using Google’s search and advertising tools. The full report details Google’s economic impact state-by-state, and features the stories of businesses fueling that growth, creating job opportunities, and transforming their communities.