Community Ties Giving Program: Annual Local Grants

Summary

The Community Ties Giving Program by Union Pacific Foundation offers local grants aimed at enhancing community well-being through diverse funding priorities. These include safety initiatives, workforce development, community vitality, and environmental sustainability. The program emphasizes supporting organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, aiming to create impactful projects that resonate with Union Pacific's heritage and mission. Eligible applicants must be nonprofit organizations serving Union Pacific communities and demonstrate a clear need and capacity to deliver effective programming.

Grant Details

• Funder: Union Pacific Foundation
• Grant Amount: US $5,000 - US $30,000

Overview

Prospective Local Grant applicants will complete an eligibility questionnaire as the first step in the process. This occurs after logging into the application portal. Organizations determined eligible to apply for a Local Grant may then continue completing the full grant application. The eligibility survey and grant application are open until the deadline above. As part of the Community Ties Giving Program, Local Grants help us achieve our mission by providing small and medium-sized grants within our priority cause areas to local organizations spread widely across Union Pacific's footprint.

Funding Priorities & Objectives

Union Pacific's business success is linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns. We take pride in helping communities thrive and believe our impact on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of our diverse company today. We have aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. We prioritize funding for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes within our local operating communities. Within each focus area, we aim to support programs and organizations working to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within the local context and issue areas addressed.

Safety

• Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness, particularly rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, reaching underserved populations.
• Eliminate risks and improve safe and equitable access to community spaces through infrastructure improvements, such as signage, proper lighting, and public trail improvements.
• Prepare and equip residents and emergency responders* to effectively respond to incidents and emergencies if or when they occur. *Union Pacific supports publicly funded emergency responders through a variety of corporate programs; only independent nonprofit, 501(c)(3) emergency response organizations, such as volunteer departments, are eligible for funding through this grant program.
• Prevent crime and violent incidents and support survivors of domestic violence through efforts that address the root causes of these issues and seek to mitigate their occurrence.
• Build the capacity of safety-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience.

Workforce Development

• Put youth on the right track by creating awareness of and pathways toward employment opportunities; building foundational skills, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); establishing necessary technical skills and life skills; and providing mentorship and positive role models for the future.
• Raise awareness of, educate and prepare young adults for middle skills jobs like those Union Pacific offers, for instance through community colleges, vocational and career training programs, workforce readiness initiatives, and programs that assist with job placement and/or on-the-job experience. Programs that develop proficiency in areas relevant to Union Pacific operations such as welding, electrical work, machine operations, and civil and electrical engineering are given priority.
• "Up-skill" the existing workforce by providing training and resources that enable them to reach the next level of their career. Programs that develop proficiency in areas of relevance to Union Pacific operations are given priority.
• Resolve barriers to employment such as transportation, childcare, acquiring necessary equipment for work, and second chance employment.