Collective Impact Lincoln

08/15/2026

Hey neighbors, we have an announcement to share!

The Collective Impact Lincoln initiative began in 2017, thanks to the generosity and support of the Woods Charitable Fund through their Breakthrough Initiative grant. Our first three years of deep canvassing in 6 core neighborhoods revealed a deep need for affordable, safe, and accessible housing, which has guided our collective’s policy advocacy for the past 9 years. From neighborhood plans, city ordinances, and statewide legislation, we are grateful for the positive change we were able to advance in community with our neighbors. As we reflect on the past nine years of our collective and look to our future, we are committed to dismantling the barriers for our neighbors to lead change themselves, working towards a more just housing future and strong, connected neighborhoods.

Moving forward, our collective members will operate autonomously as Nebraska Appleseed and Civic Nebraska, with each organization honing in on our unique strengths and missions. With Nebraska Appleseed leading housing justice and Civic Nebraska leading strong neighborhoods programming, we will widen our reach across Lincoln and Nebraska and invest in the tools and resources for residents to shape positive change, no matter their neighborhood.

We are grateful for the collective knowledge, leadership, and relationships with our neighbors in the original core neighborhoods: Belmont, Clinton, Everett, Hartley, Near South and University Place. As we expand our reach, we are excited to connect Lincolnites across neighborhoods and keep building a more connected and resilient advocacy infrastructure that advances goals beyond the individual scope of our organizations. We are grateful to be in community with you, and we look forward to the change we can shape together.

Moving forward, we invite you to reach out to Elizabeth Engman for anything related to housing advocacy at [email protected]. Elizabeth will continue facilitating housing coalition spaces, sharing updates on housing policy, supporting advocates in making their voices heard, and hosting gathering opportunities for housing advocates. For anything related to Strong Neighborhoods Grants, voting rights, and workshops for community leaders, please reach out to Sam Meier-Bates at [email protected] and Allie Christianson at [email protected].

We invite you to follow Nebraska Appleseed to advocate for housing justice and Civic Nebraska to build strong neighborhoods.

02/03/2026

Is housing getting out of your reach? It’s not affordable for 40% of Nebraska renters.

In fact, it takes 1.6 full-time jobs at minimum wage just to afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment at Nebraska’s Fair Market rent. ⏱️ That’s 64 hours per week.

For many families with children and people with disabilities, time and money are tight. There’s little wiggle room left for food and health care, let alone saving up for a more reliable car or higher education. That’s where our public assistance programs are supposed to help – to fill this gap so that all our neighbors can thrive.

❌ But predatory landlords and property managers are denying families the chance to thrive by discriminating against them for using assistance. Nebraskans are being turned away from housing because of how they pay, and that’s not fair. Source-of-income discrimination hurts families with children, our elders, people with disabilities, and Nebraskans of color.

We can do better to make Nebraska a more welcoming, safe, and affordable place to live and call home. 🩷

📣We need your help to bring housing back in reach!

✉️ Email or call members of the Judiciary Committee and tell them to ADVANCE source-of-income protections, not ban them.

✅Vote YES to LB223
❌Vote NO to LB809

Take action now at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/defend-our-right-to-a-home

(ID: Graphic with purple background and white gradient with text in white, “housing is unaffordable for 40% of Nebraska renters” and an aforementioned call to action in white. To the right of the text is a fine line drawing of two hands reaching towards each other in white.)

02/03/2026

We all deserve a safe, affordable, and stable place to call home, and our communities are strongest when everyone has access to affordable, safe, and accessible housing.🩷

But 40% of Nebraska renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing alone. When families have to choose between housing and food, or housing and healthcare, it’s a sign we’re on the wrong path.

We need to change the story. 📖

Nebraskans voted for a better story, where renters aren’t turned away just because of how they pay. Source-of-income discrimination was successfully banned in Lincoln.

But Senator Dover wants to take source-of-income protections away from all Nebraskans through LB809. ❌ This would exacerbate our housing crisis and take away power from local communities to enact the fair housing policies they need.

