A trusted resource for philanthropy serving the community of Ash Grove.
Since our founding on May 29, 2020, Ash Grove Area Community Foundation has distributed more than $321,850 in grants to the community. We now hold assets totaling $1.35 million as of June 30, 2024.
Jason Whitesell, President
From Left to Right: Ronessa Williams, Pat Cook, Jason Whitesell, Rachel Griffin, Tyler Gunlock, Austin Houp, Chris Thompson, Mike Roberts, Ryan Squibb
April 27, 2023 — During the Rural Philanthropy Summit on April 25, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks selected the Ash Grove Area Community Foundation as an Affiliate of the Year. The award recognizes the AGACF’s excellence in leadership in the CFO’s 53-member affiliate network and comes with a $3,000 prize grant. AGACF President Tyler Gunlock accepted the award.
The AGACF’s involvement in the Growth in the Rural Ozarks program has resulted in the re-establishment of a local chamber of commerce, new lighting at a city park and the establishment and funding of Project RISE in the community. It was for this community leadership that the CFO selected the AGACF as an Affiliate of the Year.
The Barton County Community Foundation, Cape Area Community Foundation, Community Foundation of the Lake and the Nevada/Vernon County Community Foundation were also recognized as Affiliates of the Year.
The affiliates were selected using several criteria — asset growth, new funds established, overall grantmaking and new Legacy Society members in the 2022 fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022 — along with examples of community leadership, collaboration and the promotion of planned giving.
In addition to grant prizes presented in honor of affiliate leaders, affiliate foundations received a total of $23,000 to supplement their annual grantmaking to the communities they serve. The awards mark 30 years of the CFO’s Affiliate Foundation program, which began in 1993 with the establishment of the Nixa Community Foundation.
“For 30 years, our regional affiliate foundations have done so much to improve the quality of life in many communities across our wide service area,” said Alice Wingo, the CFO’s vice president of affiliates. “Our foundation leaders work hard to build long-term, sustainable resources that will benefit all sectors of a community. With exemplary foundations and leaders like the ones honored today, these 53 towns, counties and regions have bright futures ahead.”
The awards capped off the Rural Philanthropy Summit, presented by the CFO and Philanthropy Missouri at the Oasis Convention Center. The event is believed to be the first statewide gathering of philanthropists and foundations focused on the development of rural communities.