Representatives of the five-year ECHO Project accept their Grantmakers Challenge for Children plaque.

The five-year Grantmakers Challenge for Children focused about $22 million from 35 partner organizations to support services targeting the “red-flag” issues identified in the Community Focus Reports for Springfield and Greene County.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks marked the end of this five-year effort with a program today to recognize contributions and review the impact of this initiative on area children’s services.

In looking ahead to the next steps, Dr. Cristina Gilstrap, facilitator of the Community Focus Report, announced that work on the 2011 report is underway for publication in early fall. The report will provide an updated assessment on a variety of community topics, which can help define community grantmaking efforts.

Several speakers highlighted programs created during the Grantmakers Challenge for Children, including the Isabel’s House Crisis Nursery, the Light House Childhood Development Center, and the ECHO Project that targeted early-intervention strategies at Campbell and Robberson elementary schools in Springfield.

“I think what we’re doing in Springfield is groundbreaking and we hope to replicate it here and elsewhere,” Robberson Principal Kevin Huffman said, in describing the comprehensive counseling and family wellness services developed through ECHO’s partnerships with Springfield Public Schools; Missouri State University; Burrell Mental Health; and the Community Partnership of the Ozarks. The $1 million ECHO Project represents the largest single grant ever awarded by the CFO.

Lynn Tynes, president of the Junior League of Springfield, said the issue of child abuse and neglect was the first priority the League decided to support when it transitioned from a project-based to an issue-based focus in 2005.

“When a home becomes unsafe, the children of our community deserve a safe haven,” she said of the decision to grant $660,000 toward the creation of Isabel’s House to shelter kids from ages four to 12 whose families are experiencing crisis circumstances.

Erica Harris, director of the Light House Child Development Center, said its partnerships with the faith community to use churches that are open during weekdays have helped it expand to a second location with plans in development for a third site. She said the families, who go through a rigorous screening process, are averaging a $5,000 increase in household income and an $8,000 decrease in household debt through the consistent availability of child care and the related family services.

“They know they are signing up for engagement in their child’s future and their child’s success,” Harris said. “We want them to be advocates for their children.”

The Grantmakers Challenge for Children will wrap up at 10 a.m., Wednesday, at the CFO’s community room, 425 E. Trafficway in Springfield.

The CFO initiated the Grantmakers Challenge for Children after the 2005 Community Focus Report identified a series of children’s issues as the biggest collective “red flag” in Springfield-Greene County. The initiative began with 22 area grantmakers who pledged $6.5 million toward these efforts. Since 2005, the number of partners has grown to 35, who have contributed more than $20 million toward children’s services.

A complete list of resources and grants included in the five-year initiative will be available at the event. The partners in the Grantmakers Challenge for Children include: the Thomas H. and Josephine Baird Memorial Fund; Robert and Margaret Carolla Fund; Care to Learn; Community Foundation of the Ozarks; the CFO/ECHO Project; CoxHealth Foundation; Darr Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; Female Leaders in Philanthropy; The Ferguson Family Fund; Gannett Foundation/Springfield News-Leader; Ed and Virginia Heer Family Foundation Fund; Isabel’s House Crisis Nursery; Junior League of Springfield; Mayor’s Commission for Children; Missouri Sports Hall of Fame/Price-Cutter Charity Championship; Musgrave Foundation; Ron and Cathy Neville; O’Reilly Family Foundation Fund; O’Reilly and Wooten Families; Ozarks Health Advocacy Foundation; Ronald McDonald House Charities; St. John’s Foundation for Community Health; St. John’s Clinic Force for Good; Foundation for Springfield Public Schools; City of Springfield Community Development Block Grant Program; Central Trust & Investments; Bill and Ann Turner and The Turner Family Foundation; United Way of the Ozarks; The Charles L. and Dorothy Weaver Orthodontic Fund; Tal and Rosalie O’Reilly Wooten Family Foundation Fund; the Youth Empowerment Project; and several donors and foundations that wish to remain anonymous.

The Grantmakers’ Challenge for Children continues its final of a five-year effort to address the pressing challenges associated with children in poverty in Springfield.  To date, participating grantmakers and philanthropists have committed or granted $20,505,775.20  in local resources for local preventative solutions to targeted children’s issues. 

This program works to address the following:

• to marshal local charitable assets in a way that leverages resources and provides for measurable interventions that address community “red flags;”
• to heighten public awareness of the threats to many children and their lasting impact on our society at large; and
• to demonstrate to other potential donors in our community that they can make a difference by giving back to the community and investing in the future of our children.  The Challenge is an ongoing effort, additional donors and funding organizations are encouraged to participate.

To read more about this program and to see the full list of participants, visit our website here.

The challenge was created in 2006 as a direct response to the Community Focus Reports in 2004 and 2005, which stated that overcoming the pressing challenges related to the needs of our children would shape the future of Springfield and Greene County.  Red flag issues addressed in the reports suggested there were three main community needs with relation to children in the Springfield area:

• Education systems ill equipped to educate the growing numbers of impoverished children
• At risk children lacking appropriate health care
• Domestic instability and poverty in the home

The gifts listed in the Grantmakers Challenge for Children report that address the three red flags outlined in the 2004 Community Report Card are a testament to the positive community action which occurs in Springfield by thoughtful donors and organizations.

We look forward to continuing this final year of the Challenge.  To view the latest report (PDF format), please here.

The Grantmakers’ Challenge is a collaboration of organizations and families in the Ozarks which works to address these community needs with targeted grantmaking.  At this time, nearly $17.1 million from 34 different organizations and families has been granted or pledged to organizations which address these problems.  These gifts, which address the three red flags outlined in the 2004 Community Report Card, are a testament to the positive community action which occurs in Springfield by thoughtful donors and organizations.

We look forward to this final year of the Challenge.  To learn more about the Challenge and its 34 partners, please click here…