Community Foundation of the Ozarks

2011-12 Early Childhood Grants

These grant were awarded for programs that address the “red flags” related to early childhood issues identified in the Community Focus Report for Springfield-Greene County.

• Foundation for Springfield Public Schools: $8,500 to support a partnership between the Parents as Teachers program and the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP.
• Friends of Operation US: $5,000 for materials to provide expectant parents with foundational skills for childrearing.
• United Way of the Ozarks: $8,500 for materials to support the Downtown Family Circuit treks.
• Community Partnership of the Ozarks: $10,500 to implement a class-assessment tool to promote better teacher-child interactions.
• Lighthouse Child and Family Development Center: $8,750 to implement its resiliency project to improve social and emotional support for families with children from birth to age five.
• SafeHaven of the Ozarks: $8,750 for materials and space to provide counseling and life skills to children placed in foster care due to abuse or neglect.

2011 Metropolitan Springfield Red-Flag Response Grants

• Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Ozarks: $5,000 to support its Meal Time Buddies Program, which provides weekly mentoring with positive adult role models and served 273 children last year.
• Boys & Girls Town of Missouri: $10,000 to expand comprehensive assessment and parent education for families with children with emotional and behavioral problems.
• Burrell Behavioral Health: $10,000 to furnish 14 apartments for adults with mental illnesses or histories of homelessness.
• CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates): $15,000 to support its existing volunteer program and enhance it with a new training curriculum to create awareness of the mental health needs of children whose parents suffer from mental illness.
• Child Advocacy Center, Inc.: $14,000 to support the Forensic Interview program. The Center served more than 1,000 children in 2009 by providing a child-friendly environment to reduce stress on children who may be victims of abuse.
• Community Partnership of the Ozarks: $12,000 for Kindergarten Camp, a school readiness program for high-risk young children who are not attending pre-school.
• Consumer Credit Counseling of Springfield: $12,000 to preserve homeownership for capable clients and to provide transition services for who are not capable to move forward with dignity.
• Council of Churches of the Ozarks: $2,902.75 to provide rent assistance to help eligible individuals and families in Greene County remain in their homes.
• Good Samaritan Boys Ranch: $6,000 to furnish 20 bedrooms, four living areas and five offices in a new 20-bed group home for the program that serves troubled male youths through personalized treatment and education.
• Habitat for Humanity: $10,000 to provide one-stop, drop-off recycling services in southwest Springfield, which would fill a geographic void in the City of Springfield’s recycling locations. Habitat uses funds generated from its recycling program to build homes.
• Harmony House (formerly the Family Violence Center): $15,000 to restore funding in areas that were cut by state and local support to continue providing shelter, advocacy and education to women and children who have survived domestic violence.
• The Kitchen, Inc.: $15,000 to help cover general operating costs in the Kitchen Clinic, which served more than 2,000 patients seeking medical care at more than 9,000 visits last year.
• Kiwanis Foundation of Downtown Springfield: $10,000 to provide a safe play environment for children and adults of all abilities.
• Lighthouse Child & Family Development Center: $11,000 for building renovations and equipment for a larger center-city location. This will serve 14 more families in efforts to increase family self-sufficiency, reduce poverty, and diminish risk factors for child abuse and neglect.
• Ozarks Food Harvest: $15,000 for its Weekend Backpack Program, which serves about 1,000 kids a week at 30 schools with food supplies to take home for the weekends.
• Ozarks Literacy Council: $10,000 to offer the pre-literacy and Wonder Years programs more frequently throughout the school year. The program is serving about 700 children and families.
• Ozarks Regional YMCA: $15,000 to augment the Strong Kids Financial Aid Program, which provides after-school Prime Time services at low or no cost to low-income families.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks: $15,000 for basic supplies for “The Tooth Truck,” which provides dental treatment and prevention education for at-risk children with no other access to dental care. The Tooth Truck has served more than 10,000 children.
• The Victim Center: $15,000 to fund existing prevention education programs to help children and adults identify child abuse and neglect. This program served 10,837 people in 2009.

