The Tomberg Family Philanthropies is pleased to announce our 2025 grants. We are happy to be able to support a number of truly excellent projects and organizations working to improve the world in our four primary funding areas of poverty alleviation, the environment, health and education.
We congratulate the following fourteen organizations for their successful grant requests. Follow our social media pages for information about each project and organization!
Note: The descriptions below come from the organizations. References to “our”, “we”, etc. refer to our grantees and not to the Tomberg Family Philanthropies.
American Career College Educational Foundation
Funding Area: Education
The American Career College Educational Foundation (ACCEF) exists to illuminate educational pathways for underserved populations across Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties. Our mission centers on empowering individuals seeking higher education, enhanced career prospects, and personal development through accessible, no-cost educational opportunities. Our High School Equivalency (HSE) Academy serves individuals aged 17 and older through a distinctive holistic approach that addresses academic proficiency and the complex financial and socio-emotional challenges that often impede educational advancement.
The project we support will enable the expansion of ACCEF’s innovative Justice-Impacted Youth Programming initiative, extending specialized services through established partnerships with the Friendly Center and Sunburst Youth Academy.
Andando
Funding Area: Poverty Alleviation
Andando works to alleviate poverty through community development in rural Senegal. By focusing on the growth of the whole village – water, health, education, agriculture, literacy, and small business – and developing long-term partnerships, Andando strives to create thriving communities rooted in sustainable solutions that give ownership to those participating in our programs. Andando was founded by the Kiker family out of a deep connection with and love for the people of Senegal. Through 25 years of visiting and building friendships they saw the struggles of everyday life in the rural areas and the disproportionate burdens placed on women and girls who would spend hours every day just fetching water. Andando currently operates in the Kaolack and Podor regions of Senegal.
The project we support is a follow-up grant to introduce a refined 3-basin rotational aquaculture system to one of Andando’s cooperative gardens in Keur Socé and establish fingerling production at their Keur Socé Training Center.
Cairn Health
Funding Area: Poverty Alleviation
Cairn Health, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) social service non-profit organization located in Wichita, Kansas. Our mission is to improve the well-being of individuals by providing accessible prescription assistance and vision care services to low-income, at-risk populations. We strive to ensure that everyone can maintain their health and visual acuity without financial barriers.
The project we support will establish a community pharmacy to provide uninsured individuals with access to essential prescriptions, particularly for chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, mental health issues, and chronic respiratory problems in Kansas.
Congo Education Partners
Funding Area: Education
Congo Education Partners (CEP) was established in 2013 to build the capacity of Djolu Technical College (DTC). DTC is the only accredited technical college providing programs in agricultural and environmental science in Tshuapa Province, a remote and poverty-stricken region the size of England that encompasses vast swaths of intact rainforest and all or part of five nature reserves. The College, founded and led by Congolese, is a regional center for excellence in education, research, and community outreach in sustainable agriculture, forest conservation, and nursing and public health.
The project we support connects students and faculty with academic resources and timely information via the digital world, and provides solar lighting for night classes and studying.
Cooperative for Education
Funding Area: Education
Cooperative for Education (CoEd) works to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through education. The organization provides educational resources and opportunities to indigenous Mayan schoolchildren in underserved communities across Guatemala’s Central and Western Highlands. Since 1996, CoEd has reached more than 295,000 children through textbook, computer, reading, and youth development programs. CoEd strives to address the root causes of poverty in Guatemala, rather than merely treating its symptoms. CoEd envisions a Guatemala transformed through education: a future in which every Guatemalan child learns to read and graduates high school with the skills they need to thrive. By empowering young people with the opportunities to rise out of poverty, not only will they determine their own stories, but they will also shape the destiny of their country.
The project we support will enable Cooperative for Education (CoEd) to continue expanding their proven Rise Youth Development Program in San Martín and Balanyá, Chimaltenango, building upon last year’s support.
