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UP Annual Local Grants: Priorities & Objectives Menu

Union Pacific Foundation Community Ties Giving Program

Community Ties Giving Program

Annual Local Grants

2024 Program Overview and Guidelines

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

Throughout its existence, the success of Union Pacific's business has been inextricably linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns across the nation. We take pride in the role we have played in helping communities thrive and believe the impact we can have on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of the diverse company we are today. As such, we have carefully aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. Specifically, 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. Find more information about our commitment to DEI in our FAQs.

Please Note: Priorities & Objectives Updated for the 2024 Grant Cycle

We are excited to announce modifications to the Community Ties Giving Program Funding Priorities & Objectives. These changes reflect current investment needs expressed by UP communities.

  • The priority previously called Community Spaces has been retitled Community Vitality and objectives have been modified.
  • The priorities Safety, Workforce Development, and Environmental Sustainability also have objectives that have been modified.
  • The past priority called Local Needs has been removed as the other four priorities have been expanded to incorporate additional community needs.
  • Please ensure that you review these priorities and objectives carefully before beginning the application process.

Safety

In order for communities to thrive, all residents must feel safe. Just as the safety of our employees and community members is paramount to how we operate, Union Pacific is committed to helping communities prevent and prepare for incidents and emergencies, and helping residents get home safely at the end of each day. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to: 

  • Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness,
     particularly projects which focus on rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, and ensure outreach efforts reach 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.
  • 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. 

*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.

Workforce Development

For more than 160 years, Union Pacific has helped stimulate economic growth in cities and towns throughout the nation by training and providing employment to millions of workers. More than ever, we are committed to helping underrepresented residents in our communities achieve family-supporting careers like those offered by Union Pacific. As such, we prioritize funding for programs that seek to:

  • 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 programs.
  • Build the capacity of workforce development-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. 

Programs with a focus on cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce through the intentional support of women and people of color, as well as those with a focus on rural communities, will be given special consideration.

Community Vitality

Union Pacific Railroad is committed to establishing vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities for employees, customers and residents to work, visit and call home. Just as the railroad opened avenues for economic development and opportunity more than 160 years ago, we maintain this tradition by cultivating unique cultural and recreational experiences and equipping community members with opportunities to live healthy, vital lives. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

  • Create, sustain or expand artistic and cultural experiences
    offered to a broad and diverse audience (e.g., museums, theaters, zoos, cultural and local heritage, visual and performing arts, etc.)
  • Provide recreational opportunities
    that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment (e.g., parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, learning centers, etc.).
  • Revive neighborhoods and main street areas,
    especially in historically underinvested neighborhoods, to improve livability, promote commerce and attract more residents, businesses and visitors to town.
  • Ensure residents’ basic needs are met
    and barriers are overcome (e.g., safe shelter and homelessness prevention, hunger relief, mental health and community health needs, etc.).
  • Offer youth development and educational opportunities
    to ensure young people can thrive into healthy and productive community members (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, tutoring, services for youth in foster care, etc.).
  • Build the capacity of community vitality-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. 

Environmental Sustainability

The future of our business, communities and planet depends on bold, collective action to reduce and slow the impacts of climate change while building a more sustainable economy for the next generation. Union Pacific is taking deliberate steps to reduce our environmental impact and helping our partners improve their own. Extending this commitment to our community investments, we seek to support leading environmental nonprofits and community-based organizations to advance the health of our environment. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

  • Preserve and restore nature,
    including programs focused on natural habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
  • Protect and enhance water, soil and air quality
    through innovative and proactive solutions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction programs.
  • Reduce waste
    through initiatives focused on promoting recycling and circularity throughout the community, including recycling and composting programs and other efforts that reduce waste.
  • Develop environmental stewards
    through youth programs focused on fostering environmental appreciation, responsibility, and leadership.
  • Advance a sustainable economy
    by helping communities accelerate their transition to environmental jobs and renewable energy, as well as helping nonprofits and small businesses build their own capacity to operate more sustainably.
  • Promote environmental justice
    through initiatives that ensure access to clean air, water, and land and protect underserved populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental effects.
  • Build the capacity of sustainability-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.
Flower Field

©Jacqueline Ferrato/TNC

 

Union Pacific Community Ties Giving Program: Annual Local Grants

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