2010 RED-FLAG RESPONSE CHALLENGE GRANTS

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks awarded challenge grants totaling $225,000 to Springfield-Greene County non-profit agencies working to address the “red-flag” issues cited in a community-wide study of high-priority needs.
The Metropolitan Springfield “Red-Flag Response” grants were awarded to 19 agencies working in areas including early childhood, community health, housing, the natural environment, and public safety. The requests for this grant round totaled more than $400,000. The awards were geared toward sustaining or expanding effective existing programs that address the “red-flag” issues cited in the 2009 Community Focus Report for Springfield-Greene County.
The awards are offered as challenge grants, so the agencies selected will have until Feb. 28, 2011 to raise dollar-for-dollar matching funds in order to receive the CFO funding. The grant committee considered the recipient groups’ past performance in successful fundraising as a factor in making the awards.

The grant review committee made the following recommendations:

• Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Ozarks: $5,000 to support its Meal Time Buddies Program, which provides weekly mentoring with positive adult role models and served 273 children last year. Contact: Gretchen Gambon, (417) 889-9136.
• Boys & Girls Town of Missouri: $10,000 to expand comprehensive assessment and parent education for families with children with emotional and behavioral problems. Contact: Judy Stainback, (417) 864-3974.
• Burrell Behavioral Health: $10,000 to furnish 14 apartments for adults with mental illnesses or histories of homelessness. Contact: Jim Rives, (417) 269-5400.
• CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates): $15,000 to sustain its existing program of recruiting and training volunteers and enhance the volunteer training program with new curriculum to create awareness of the mental health needs of children whose parents suffer from mental illness. Contact: Judy Doverspike, (417) 864-6202.
• Child Advocacy Center, Inc.: $14,000 to support the Forensic Interview program. The Center has served more than 1,000 children in 2009 by providing a child-friendly environment to reduce stress on children who may be victims of abuse. Contact: Linda Regan, (417) 831-2327.
• Community Partnership of the Ozarks: $12,000 for Kindergarten Camp, a school readiness program for high-risk young children who are not attending pre-school. Contact: Dana Carroll, (417) 888-2020.
• Consumer Credit Counseling of Springfield: $12,000 to preserve homeownership for capable clients and to provide transition services to allow those who are not capable to move forward with dignity. Contact: Tonya Collister, (417) 889-7474.
• Council of Churches of the Ozarks: $10,000 to provide rent assistance to help eligible individuals and families in Greene County remain in their homes. Contact: Mark Struckhoff, (417) 862-3586.
• Family Violence Center: $15,000 to restore funding in areas that were cut by state and local support to continue providing shelter, advocacy and education to women and children who have survived domestic violence. Contact: Danielle Conti, (417) 837-7700.
• Good Samaritan Boys Ranch: $6,000 to furnish 20 bedrooms, four living areas and five offices in a new 20-bed group home for the program that serves troubled male youths through personalized treatment and education. Contact: Julie Conway, (417) 350-9694.
• Habitat for Humanity: $10,000 to provide one-stop, drop-off recycling services in southwest Springfield, which would fill a geographic void in the City of Springfield’s recycling locations. Habitat uses funds generated from its recycling program to build homes. Contact: Jan Sederholm, (417) 829-4001.
• The Kitchen, Inc.: $15,000 to help cover general operating costs in the Kitchen Clinic, which served more than 2,000 patients seeking medical care at more than 9,000 visits last year. Contact: Randy McCoy, (417) 837-1500.
• Kiwannis Foundation of Downtown Springfield: $10,000 to provide a safe play environment for children and adults of all abilities. Contact: Pat Dierking, (417) 831-8630.
• Lighthouse Child & Family Development: $11,000 for building renovations and equipment for a larger center-city location to serve 14 additional children and families in efforts to increase family self-sufficiency, reduce poverty, and diminish risk factors for child abuse and neglect. Contact: Erica Harris, (417) 865-1378.
• Ozarks Food Harvest: $15,000 for its Weekend Backpack Program, which is currently serving 1,000 kids a week at 30 schools with food supplies to take home for the weekends. Contact: Denise Gibson, (417) 865-3411.
• Ozarks Literacy Council: $10,000 to offer the pre-literacy and Wonder Years programs more frequently throughout the school year. The program is serving about 700 children and families. Contact: Kathryn Pinkley, (417) 895-5632.
• Ozarks Regional YMCA: $15,000 to augment the Strong Kids Financial Aid Program, which provides after-school Prime Time services at low or no cost to low-income families. Contact: Keith Morris, (417) 862-7456.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks: $15,000 for basic supplies for “The Tooth Truck,” which provides dental treatment and prevention education for at-risk children with no other access to dental care. The Tooth Truck has served more than 10,000 children in its eight-year history. Contact: Bonnie Keller, (417) 875-3503.
• The Victim Center: $15,000 to fund existing prevention education programs to help children and adults identify child abuse and neglect. This program served 10,837 people in 2009. Contact: Nancy Berlin, (417) 863-7273.