Engineers in Action
Funding Area: Health
Engineers In Action works with underserved rural communities to execute sustainable engineering projects that build local capacity and improve access to essential resources. Water is the unifying focus of our work. We build water capture, storage and distribution systems, construct sanitation and hygiene systems for schools and healthcare facilities, and develop micro-irrigation systems in support of improved nutrition and economic growth. We also educate communities about healthy hygiene practices, reducing water-borne disease. Each year, EIA improves the lives of over 5,000 people by building critical infrastructure in their communities.
The project we support provides the second year of funding for a multi-year pilot program, helping them expand and implement the lessons learned in their first pilot year to build a robust school WASH intervention in Eswatini.
Give Us Wings
Funding Area: Poverty Alleviation
Give Us Wings was founded by a small group of people from Minnesota in 1999 after they learned of the thousands of families living in extreme poverty and struggling to survive in rural Uganda. These people had few resources, but dreamed of building better lives for themselves. Give Us Wings was born with a mission to help Ugandans improve their access to quality health care, education and economic opportunities. Our programs are community-based and responsive to the needs of our partners. We provide services and training to women’s business cooperatives as they endeavor to build successful businesses and increase their household incomes. Through our Family to Family program, we send children from vulnerable families to high-quality boarding schools where their needs are met in an atmosphere conducive to learning.
The project we support builds on the success of last year’s cassava project. GUW have been working with the Kayoro Osukuru Multipurpose Cooperative Society (KOMCOS) for several years. KOMCOS has been especially successful in growing groundnuts (what we call peanuts here in the U.S.) and they have come to GUW with a business plan for economic sustainability by capitalizing on the crop.
One Heart Worldwide
Funding Area: Health
One Heart Worldwide was founded in 1998 as a maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) project in the Tibetan Autonomous Region through the University of Utah and opened a base of operations in Nepal in 2010. We have since scaled from two pilot districts to improving access to quality MNH care for over 1.5 million pregnant women and their infants in 32 Nepali districts. External evaluations have found that our work, in collaboration with the Nepali Government, has led to substantially accelerated progress towards helping Nepal achieve its SDGs for MMR and neonatal mortality rate (NMR).
The project we support addresses the training needs of maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) service providers. OHW developed, piloted, and implemented a simulation-based mentorship program (SBMP), the first of its kind in Nepal, to train Skilling Birthing Assistants (SBA’s) and other MNH providers on lifesaving techniques and skills.
Pacific Forest Trust
Funding Area: Environment
Since 1993, Pacific Forest Trust has created economic incentives that reward private forest owners for conserving their lands and practicing sustainable forestry. We have helped shape regional and national forest conservation and climate policies, all to save wildlife and their habitats, create effective climate change solutions, conserve intact forested landscapes, and protect natural water sources. We work with landowners to conserve well-managed forests, building resilient landscapes. We protect, restore, and sustain forests to mitigate climate change and help species adapt. We ensure water security by protecting forests that provide life-sustaining water to millions. We conserve and restore habitat to protect the animals and plants that depend on forests.
The project we support continues to build on the success of the “Elevating Natural Working Lands Sector Role as Key Climate Solution” project to further advance the public conversation on Natural and Working Lands (NWL) and climate.
PRISM, FL Inc.
Funding Area: Education
PRISM works to expand access to LGBTQ-inclusive education and sexual health resources for youth in South Florida. It’s our goal to make sure everyone feels included in their community, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. PRISM prides itself in being a collaborative member of the LGBT community in South Florida. We know that youth are the future, and that’s why we’ll never stop fighting for this community. As we continue to lead the charge against anti-LGBTQ+ policies both in and outside of schools, we’re cooking up new ways to bring you critical, and oftentimes life-saving, resources on sexual health and queer issues. Pushing forward, we want PRISM to be a beacon of hope, safety, and community for all queer youth in South Florida.