Help us change the story by sharing yours. ✍️

✉️ Email or call members of the Judiciary Committee and tell them to ADVANCE source-of-income protections, not ban them.

✅ Vote YES to LB223
❌ Vote NO to LB809

Take action now at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/defend-our-right-to-a-home

(ID: Graphic with pink background with purple gradient and dark blue text of a poem, “For many Nebraskans, affordable housing is out of reach. While landlord profits soar, family savings shrink. This is not how the poem should end. In the upper right corner is a simple drawing of a thought bubble with a house inside. The house has a heart in place of the front door.)

01/16/2026

We all deserve a chance at home, but Senator Dover wants to take this chance away from all Nebraskans through LB809. ❌

Senator Dover started his career as a realtor, and being a state senator hasn’t stopped him from leveraging his public service position to cater to corporate interests. 💸Dover has a track record of introducing policies that only benefit wealthy realtors and landlords, from bans on affordable rent to tax breaks for luxury housing developers…

This January, Dover introduced LB809, which would take away existing fair housing protections and allow landlords to engage in source-of-income discrimination. Why? 🏚️Without protections, Dover’s realtor buddies can turn tenants away from housing just because of how they pay, hiding their unsafe properties from basic housing inspections and allowing them to segregate low-income renters into their worst properties.

Source-of-income discrimination has been banned in 23 states and 129 cities and towns across the U.S., including Lincoln, Nebraska. Our neighbors voted for source-of-income protections because we all deserve affordable, safe, and accessible housing to care for our loved ones and thrive. 🩷 From Beatrice to Scottsbluff, source-of-income discrimination impacts all Nebraskans, and every city and town deserves the chance to adopt protections for their community. We can’t let Senator Dover take this chance away.

Our Judiciary Committee has two options: 1) vote to advance fair housing through LB223 or 2) vote for discrimination to continue through LB809. ⚖️ What side do you want your senator to be on?

✉️ Join us to draft your testimony, emails, or online comments at Housing Tea Time & Testimony on Tuesday, January 20th, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso. Come and go when you need, and we'll be there to support your advocacy! Coffee & tea will be provided.

🖥️ Want to learn more about other housing bills this session? Join us online at A Housing Advocate's Guide to the Legislative Session on Thursday, January 22nd, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. RSVP at bit.ly/HAG-26.

⏰ Want to take action right now? Email or call members of the Judiciary Committee and tell them to ADVANCE source-of-income protections, not ban them.

✅Vote YES to LB223
❌Vote NO to LB809

See committee members emails and phone numbers at bit.ly/NE-LEG-JUDICIARY.

With your help, we can advance fair housing for ALL Nebraskans! 🩷

(ID: Cyan background with white gradient. At the top of the image are two houses on opposite sides of a spectrum. To the left, the house has a heart in the center. To the right, the house is broken in half. Below the houses is the text, “What side of history will your senator be on?” Below, there’s text about LB223 on the side of the heart house, and text about LB809 on the side of the broken house. On the side of the house heart (left), white text states, “LB223 protects all Nebraskans from source-of-income discrimination.” On the side of the broken house, white text states, “LB809 takes away protections, allowing discrimination to continue.”)

11/19/2025

Hey, housing advocates! We're back with Housing Tea Time today from 5 to 7 p.m. at Crescent Moon Coffee. ☕ Join our friends at Lincoln for Fair Housing to learn how you can advance fair housing through educating your neighbors about source-of-income protections, volunteering at upcoming events, and sharing your housing story! 🏡 At Housing Tea Time, you can connect with a community organizer to chat about your housing experiences, pick up renters' rights booklets and other housing resources, or just hang out with us!

(ID: Graphic promoting Housing Tea Time with aforementioned text in dark blue and white atop a light pink background. The text, "HOUSING TEA TIME" is displayed at the top of the image like a hanging door sign. Below is the text, "Tell us about your housing situation!" in dark blue. To the right of the text is a graphic of a tea bag in white with a dark blue outline. The tea bag is adorned with a blue heart, and the heart is filled with an image of a pink house. The house has a chimney on its left side with a pink heart emerging like smoke. The tea bag string wanders upwards in dark blue and connects to a white tag with a cyan heart on it. At the bottom of the image is the cyan Lincoln for Fair Housing logo.)

