Tallgrass’ Trailblazer Community Investment Fund awards $500,000 to strengthen communities
LINCOLN, Neb. (Mar. 27, 2026) – The Trailblazer Community Investment Fund (Fund) has awarded $500,000 in total grants to 142 organizations across Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Iowa. These grants were the first awards made from the Fund, a first-of-its-kind community investment fund established by Tallgrass with Nebraska Community Foundation to help address three of the region’s most pressing needs: access to early childhood development, food security and long-term care for older adults.
The Fund was established by Tallgrass as part of its Community Benefits Agreement with Bold Nebraska in order to directly benefit the communities associated with Tallgrass’ Trailblazer Carbon Dioxide (CO2) project. Tallgrass capitalized the Fund with $500,000 and will invest additional contributions equal to $0.10 per metric ton of carbon dioxide transported and stored through the Trailblazer pipeline system each year through 2035. The Fund is anticipated to distribute more than $7 million to qualifying entities during that time.
"These financial resources to local nonprofits mean more Nebraskans will have access to food and child and senior care,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, Bold Nebraska founder and director. “More large-scale infrastructure projects should learn from how Tallgrass has kept its promise to communities and ensured their shareholders were not the only ones benefiting. Whether it's an energy or data center project, the community and landowners deserve to be protected, treated with respect and financially benefit from what happens on the land we all deeply love."
After significant research into how best to invest in these communities, Nebraska Community Foundation identified qualifying organizations to receive these grants, including 46 childcare facilities, 32 senior care facilities and 64 food pantries. Each of the three focus areas received $167,254, distributed evenly among eligible recipients. This support will allow these organizations, which typically run on very tight budgets, to continue to provide care to community members of all ages – whether through quality childhood development or long-term care for elders.
“Nebraska Community Foundation is proud to help steward this important effort and ensure these dollars reach community leaders who know best how to put them to work,” said Jeff Yost, president and CEO of Nebraska Community Foundation.
“We appreciate the extensive work that Nebraska Community Foundation has done to help us invest back into the communities who have supported the Trailblazer project’s development. We are proud to work with NCF and Bold Alliance to be able to get these funds deployed quickly and strategically,” said Kyle Quackenbush, Segment President at Tallgrass. “We look forward to seeing the Fund and its impact grow over the next decade.”
Eligible government entities and nonprofit organizations serving communities in counties located along the Trailblazer pipeline system. Nebraska counties include Adams, Banner, Buffalo, Butler, Cass, Clay, Dawson, Fillmore, Frontier, Gage, Gosper, Hall, Hamilton, Johnson, Kearney, Kimball, Lincoln, Merrick, Otoe, Perkins, Phelps, Platte, Polk, Saline, Sarpy and York. Colorado counties include Logan and Sedgwick; Iowa counties include Mills and Pottawattamie; and Wyoming’s Laramie County is also included.
For more information visit www.nebcommfound.org/trailblazer.
About Nebraska Community Foundation
Nebraska Community Foundation unleashes abundant local assets, inspires charitable giving and connects ambitious people to build stronger communities and a Greater Nebraska. Headquartered in Lincoln, the Foundation serves communities, donors and organizations by providing financial management, strategic development, education and training to a statewide network of 1,500 volunteers serving 266 communities. In the last five years, 46,481 contributions have been made to Nebraska Community Foundation and its affiliated funds. Since 1994, Nebraska Community Foundation has reinvested $594 million in Nebraska’s people and places. For information, visit NebraskaHometown.org.
About Tallgrass
Tallgrass is a leading infrastructure company focused on safely, reliably, and sustainably delivering the energy and services that fuel our nation and power our quality of life. Tallgrass is an established, industry-leading operator with large-scale, multicommodity infrastructure across 14 states, including more than 10,000 miles of pipelines. Learn more at Tallgrass.com.
About Bold Alliance
Bold Alliance builds unlikely alliances to protect the land and water. Bold works on issues including eminent domain, clean energy, water, and prioritizing family farms and ranches.
Tallgrass Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Disclosures in this press release contain "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that management expects, believes, or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statements contained in this press release specifically include statements regarding the potential benefits and other impacts of the Fund and related awards and the execution, timing and amount of any additional contributions to the Fund and related awards. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Tallgrass, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements, and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including those set forth in reports and financial statements made available by Tallgrass. Any forward-looking statement applies only as of the date on which such statement is made, and Tallgrass does not intend to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.