The project we support is the PRISM’s Student Ambassador Program (P-SAP, for short) which allows LGBTQ+ clubs and student organizations at high schools and universities in South Florida to select one student to represent them as a PRISM Student Ambassador. As part of P-SAP, students gain the opportunity to actively connect with other LGBTQ+ student leaders.
Project 360 Youth Services
Funding Area: Health
Project 360 provides a safe place where teens can do homework and to meet with volunteers who encourage their efforts to meet academic and life goals through tutoring and support. In addition to encouraging academic achievement, we offer showers, laundry facilities, a hot meal at 5:30 every day, after school snacks, clothing and hygiene items, food bags for weekend consumption, and positive mentoring offered by caring mature volunteers.
Project 360 has the strong support of school leaders, the community, and most importantly Laclede County’s young people. The youth who will enjoy this resource facility are an active part of the planning process and help guide us in making the most thoughtful decisions.
The project we support addresses a critical need for youth mental health support by providing licensed counselors to serve at-risk youths ages 13-23 in Laclede County.
Public News Service (formerly Media in the Public Interest)
Funding Area: Education
Nationally, Public News Service (PNS) is a public interest newswire (similar to an independent Associated Press) operating state news services across 40 states. Tomberg Family Philanthropies helped PNS launch the Mississippi News Connection (MNC) in 2022. We cover topics and voices frequently marginalized by the mainstream media, and make that news accessible to communities underserved by their state’s media landscape. PNS journalists produce every story with print, broadcast, and digital versions, so any news outlet in the state can easily use PNS stories on their own platform (at no cost). Distribution is targeted to rural areas and news deserts where local news is disappearing faswww.
The project we support will continue to support the state level news service in Mississippi–Mississippi News Service (MNS)–to cover underreported public interest topics that receive too little attention in the MS news ecosystem.
Rainforest Partnership
Funding Area: Environment
Rainforest Partnership is an international non-profit organization committed to protecting and regenerating tropical rainforests. We partner with local communities in Latin America to develop sustainable livelihoods that empower and make it more valuable for them to keep their forests standing. Our model focuses on targeting specific communities facing substantial environmental threats and combines scientific analysis and economic development choices with local knowledge, culture and desires to find a sustainable economic outlet that will allow the preservation of both the communities and forests. By creating a global network—linking people to people, community to community—we act as a catalyst to create long-term economic and environmental sustainability.
The project we support provides environmental education programming and youth empowerment initiatives in their partner community of Sani Isla. It provides opportunities for young people to learn, explore, and take leadership roles in their communities as a key strategy to ensuring long-term sustainability and conservation of the 50,000 acres of rainforest protected by Sani Isla.
Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence
Funding Area: Health
The Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence (SEMO-NASV) was formed in 1997 to serve as a first-response agency to provide timely, compassionate, coordinated care for child and adult survivors of sexual violence. Because sexual violence has long-term and far-reaching effects on adults and children, SEMO-NASV offers advocacy, counseling and forensic care for all survivors of sexual violence in southeast Missouri. The Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence seeks to be an advocate for those affected by sexual trauma through the coordination of community services to provide professional, compassionate and timely interventions and education.
The project we support provides several programs for kids and adults to help recognize abuse, learn when to report and how, and much more through The Green Bear Project. These programs allow them to take new steps in stopping abuse before it has a chance to manifest.
Conclusion
We would like to thank all the organizations that submitted Letters of Inquiry and / or full grant requests. This year we were able to make grants to 9% of the organizations that applied for our assistance. To those organizations that we were unable to help this year, our decision should not be considered an opinion on the merits of your project. We wish you success in obtaining funding from other sources.
The mission of the Tomberg Family Philanthropies is to support well run and effective programs that make a difference in the areas of poverty alleviation, the environment, health and education. Our focus is on supporting projects that help their recipients build capabilities themselves that will last far beyond the end of the specific project.
You can learn more about us at https://www.tombergphilanthropies.org/.
