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Lift Up Sarpy County faces uncertainty after funding cuts

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BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) – “We want people to understand we aren't just handing out money, we aren't just putting band aid on any problems. We are trying to work with families but to do that we need their support,” Tanya Gifford, executive director said.

  • Lift Up Sarpy County is unsure of the feature due to funding cuts.
  • The non-profit could lose up to one third of its funding.
  • The organization is funded through September 30, 2025.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

According to Tanya Gifford, executive director of Lift Up Sarpy County, the organization's future is uncertain come 2026.

“There is nothing I can take out of the budget at this point other than not responding to community needs and if we don't have money to respond to their needs there is no point in staffing people to answer the phone and telling people they have to go somewhere else,” she said.

Although the organization isn't directly impacted by federal funding cuts, organizations that support the nonprofit are.

Lift Up Sarpy County could lose one-third of its donations, in some cases, it could lose all when the need continues to grow in the county.

"Before we had lots of funding with lower costs now, we have reduced funding with higher costs of need,” Gifford said.

The nonprofit is one of the only organizations in the county that provides help to neighbors for things like housing, finding jobs, and transportation.

It also connects them with other resources around the Omaha metro, the past year, Lift Up Sarpy County has put $13 million back into the community.

“We want people to understand we aren't just handing out money, we aren't just putting a band-aid on any problems. We are trying to work with families but to do that we need their support,” Gifford said.

Lift Up Sarpy County is completely funded until September 30 of this year. The organization planned a fundraiser to make it through the holiday season, after that Gifford said it's unknown what will happen.
For more information on the upcoming fundraisersclick here.