Legal Aid Of Nebraska

Legal Aid Of Nebraska, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering direct civil legal services to low-income and vulnerable populations, including homeless veterans, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, Native Americans in tribal courts, and low-income taxpayers with tax controversies. The organization has received 55 federal grants over its history, with 47 prime grants (85% of awards) and 8 sub-grants (15%), predominantly from the Internal Revenue Service, the Office on Violence Against Women, and the Department of Justice. Legal Aid Of Nebraska competes in full-and-open grant programs and does not hold federal contracts or sit on government-wide contract vehicles.

The Internal Revenue Service is the dominant funder, accounting for 24 awards through the Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC) program (CFDA 21.008). Under these grants, Legal Aid Of Nebraska provides direct representation of low-income taxpayers and non-native English speakers—whose household incomes do not exceed 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines—in controversies before the IRS and other tribunals on federal tax matters, educational activities on taxpayer rights, and advocacy efforts to improve IRS administration. The Office on Violence Against Women has funded 8 awards, including a $1.0 million continuation grant awarded October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028, under the Violence Against Women Discretionary Grants for Indian Tribal Governments program (CFDA 16.587), designated by the Santee Sioux Nation and Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. Under this award, Legal Aid Of Nebraska delivers comprehensive, free civil legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking within tribal communities in partnership with the Nebraska Tribes Addressing Violence Coalition, serving the Omaha, Ponca, Oglala Sioux, Santee Sioux, and Winnebago tribes. The Veterans Health Administration has funded Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness grants (CFDA 64.056), including a $231,579.82 award effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027, providing legal representation, advice, education, and advocacy on housing law, family law, income support, criminal defense, healthcare access, military discharge upgrades, consumer law, and employment law to eligible veterans in Nebraska, with a minimum 10 percent of grant funds dedicated to women veterans.

Legal Aid Of Nebraska acts as a subrecipient on federal grants from Montana Legal Services Association, the Nebraska Commission On Law Enforcement And Criminal Justice, and Equal Justice Works. The Montana Legal Services Association grants fund the organization's Native American Program, which for over thirty years has provided legal services to Native Americans in tribal courts across Nebraska and South Dakota, including the Omaha, Ponca, Winnebago, Oglala Sioux, and Santee Sioux tribal courts, with seven full-time employees (four attorneys) and a toll-free legal advice hotline operating 15 hours weekly. Sub-awards from the Nebraska Commission On Law Enforcement And Criminal Justice support direct services to crime victims. An Equal Justice Works sub-award from June 1, 2023, funded the Crime Victims Advocacy Program, deploying legal fellows and law students to provide civil legal service assistance to crime victims in underserved Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color communities.

Recent activity shows 5 awards in 2025, with the most recent award dated January 1, 2026, representing a $200,000 Low Income Taxpayer Clinics project grant from the Internal Revenue Service running through December 31, 2028. Only 2 awards face ultimate completion within the next 24 months, presenting minimal recompete exposure in the near term. The organization has worked with 11 distinct federal agencies over its footprint; the top five funding agencies (IRS, Office on Violence Against Women, Risk Management Agency, Victims of Crime office, and Bureau of Justice Assistance) account for 82 percent of recent awards.