Powering Potential Through Supporting Youth
The Nelnet Foundation’s contributions to the expansion of youth support services and programs help to heal and strengthen the minds and bodies of our next generation. By caring for our youth and connecting them with opportunities that provide immersive learning and leadership development, we can unlock their potential. Their future is our future; it’s in our hands to help shape a brighter tomorrow for us all.
Healing Through BraveBe Child Advocacy Center
Founded in 1996, the BraveBe Child Advocacy Center is a nonprofit organization offering a safe, child-friendly location for conducting forensic interviews and medical evaluations for children in southeast Nebraska who have experienced abuse. An April 2023 expansion and remodel of BraveBe provided additional office and training space for BraveBe advocates, medical personnel, project coordinators, child interviewers, and mental health services. The space is also co-located with the Lincoln Police Department Special Victims Unit, providing greater safety for families against perpetrators. The Nelnet Foundation proudly contributed to the Room to Heal capital campaign that made this expansion possible. BraveBe is also shifting to focus on prevention of childhood abuse.
Our focus on primary prevention is about equipping the community to become trauma-informed and fostering long-term resilience. We’re planting trees for shade we may never sit under. Achieving our goal can look like better academic performance, fewer emergency room visits, reduced substance use and incarceration rates, fewer suicides, and a healthier community. Childhood adversity shapes lives across decades, but prevention can transform futures.
Paige Piper
Executive Director
BraveBe
Total Children Served
Granted Over 3 Years (2023-2025)
Children Receiving Response Services
Children Receiving Prevention Services
Numbers from 2023, unless otherwise noted.
Total Children Served
Granted to Capital Campaign/Co-Location
(2023-2025)
Children Receiving Response Services
Children Receiving Prevention Services
Numbers from 2023, unless otherwise noted.
Developing Financial Literacy with Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement–Rocky Mountain is part of the world’s largest nonprofit dedicated to motivating kids for future career success, self-sufficiency, and financial acumen. The Nelnet Foundation is sponsoring Junior Achievement–Rocky Mountain’s two JA Finance Park facilities, where Colorado teens learn financial literacy in an immersive, mini-city simulation. Nelnet is the post-secondary education storefront, helping teens learn about education finance.
Learn more about the Nelnet Foundation’s support of JA Finance Park’s immersive experience.
Granted Over 3 Years
(2023–2025)We are incredibly grateful for the support we receive from Nelnet and its employees. We are grateful for the boundless possibility they create for local students. From helping younger students practice personal budgeting to introducing high school students to investments, credit, and more—Nelnet’s dedication is inspiring.
Robin Wise
President and CEO
JA-Rocky Mountain
Annual Grant
Creating Confidence With TeamMates Mentoring
The Nelnet Foundation’s $15,000 annual grant to partner with TeamMates Mentoring is just the start of a collaboration that helps youth find hope and direction as they build a lifelong bond. Founded in 1991 by University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy, TeamMates now serves thousands of boys and girls across five states in the Midwest. Mentors come from all walks of life and are trained to provide strengths-based support to their mentees.
Work With Us
We’re always looking for partners who share our passion. Reach out, and let’s see how we can strengthen our communities and power a stronger, better tomorrow—together.