COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund

May 21, 2020 — The Community Foundation of the Ozarks awarded grants totaling $80,000 to support food needs, services for victims of domestic violence, educational technology improvements and emergency living expenses related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the region.

This increases the total of all CFO grantmaking for COVID-19 relief to $1.75 million. This includes discretionary grants made by the CFO and its regional affiliate foundations, grants requested by donors who hold charitable funds at the CFO and businesses assisting workers affected by the economic downturn.

In addition, the Pitt Technology Group awarded nearly $35,000 in three new grants to provide services and equipment to three nonprofit entities.

This week’s grants from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund were supported with funds from White River Valley Electric Cooperative and the Sunderland Foundation, which made generous gifts to support proposals within their areas of interest. The COVID-19 Response and Recovery grants were awarded to:

• Butler County Council on Aging: $10,000 for home-bound senior meal delivery. Butler County Council on Aging is an agency partner of the Ozark Foothills Regional Community Foundation, one of the CFO’s 49 regional affiliate foundations.
• Carterville First Baptist Church: $5,000 to support emergency needs for low-income families in Carterville, which is served by Joplin Regional Community Foundation.
• Cassville R-IV School District: $10,000 to purchase Chromebooks and wireless internet access points to help schoolchildren with online learning. The district is an agency partner of the Cassville Community Foundation.
• Children’s Haven of Southwest Missouri: $6,000 to support quarantine-related expenses of children entering the center in the Joplin area, which is served by the Joplin Regional Community Foundation.
• Communities of Recovery Inc.: $5,000 to purchase cleaning supplies and other household needs to protect families from the coronavirus in the Branson area, which is served by the Community Foundation of Taney County. Half of the funding for this grant is provided by White River Valley Electric Cooperative.
• Greene County Family Justice Center Alliance: $24,646 to increase safety for staff and clients and provide additional wraparound support services for victims of domestic violence.
• Naylor Nutrition Center: $2,400 to purchase a new milk cooler for the center in this Ripley County community, served by the Ripley County Community Foundation and the Ozark Foothills Regional Community Foundation.

• The Salvation Army, Dent County Unit: $5,000 to support low-income families who have lost jobs with rent and utility expenses. This area is served by the Dent County Community Foundation.
  
• Southwest Missouri Area Coalition: $5,000 to provide delivery services and supplies for seniors and volunteers in Dade County. This area is served by the DACO Community Foundation.
• University of Missouri Extension in Butler County: $6,954 to develop and deliver activity packets and educational resources while kids are out of school due to COVID-19. The area is served by the Ozark Foothills Regional Community Foundation.

The Pitt Technology Grants are made possible through a program initiated by the company to use a portion its Paycheck Protection Program funds to support nonprofit needs because employees involved in cabling and installation are not as busy as those in other company functions. Recipients selected this week are:

• Community Partnership of the Ozarks: $12,000 for a new custom web-based app for donor management and donation tracking.
• Crossway Baptist Church: $15,880 for infrastructure cabling and audio-visual improvements to improve technology resources for the church.
• Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri: $6,950 to improve network cabling at its southwest regional office.

The CFO encourages all who are able to consider donating to a nonprofit in need or the CFO’s COVID-19 fund. Gifts can be made online. The CFO is covering processing fees for gifts made by credit card through June 30, 2020.

Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis with announcements anticipated weekly for the near future. The application process is open to nonprofits and IRS-equivalent organizations like faith and civic agencies. Other COVID-related grant programs are listed online. The CFO does not make grants directly to individuals.