Rob Keck, Chair of the Wonders of Wildlife, American National Fish and Wildlife Museum Board, also announced today that the museum no longer plans to accept its designated portion of the city hotel-motel tax. This is consistent with the museum’s goal of constructing the new Conservation Education Center and completing the expansion of the WOW Museum totally through private donations and sales-tax revenue collected through the Museum Sales Tax District established for the Bass Pro complex.

The $1.3 million gift made today by Mr. Morris represents an amount equal to the hotel-motel revenue collected since the museum closed for expansion in December 2007. This private gift from Mr. Morris and Bass Pro Shops is an equivalent amount being invested into the community.

“From all of us at Bass Pro Shops, we are happy today to announce these pledges of support for the museum and Springfield,” Morris said. “We want the new museum, aquarium and education center to be a very positive, long-lasting benefit to our community and to the future of conservation in Missouri and nationally.

“We are excited about the dynamic quality of the facility that is being created,” Morris added. “It will be among the first of its kind ever built. Personally, I am very grateful to our museum Board Chairman Rob Keck and all of the museum board members. Collectively, they represent the Who’s Who of great conservation leaders and heroes in America. We can all be grateful and consider it an honor that they are donating their personal time and talents to help create this facility.”

Keck presented a check for $1.3 million to CFO Board Chair Cliff Brown and President Brian Fogle. In addition, Keck returned the most recent hotel-motel tax payment of $32,506.14 to Mayor Jim O’Neal.

“It is our hope that this money can be used to support a number of important community causes especially those relating to conservation, natural resources, and promoting tourism in the Springfield area,” Keck said.

A portion of the gift will be endowed, which means that its principle will remain intact and an annual distribution of its investment growth will be available each year for grants to non-profit agencies working in the areas of conservation, natural resources and tourism.

The pledge of the additional $2.7 million private gift over the next five years or less is equivalent to the hotel-motel revenue invested in the museum from the inception of that tax until 2007.

The CFO and Morris have previously collaborated on the Stewardship Ozarks Initiative.

That initiative, which included a lead gift from the Johnny Morris Foundation, raised about $670,000 beginning in 2007 to offer matching challenge grant funds to environmental and conservation non-profit agencies to build their endowments for long-term sustainability, as well as grants to conservation-related education projects.

“This gift offers incredible potential to maintain and enhance Springfield’s natural assets, as well as the economic benefits of our tourism economy, for many generations to come,” Fogle said. “We are very grateful for this gift and look forward to developing grantmaking opportunities for non-profit environmental and tourism agencies working in Springfield.”

The Museum’s decision to voluntarily opt out of the hotel-motel sales tax revenue approved by voters in 1998 for several community facilities, including the museum, will mean about $330,000 will be available for other eligible uses for the City of Springfield. The Museum will continue to use sales-tax revenue collected through the Museum Sales Tax District established for the Bass Pro complex. The Springfield City Council will determine how these newly available hotel-motel tax revenues will be allocated per the 1998 ballot language.

“This is an amazing opportunity for Springfield, made possible by the generosity of Johnny Morris and the Wonders of Wildlife Board of Directors,” Mayor Jim O’Neal said. “The ability to re-allocate future hotel-motel tax revenues will make our community even stronger.  And the private gift to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is extremely generous.  All I can say is ‘Wow.’”

(Not Pictured: Representatives of the Kimberling Area Library Association)

Eight Springfield-area and regional non-profits were each awarded a $1,250 Endowment Building Grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks at CFO’s annual Agency Partners Luncheon on Tuesday, August 23.

The monies were awarded as part of CFO’s annual endowment-building grant round, which seeks to help agency partners with communications and outreach projects that will enhance their ability to raise funds and help their communities.

The eight recipients were:

• Willow Springs School Foundation (brochures/handouts to community and alumni)
• Good Samaritan Boys Ranch (postcard campaign/breakfast and lunch events on planned giving)
• Tri County Pregnancy Resource Center (website/social media campaign)
• East Newton R-6 Charitable Foundation (estate planning-specific mailings to alumni)
• Kimberling Area Library Association (“Buy a Brick” fundraising campaign materials)
• Sigma House of Springfield, Inc. (video production for website, booklet for distribution to potential donors)
• Springfield Ballet, Inc. (creation of Legacy Scholarship Endowment Fund)
• Urban Neighborhoods Alliance (materials for Campaign for the Community and Project CoRE)

The 2011 Agency Partners Luncheon was held at 319 Downtown in Springfield. After opening remarks by CFO President Brian Fogle and lunch, more than 130 attendees learned about the Ozarks Empowerment Project, a multi-pronged initiative being started by CFO, which is aimed at helping Agency Partners become more efficient and effective through workshops, interactive projects, online outreach and other endeavors. Look for more Ozarks Empowerment Project details at cfozarks.org in coming days and weeks.

