Community Foundation of the Ozarks

About 30 residents of southern Missouri’s Ripley County kicked off their “Strengthening Our Communities” project this week with a frank discussion about how to balance growing the local economic base with maintaining the character that draws people to the heart of the Current River.

The civic leaders and interested citizens hold dear the heritage of the river, protected as a national treasure for its wide, clean waters that draw paddlers and create a tourism base. They know some residents in Doniphan and the surrounding area would just as soon leave things as is. But they also want to stem the population losses in recent Census reports, and the loss of talented young people, by creating more jobs and opportunities.

That’s why a group of Ripley County leaders applied for the CFO’s new “Strengthening Our Communities” initiative in which two communities were selected for a 12- to 18-month strategic planning process that will yield a blueprint to move the community forward. The CFO is partnering with University Extension and the USDA Rural Development, which will guide Ripley County and a Joplin-area coalition through this planning process.

As they talked about their reasons for wanting to participate, the residents said they want to create a better environment for their kids and grandkids so they’ll consider staying around after high school, as well as improve the standard of living for those living in poverty and the high seasonal unemployment related to River tourism.

“We’ve got room for improvement,” said Russ French, an insurance agent who is helping coordinate the meetings. “We need to figure out how to maximize ourselves without stepping on toes.”

Mary Ann Curry, who is being honored as Doniphan’s Citizen of the Year this week, moved to the area from Los Angeles in 1974. She and her husband raised Charolais cattle, later moved to Arizona,  and then returned to Doniphan in 1997 where they opened up an eight-lane bowling alley.

She said she personally went around to recruit participants for this week’s initial meeting for the project. She wants to see more join the effort because she thinks Doniphan has a lot going for it if it will make this effort.

The next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m, Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Chamber of Commerce office.

CFO is excited to host its second quarterly Agency Partner education session on  Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the CFO Community Room, 425 E. Trafficway.  Please join us for this helpful, free session for our nonprofit agency partners.

We have a very special program this quarter, which will focus on disaster preparedness and response. In the wake of the Joplin tornado, nonprofits in our region have become more aware of their plans (or lack of plans) in case of a disaster. We are bringing a panel of experts to this quarterly session to discuss with you the ways you can become more prepared for the unknown as an organization.

Our panel will consist of the following individuals:

Erin Coryell – Program Officer, Midwest Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery for the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation based in Eden Prairie, Minn.;

Don Greenlee - Program Director of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Jasper and Newton Counties (Joplin); 

Tim Connell – Commercial Insurance Consultant at Connell Insurance, Inc.; and

Ryan Nicholls - Director of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management.

This panel will be moderated by Tiffany Applegate of X-Factor Consulting. Each panelist will discuss his or her area of expertise, and there will be time for questions at the end. If you have a specific question you would like Applegate to ask the panel and would like to submit that question in advance, please send it to bdierks@cfozarks.org.

Parking for this session is available in the garage across the street from our office or in the CFO lot behind our building.

Please RSVP to Bridget Dierks at bdierks@cfozarks.org or directly to voicemail at (417) 447-5360.  Space is limited, so RSVP soon to ensure your seat in this informative and helpful session.

A partnership of civic and business leaders in Jasper, Barton and Newton Counties was selected as the first group to participate in a new “Strengthening Our Communities” strategic-planning initiative offered by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

The CFO offered this competitive opportunity for the first time this year to its 44-member affiliate network in collaboration with Missouri Extension and USDA Rural Development. The joint application was submitted by the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri, Inc., on behalf of the Joplin Business & Industrial Development Corp.’s Joplin Regional Prosperity Initiative. The area includes the cities of Carl Junction, Carthage, Joplin, Lamar, Neosho, and Webb City.

The 18-month program is designed to bring together community stakeholders in government, business, education and other areas to focus on mutual goals and challenges to create a strategic plan for the community. The application submitted for the tri-county region includes identifying and addressing issues of talent retention related to young people leaving the area after high school and college.

The group is focused on this issue because it affects the talent pool available in the metropolitan area of 173,000 for advanced manufacturing and technology-oriented jobs. These types of industries create jobs with higher knowledge and skill levels that, in turn, improve the region’s economic base and quality of life.

“This will be a great opportunity for the Community Foundation of SWMO to collaborate with our area communities  to develop regional plans to address economic development, jobs, housing, education and quality of life issues to avoid further ‘brain drain’ in our area,” CFSWMO Board President Lisa Knutzen said.

The “Strengthening Our Communities” project will begin in mid-November with an organizational meeting conducted by Missouri Extension. The CFO is the primary funder for the project, with additional in-kind support from Missouri Extension, USDA, CFSWMO and the Joplin Business & Industrial Development Corp.

“The overall mission of Community Foundation of the Ozarks is to improve the quality of life for our region,” CFO President Brian Fogle said. “Our efforts include our more traditional grant programs, but also involve other resources to help build our communities and make them stronger.  Experience shows that a well-thought out community plan involving all facets of a region can be a catalyst for future prosperity.  We are delighted that the Joplin region is our very first recipient.”

Learn more about the Ozarks Empowerment Project.