Community Foundation of the Ozarks

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is pleased to announce the Ozarks Million Dollar Hunger Challenge. Made possible by a $100,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation State Program and a partnership with Ozarks Food Harvest, this program allows CFO affiliate community foundations to raise  dollars that will be matched 1:1 to fight hunger in their local communities. The program will leverage the initial $100,000 gift into $200,000 which will procure $1 million worth of food through Ozarks Food Harvest, the only food bank serving one-third of Missouri.

Twenty-one  affiliates have chosen to participate in this program which was available to those CFO affiliates that fall within Ozarks Food Harvest’s 29-county service area. A complete of list participating affiliates is located at the end of this story.

“It’s only natural that we partner with the Walmart Foundation and CFO since our service areas in this part of the state literally mirror each other,” said Bart Brown, president and CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest.

Hunger challenge funds have been established as component funds of each participating affiliate community foundation. The matching opportunity runs through June 30, 2010.

“The challenging economic environment we’re facing calls for us to identify new resources to help with hunger, and make the existing ones stretch further,” said Brian Fogle, executive vice president of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. “The generous Walmart grant provides the catalyst for our affiliates to raise matching funds, and the strength and connections of Ozarks Food Harvest insure those funds will be used in the most effective manner to address hunger in our Ozarks region.”

This partnership was unveiled following the February 4th announcement of a new landmark hunger study which found that Ozarks Food Harvest is serving 155,000 individuals annually. Ozarks Food Harvest-The Food Bank distributed seven milion pounds of food during its last fiscal year, the highest distribution in its 27-year history. To view the complete study and learn more, please visit ozarksfoodharvest.org.

Ozarks Million Dollar Hunger Challenge participating affiliates include:
- Aurora Area Community Foundation
- Bolivar Area Community Foundation
- Cassville Community Foundation
- DACO Community Foundation
- Dallas County Community Foundation
- El Dorado Springs Community Foundation
- Finley River Community Foundation
- Houston Community Foundation
- Jacks Fork Community Foundation
- Marshfield Area Community Foundation
- Mtn. Grove Area Community Foundation
- Nixa Community Foundation
- Oregon County Community Foundation
- Ozark County Community Foundation
- Greater Seymour Area Foundation
- Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri (Carthage & Joplin)
- Stockton Community Foundation
- Table Rock Lake Community Foundation
- Taney County Community Foundation
-  Community Foundation of West Plains

CAPTION: From left to right: Skip Tinney, market manager, Walmart; Sharon Whitehill Gray, president, Nixa Community Foundation & CFO board member; Leigh Hall, Nixa Community Foundation board member; Brian Fogle, CFO; Betty Ann Rogers, Nixa Community Foundation board member; and Bart Brown, president/CEO, Ozarks Food Harvest.

Dan Beckner was presented with the Marshfield Area Community Foundation’s 2009 Pinnacle Award at a reception on Saturday, January 30^th. This is the fifth year for the award which is given to a person who dedicates himself or herself to the betterment of Marshfield through community service and leadership. Dan has worked tirelessly to build Hidden Waters Nature Park and preserve the space in its natural beauty.   To learn more about the Marshfield Area Community Foundation, click here.

Pictured:  Board members of the Marshfield Area Community Foundation, along with President Emeritus Jan Horton, CFO Development Operations Officer Winter Skelton, and Zoe Beckner, present Dan Beckner with the Pinnacle Award.

The Marshfield Area Community Foundation, in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, recently announced the completion of a $5,000 dollar-for-dollar match to benefit the Marshfield community. Chip & Teresa McGeehan, owners of McDonald’s in Marshfield, made a $5,000 contribution to the Hidden Waters Nature Park Fund, an endowment fund providing long-term sustainable funding for the upkeep and maintenance of a local Marshfield park. This $5,000 gift earned the fund a $5,000 matching grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozark’s Stewardship Ozarks Initiative.

The three-year, $1 million Stewardship Ozarks Initiative is an effort to strengthen regional organizations that are committed to conservation efforts in the Missouri Ozarks. It focuses directly on the sustainability of conservation and environmental nonprofit groups, providing challenge grants to strengthen or establish endowment funds for environmental stewardship. This initiative is supported by a major gift from Johnny Morris on behalf of Wonders of Wildlife, as well as by leadership contributions from Gregg and Nancy Galbraith, Larry and Dr. Nancy O’Reilly, Todd and Betty Parnell, and the Upper White River Basin Foundation. Additional support comes from Sally Baird, Community Foundation of the Ozarks Philanthropy Initiative, Susie Henry, and Dr. Tom and Dr. Kim Prater.

The Marshfield Area Community Foundation (MACF) is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. It is comprised of 22 funds with assets totaling approximately $365,000. In fiscal year 2009, the Marshfield Area Community Foundation granted more than $33,000 back to the community. To learn more about the MACF, please visit their website here.

PICTURE: From left to right: Dan Beckner, Hidden Waters Nature Park founder, Winter Skelton (CFO), and Barbara Herren (Marshfield Area Community Foundation board member) accept a check from Chip McGeehan.