Also honored were CFO’s new Agency Partners, added during the 2011 fiscal year (ended June 30), and Agency Partners who opened new funds during the same year. All attendees took home gifts of chocolate-covered marshmallows from Elle’s Patisserie in Springfield.

For more information on becoming an Agency Partner of CFO, or for information on the 2011-12 grant rounds, contact Bridget Dierks at bdierks@cfozarks.org.

• Seymour is FAMOUS! The Daily Yonder, an Austin, Texas-based blog that showers love on all things rural, picked up our story about the great work of the Greater Seymour Area Foundation, as well as the accompanying video by Brandon Goodwin. You can read the Yonder’s post here. It’s a wonderful showcase for one of the strongest communities around.

• Small Towns, Big Accomplishments. Education Week, a national education site, last week  featured not one but two interesting posts by Diette Courrege:

The first story was about the Center for Midwestern Initiatives, which grew out of our own Rural Schools Partnership and is being established in conjunction with the Rural School and Community Trust by former CFO president Gary Funk.

The second report was all about the unprecedented success of the aforementioned Rural Schools Partnership and the funds established and grants distributed for rural schools in southern Missouri.

The CFO's Julie Leeth (third from left) presents a ceremonial check for $11,100 to members of the Nixa Education Foundation.

The Nixa Education Foundation received $11,100 with a recent ceremonial check presentation successfully completing the Harry Cooper Supply Company Campaign for the Ozarks to build long-term education funding through philanthropy.

The Foundation raised $21,930 to receive the matching funds through the Cooper Phase II Challenge for members of the CFO’s Rural Schools Partnership during 2010. The total of $33,030 is designated for the Foundation’s Legacy Fund, which preserves and invests a core amount to create an annual distribution of funds to help stabilize the district’s revenue.

Nixa was among 26 southern Missouri rural schools to participate in the year-long challenge grant opportunity, which raised nearly $1 million from generous donors and the Harry Cooper Supply Company to build long-term sustainability for these districts. The other districts are: Alton, Aurora, Ava, Bolivar, Bradleyville, Cassville, Dallas County, Dora, Eminence, Fair Grove, Fairview, Gainesville, Hermann, Hollister, Houston, Lockwood, Logan-Rogersville, Monett, Reeds Spring, Seymour, Valle, Warsaw, Weaubleau, West Plains and Willard.

The Nixa Education Foundation held a number of activities to raise the funds for the matching-grant opportunity. Foundation President Becky Sawyer said the group had a $100 for 100 campaign for Nixa alumni involved while faculty and staff contribute through payroll deductions. She said students and parents made donations to honor people special to them, and students also created and sold Christmas cards to raise money.

“There’s no way we could have done it without the support of the entire community – faculty staff, students and alumni, and businesses,” Sawyer said. “Everyone had a piece in this and we want to thank everyone. It was truly a combined effort of many.

“We also appreciate the Harry Cooper Company and thank them for this opportunity,” she said. “If it had not been for making this grant available to us, I’m certain we would have $30,000 less in our endowment fund.”

These two goals are identified as “emerging issues” in the Arts and Culture section of the 2009 Community Focus Report for Springfield and Greene County.

The grants were awarded to:

• First Friday Art Walk: Development of a three-year plant to sustain and continue growth for the monthly event though directed marketing and increased business collaboration.

• Missouri Film Alliance and Moxie Cinema: Development of a monthly film series to promote the work of local filmmakers through a collaborative business partnership and new marketing strategies.

• SRO Lyric Theatre: Development of survey instruments and marketing materials for the organization’s new branding effort to increase exposure for new audiences of different age, socio-economic and experience levels with lyric theater.

• Springfield Arts Collaborative Endowment: Development of marketing materials for the newly established collaborative arts-endowment campaign.

• Springfield Little Theatre: Increase use of video-marketing strategies both within the theatre and as outside marketing efforts through traditional media sources.

• Urban Districts Alliance: Addition of multicultural performances for “First Night Springfield” to better represent the broadening cultural diversity of our region.

These $1,500 grants are the maximum awards under this year’s Metropolitan Springfield Arts and Culture grants cycle, which included a total of $15,000. Additional applications will be considered as long   as funding is available. For more information, visit: http://www.cfozarks.org/cfo-grantmaking-programs/arts/.

