The Foundation
Our History
The Peter Kiewit Foundation was formed in 1979 from the Mr. Kiewit’s estate and is the product of Mr. Kiewit’s own design and direction. He had long declared his disapproval of inherited wealth, but few knew that he would commit all of his personal wealth to a trust for charitable endeavors in Omaha, his hometown, and the surrounding region.
Mr. Kiewit contemplated plans for his foundation for several years. He studied models of other organized philanthropies and continued to distill his own values into the framework of his trust. It was on July 15, 1975 that Mr. Kiewit formally executed the “Peter Kiewit Trust Agreement” that created an irrevocable charitable trust he directed to be activated at the time of his death.
Peter Kiewit died on November 2, 1979, following a brief illness. He was 79 years old. The following January, (1980), the Peter Kiewit Foundation opened an office and began to receive and review funding requests for grants. The initial fund balance was $150 million. Today, its value stands at approximately $400 million.
The Peter Kiewit Foundation has awarded $489,000,000
in grants and scholarships since 1980.
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Since 1980, the Peter Kiewit Foundation has awarded $449 million in 2,059 grants through March, 2008. An additional $40 million has been given to fund 2,175 scholarships for deserving college and university students in Nebraska.
The smallest grant awarded by the Foundation was for $250 and the largest, to date, was $25 million. In the 28 years of Mr. Kiewit’s posthumous philanthropy, the Peter Kiewit Foundation has awarded a total of $489 million in grants and scholarships.