11/05/2025

Did you know that some landlords can decide not to rent to prospective tenants just because they rely on income sources like disability payments, social security, alimony, and more? This was the case in Lincoln, Nebraska—so residents fought back.

Advocates worked hard to pass a fair housing ballot measure, a tool that allows citizens to make change DIRECTLY at the ballot box instead of waiting for their elected officials to take action. And this summer, their work paid off: Lincoln residents voted to ban source-of-income housing discrimination.

At The Fairness Project, we are extremely proud to support grassroots campaigns like this. Each time voters pass a ballot measure of this kind, they are showing the rest of the country what is possible. Ballot measures are a powerful tool for direct democracy, and we need to protect them for generations to come.

09/23/2025

Hey, housing advocates! We're back with Housing Tea Time this Wednesday, September 24th, from 8 to 10 a.m. at Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso. ☕ Join our friends at Lincoln for Fair Housing anytime between 8 and 10 a.m. to learn how you can advance fair housing through educating your neighbors about source-of-income protections, volunteering at upcoming events, and sharing your housing story! 🏡 At Housing Tea Time, you can connect with a community organizer to chat about your housing experiences, pick up renters' rights booklets and other housing resources, or just hang out with us!

(ID: Graphic promoting Housing Tea Time with aforementioned text in dark blue and white atop a cyan background. The text, "HOUSING TEA TIME" is displayed at the top of the image like a hanging door sign. Below is the text, "Tell us about your housing situation!" in white. To the right of the text is a graphic of a tea bag in white with a dark blue outline. The tea bag is adorned with a heart, and the heart is filled with an image of a pink house. The house has a chimney on its left side with a pink heart emerging like smoke. The tea bag string wanders upwards in dark blue and connects to a white tag with a cyan heart on it. At the bottom of the image is the pink Lincoln for Fair Housing logo.)

07/02/2025

When 66% of Lincoln voters voted to pass source-of-income-protections in May, it helped so many of our neighbors find stability, such as Elizabeth who shares her story in this article.

Source-of-income-protections have been successful in 22 states and 126 cities and counties, protecting over 57% of voucher holders across the United States. Now that Lincoln is among them, we must uphold the will of Lincoln voters who know that our community is stronger when all of us have a place to call home.

Opponents may take page from national playbook as Lincoln receives its first source-of-income complaints following voter approval of ballot measure

06/18/2025

Lincolnites have spoken, and we are now protected from source-of-income discrimination! We are so grateful to be part of this initiative and are excited to continue advocating for housing justice. Now, let's spread the word about source-of-income protections in Lincoln!

(ID: 2 graphics with dark blue and black text on a light pink background. Image 1: The text reads, "You are now protected from source-of-income discrimination! What is source-of-income discrimination,
and what can you do if you’ve experienced it? Source-of-income discrimination is the practice of refusing to rent to a prospective tenant because of their lawful source of income, such as Social Security, disability, and veteran benefits; child support payments; Section 8 or housing choice vouchers, other monetary or cash assistance from the government or nonprofits; or hourly wages." At the bottom of image 1 is a dark blue graphic of two hands holding each other in the shape of a heart. Image 2: The text reads, "What can you do if you’ve experienced source-of-income discrimination? If you have experienced source-of-income discrimination in housing, contact the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights (LCHR). Call LCHR at 402-441-7624 or complete a Human Rights Intake Questionnaire at lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/City-Attorneys-Office/LCHR to provide your contact information and a general picture of the discrimination you experienced. Once you have contacted LCHR, wait for them to reach out. A LCHR Civil Rights Investigator will contact you and help determine if your charge falls within their jurisdiction, answer any questions you may have, and file an official complaint if you so choose." At the bottom of the image is the Lincoln for Fair Housing logo in pink and dark blue with text to its right, "Learn More & Get Involved at FairHousingLNK.org")

05/07/2025

Unofficial final:
For: 67%
Against: 32%

Lincoln, you brought it home.