Founded by Omaha hotel magnate Eugene C. Eppley, the foundation was the leading benefactor for several charities and institutions in the Midwestern United States.
[1] Beginning in 1949, the Eppley Foundation contributed to a variety of educational, healthcare and civic endeavors.
The Eppley Library (now the Administration building) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha was named in recognition of the Foundation's giving.
[5] In the 1970s the foundation funded Eppley Fellowships at the Smithsonian Institution for research in a variety of issues.
Outside of the namesake family, it was the leading benefactor of the Culver Academies in Indiana, where Eppley had studied.