Tickets are still available for the noon luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel, 2431 N. Glenstone Ave., in Springfield. For ticket information, contact Randy Russell at the CFO at (417) 864-6199.

The annual Humanitarian Award was established 21 years ago by longtime Community Foundation of the Ozarks supporter Jewell Thompson Schweitzer to honor individuals in our region who place service to others as the primary motivating force in their lives. The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce organizes a committee to review nominations and select the annual recipient. The winner receives a $3,000 cash award, which he or she has the option to donate to charity.

In addition to his work on Care to Learn, Pitt is being honored for his role as a goodwill ambassador to Tanzania and his support for construction of wells for clean drinking water in Africa as well as his role as co-chair of the Homelessness Task Force in Springfield. The co-owner of ServiceWorld Computer Center in Springfield, Pitt also is a member and/or philanthropic supporter of the Rotary Club of Springfield-Southeast; the James River Assembly of God; the Springfield Public Schools Foundation; Relay for Life; Worldserve International; the Ozarks Honor Flight; and the Council of Churches of the Ozarks.

GO LEAD provides a series of workshops designed to address specific training and professional development issues related to non-profit management.

The scholarships are available  for one of these two workshop series:

• The Nuts & Bolts of Non-Profit Management; or
• Non-Profit Management in the 21st Century

Applications can be submitted online and the application deadline is 5 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010.

The program is open to any non-profit leader or manager of an organization that partners with the Community Foundation.

For questions or more information, e-mail Julie Leeth, Executive Vice President, or call (417) 864-6199.

The Hartville R-II School District established The Hartville Teacher’s Support Fund so that each teacher will have first day of school classroom funding. Hartville is a new Agency Partner in the education category.

The newly formed Hartville School Foundation established a fund to support the programs and projects of the Hartville R-II School District. The Foundation also becomes a new Agency Partner in education.

A group of Ozark women established the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Fund. Lisa Engel, Shirley Wikander, Linda Thomas, Ginger Holzer and Jeanette Hipskind established this fund to assist them as they hold fundraisers to help make the Ozark community a better place to live. This fund is part of the Finley River Community Foundation.

The Missouri Medical Assistance Program Fund will support the mission of the Missouri Medical Assistance Program to assist low-income individuals and families within the community who need  immediate assistance with their medical bills and debt. MOMAP is a new Agency Partner in the health category.

The Greater Ozarks Audubon Society established The GLADE Fund to support the GLADE project and student conservation projects of students who have participated in GLADE. This is the group’s second fund.

The Rotaract Club of Springfield Fund has been established to provide an endowment to support  charitable activities and programs in the area. Rotaract is the Rotary organization for members under the age of 30.

The new grantmaking programs include:

Metropolitan Springfield Red-Flag Response Grants – The Community Foundation will offer $225,000 in challenge grants intended to help support existing programs of Springfield area non-profits that address red-flag issues identified in the 2009 Community Focus Report for Springfield-Greene County.

Coover Regional Poverty Grants – This program will award grants to support new or innovative non-profit programs outside of Springfield-Greene County aimed at fighting rural poverty. These grants are made possible through the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation Regional Grantmaking Program, which is a partnership between the CFO and Commerce Trust Company.

Agency Partners Endowment-Building Grants – These grants, offered to the more than 350 non-profit agencies that partner with the Community Foundation, are intended to support efforts to plan, develop and implement endowment-building programs. These can be used for projects such as promotional materials, fundraisers, information/education programs and other awareness efforts.

The Rural Schools Partnership also has three grant cycles now open.

For more information on the CFO’s grantmaking programs, please e-mail Julie Leeth, Executive Vice President, or call her at (417) 864-6199.

Capacity Building Funds
OTC Foundation Restricted Fund
OTC Foundation Unrestricted Fund

The following funds have also been established with CFO and its affiliates through June.

Anita Barnes Memorial Scholarship – This endowed scholarship will provide renewable scholarships to students graduating from Oran High School attending a college/university or vocational/technical school who demonstrate financial need.

The Kitchen Capacity Building Fund – The Kitchen established this organizational fund to hold funds for their organization and its programs.

Bolivar Area Community Foundation

Hickory Grove Cemetery Endowment Fund – The Hickory Grove Cemetery Association established this fund for the public beautification and historic preservation of the Hickory Grove Cemetery in Polk County.

Truman Lake Community Foundation

Gerald Zumbrunnen Scholarship Trust – This scholarship in honor of Gerald Zumbrunnen awards to a Henry County graduating senior and that will attend an accredited public four-year college or university in Missouri.