Community Foundation of the Ozarks

Every Friday, we share the news of new groups and individuals choosing to make philanthropic gifts and investments in their community. You can read more about types of funds available at CFO here. Click here for a full list of non-profit Agency Partners. For more information on fund types and how to get involved, contact Winter Skelton at wskelton@cfozarks.org.\

The Community Partnership Fund – The Community Partnership located in Rolla, Mo., established this fund to promote awareness of community needs and to work together with citizens and organizations to achieve better results for children, families, and communities. This is  a component fund of the Meramec Regional Community Foundation.

Council of Churches Investment Fund I – This fund will hold long term monies for the Council of Churches.

Council of Churches Investment Fund II – This fund will hold immediate funds for the Council of Churches.

Council of Churches Investment Fund III – This fund will hold funds with a 2 to 5 year time horizon for the Council of Churches.

Fair Grove United Methodist Church – Burnie and Emma Belle Huff Fund – Fair Grove United Methodist Church established this fund to hold a planned gift from the Huff family.

Forget Me Not Fund – Amy Hernandez and the Forget Me Not Ball committee established this giving circle fund to assist with their efforts to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. This is a component fund of the Community F of the Lake.

Owensville Area Capacity Building Fund – This fund will support projects and programs that enhance the quality of life in the Owensville area. This is a component fund of the Meramec Regional Community Foundation.

Ozark Foster/Alternative Care Higher Education Fund – Alex and Cathy Primm established this scholarship fund which will assist students who currently are or have been in foster or alternative care pursue higher education. The scholarship is for the CFO’s entire service area.

Vichy Fire Department Fund – This fund will assist the fire department to accept charitable donations and hold short term monies. This is a component of the Meramec Regional Community Foundation.

Wyatt’s Fund – Sam and Missy Frink established this fund to support autism spectrum and/or sensory integration disorders for the Gasconade County R-1 School District. This is a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area, Inc.

It’s common for grandparents to financially help their children and grandchildren when needs arise. Sam and Missy Frink of Hermann, Mo., are taking the help a step farther and establishing a fund that will help autistic children through the Gasconade County R-I School District, to be administered by the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area, Inc.

Sam and Missy Frink present a $10,000 gift to the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area at a recent luncheon. At right is Dr. Chris Neale, superintendent of Gasconade County R-1 Schools and chair of the CFHA board.

Sam and Missy have a grandchild, Wyatt, who resides in Texas and is autistic. He has very supportive parents and is in a good school district, so there isn’t much more they can do to help. So they decided to help locally. The Frinks are establishing Wyatt’s Fund, which is designated to support the Gasconade County R-1 School District. The fund will provide financial assistance for services for children with autism spectrum and/or sensory integration disorders.

In addition to the $10,000 gift to establish the fund, the Frinks have also put up a $5,000 1-to-1 matching grant for the fund, for a total of $20,000.

Gasconade County R-1 Superintendent Chris Neale, who is also Board Chair for the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area, Inc., told the local paper, the Advertiser-Courier, that the district is grateful for the Frinks’ thoughtful and very personal gift. You can read the Hermann Advertiser-Courier story here.

Sam Frink is a former Gasconade County School District board member, Missy is a former teacher, and Sam was also involved with the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area at its inception.

Wyatt’s Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area, Inc., an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

More scholarships, technology improvements, and dual-credit tuition assistance will be available to students and educators in Hermann, West Plains, and Willard as the three latest school districts to celebrate their successful efforts in the Cooper Challenge grants for educational endowments.

The CFO awarded $15,000 to Hermann Schools and the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area, Inc., for the CF Dual Credit Scholarship Fund endowment, which offers tuition assistance for students taking college-level classes that count for both high-school and college credit.

The Hermann area raised $43,071 for a total of $58,071 to complete the Harry Cooper Supply Company Campaign Phase II Challenge for members of the CFO’s Rural Schools Partnership during 2010.

“We are so pleased to receive the Cooper Challenge Grant,” said Dr. Chris Neale, Hermann Superintendent and President of the Community Foundation of the Hermann Area, Inc.

The Willard community celebrated its $11,000 Cooper Challenge Grant on center court during the halftime of the Willard vs. Republic basketball game on Feb. 15.

The Willard Children’s Charitable Foundation and Willard schools raised $22,314 for a total of $33,314 applied to the Willard Educational Endowment Fund, which is designated for scholarships for Willard graduates and grants to the Willard School District for technology infrastructure to enhance educational performance.

“The WCCF Board of Trustees would like to thank the Community Foundation of the Ozarks for their continuing assistance, the Cooper family for their tremendous generosity, and our fantastic community for your remarkable support in the establishment of this new $33,000 endowed fund to support the children of our community,” WCCF President Danette Proctor said.

The $5,000 Cooper Challenge Grant for West Plains, along with $10,000 raised by the West Plains R-7 Educational Foundation, will go into the endowment fund and board members are still determining their distribution plans.

“We certainly appreciate the Cooper family for this match,” said John Richards, president of the West Plains R-7 Educational Foundation. “The school has a lot of needs and we’re going to use it to the best of our ability to help as many students as possible.”

A total of 26 southern Missouri rural schools participated 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 districts are: Alton, Aurora, Ava, Bolivar, Bradleyville, Cassville, Dallas County, Dora, Eminence, Fair Grove, Fairview, Gainesville, Hermann, Hollister, Houston, Lockwood, Logan-Rogersville, Monett, Nixa, Reeds Spring, Seymour, Valle, Warsaw, Weaubleau, Willard and West Plains.