2009-10 COMMUNITY RESPONSE CHALLENGE GRANTS

In response to the challenging economic times and the persistence of “red flag” issues noted in the Community Focus 2009: A Report for Springfield and Greene County, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and other local funders announced the Community Response Challenge Grants Initiative on October 30, 2009.

Community Foundation of the Ozarks was joined by American Dehydrated Foods, Inc, the Thomas Carlson fund, the Musgrave Foundation, the Roy W. Slusher Foundation, and the Turner Family Foundation in making available $325,000 to 10 local organizations providing direct services to meet the identified red flag issues of access to healthcare, child abuse and neglect, and hunger and homelessness. The recipients must match each grant dollar with new donations, effectively doubling the new resources for the community to $650,000.

“This past year has been a challenging one for our world, country, and community.” said Doug Thornsberry, co-chair of the grants review panel and a board member of CFO. “In many ways, our non-profits might have been the most profoundly impacted. The demand for the important services they provide has dramatically increased, but for most, the resources to meet the increased challenges have diminished. These groups are facing hardships and a double-whammy of the economy.”

The grant recipients have until April 30, 2010, to raise their grant match. “As with most of our grant programs, this was very competitive” said Dr. Gloria Galanes, co-chair of the grants review panel and board member of CFO. “We had 17 requests totaling $647,000. All were outstanding groups and proposals and worthy of funding. Our panel had a difficult task in allocating our $325,000 to make the most impact for our community. I’m proud of the work we did in accomplishing that challenging goal.”

The organizations and amounts awarded were:

• For the access to healthcare category: Breast Care Foundation of the Ozarks, $25,000; The Kitchen Clinic, $40,000; Ronald McDonald House Tooth Truck mobile dental care, $40,000.

• For the child abuse and neglect category: Child Advocacy Center, $30,000; Family Violence Center, $25,000; Isabel’s House, $30,000; The Victim Center, $30,000.

• For the hunger and homelessness category: Boys and Girls Town Emergency Foster Care program, $25,000; Crosslines program of the Council of Churches, $40,000; Ozarks Food Harvest, $40,000.

“We are excited about this initiative, and most certainly, excited about being one of the grant awardees. With unemployment more than doubling in the Springfield area in two years, we have seen a significant increase in demand on providing food.” said Bart Brown, CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “ We have really noticed a marked increased in families who have never had never needed access our services before, and who would be going hungry without the assistance of our donors and partner food pantries.”

“These are probably the most demanding times for our organization that I’ve ever seen. To have access to these flexible funds for us to use as needed is truly a great gift, and an even bigger gift to the community in total.” Brown said.

Co-chair Thornsberry noted, “Springfield has long had a cooperative spirit in meeting community challenges. We are grateful to ADF, Tom Carlson, the Musgrave and Roy W. Slusher Foundations and the Turner family in helping us to help others. We can be more effective in our community when we work together.”

For more information on the Community Focus 2009: A Report for Springfield and Greene County, visit www.SpringfieldCommunityFocus.org.