The future glows brighter every day in Osmond, where local generosity is fueling deeper engagement and bigger dreams.
In 2025, the Osmond Community Fund (OCF), an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF), received a challenge from the family of Dr. David and Leila Johnson. They pledged $100,000, and Nebraska Community Foundation committed $50,000, both contingent on the community successfully raising $300,000 in local contributions. The family has been in the area since 1928, and those long-established roots inform the Johnsons’ unerring commitment to Osmond’s future.
“I wanted to get the ball rolling,” Johnson said. “The Osmond Community Fund is focused on positive things for the community, and I felt inclined to participate as well as I could.”
Money raised through the Dr. David and Lelia Johnson Family Community Challenge will be placed in OCF’s unrestricted endowment, an investment account that generates annual earnings. While a portion of the income earned by the endowment is granted annually to fund projects and programs to benefit the community, the principal remains intact and grows every year.
“I’ve been blown away by the support we’ve already had,” said Fund Advisory Committee (FAC) Member Aaron Gutz. “People have reached out and been more generous than I could have ever thought. It’s led me to have even more pride in our community.”
That pride is apparently shared by many as a second anonymous donor has now stepped up to issue yet another opportunity for Osmond to grow its unrestricted endowment substantially. If both challenges are fully met, the Osmond Community Fund’s unrestricted endowment will grow by at least $900,000—creating lasting impact for generations to come.
This sizeable growth in endowed assets will enable OCF to make grants to a multitude of worthy causes and important projects in the coming years, particularly those that further the fund’s mission to “make Osmond the best place to live, work and thrive for generations to come.”
OCF’s volunteer FAC is currently developing plans to begin accepting grant applications from qualifying nonprofit organizations, with funding expected to support impactful projects across the community including youth programs, park enhancements, beautification efforts and other local improvements.
Established in 2019, OCF remains focused on reaching its fundraising goals while increasing awareness about the power of endowed giving. Community members are encouraged to get involved and support the effort—gifts of all sizes make a meaningful difference.
“We are looking for ways to help businesses come into town,” said Leah Orr, another FAC member. “We are looking for ways to help families come into town, which also brings kids into our school system, which just makes Osmond thrive.”
