PETER KIEWIT FOUNDATION
PLANNING TO SUNSET IN 2030
November 14, 2024
Dear Friends and Partners of the Peter Kiewit Foundation,
After several years of thoughtful and strategic consideration, the Peter Kiewit Foundation Trustees have made a decision to move toward a sunset in 2030, coinciding with our 50th anniversary.
Since 1980, the Peter Kiewit Foundation has worked to fulfill Mr. Kiewit’s vision of creating opportunities for people to live in and help build strong and vibrant communities, achieve economic success, and enjoy a high quality of life. By 2030, we will surpass $1 billion in philanthropic investments across Nebraska and Western Iowa, a meaningful milestone for our organization and all the communities we serve.
Over nearly a half century of grantmaking, we’ve helped to catalyze the revitalization of Omaha’s urban core and riverfront; established a robust engineering scholarship program to help advance women in the field of engineering; made critical investments to help students access and succeed in post-secondary education; created opportunities for youth to engage in quality out of school programming; supported avenues for people in underserved communities to create businesses and access affordable housing; invested in quality of life amenities across Nebraska and Western Iowa; and worked to equip community foundations to lead in building their own thriving communities.
Our commitment to our mission and partners remains unwavering during this time. The sunsetting of the Foundation is not the end of our work, but an evolution of it. This decision will enable us to invest more in the community and the state over the next five years as we work in collaboration with our partners to build their capacity and position them for continued success long after our exit.
We’re announcing this strategic decision now to give our grantees, staff, and community partners ample time to plan, prepare, and adapt.
As we move toward this final chapter of the Peter Kiewit Foundation’s journey, we believe Mr. Kiewit would be pleased with the work we’ve done, the communities we’ve supported, and the projects we’ve helped build. But he’d also remind us that the work is not complete – and more importantly, that it was never ours alone to finish. The real work has always been, and will continue to be, in the hands of the communities and organizations we’ve supported over the years and the next generation of philanthropic leaders.
Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and your commitment to building stronger, more vibrant communities across our region.
With gratitude and optimism for the future,
The Peter Kiewit Foundation Trustees