Passion & Purpose: Fall 2026
A Message from Winter
As a wife, daughter and especially as a mother of two, I spend a lot of time thinking about the future. This does not make me unique, I know. As humans, we evolved to be constantly scanning the horizon for opportunities, threats or the weather ahead. My areas of concern and focus may change day to day, but my hope is always the same: that everyone thrives.
As it turns out, our team at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks thinks about the future a lot as well. In this case, we’re thinking about the opportunity we have to make a meaningful impact on the communities we serve.
Earlier this summer, our Board of Directors approved a new strategic plan that will guide our work through 2031. While strategic plans often live behind the scenes, I want to share a bit about what this one represents because it reflects an important evolution for the CFO and our region.
For many years, the CFO has been recognized as one of the nation’s most active community foundations, consistently ranking among the top organizations in the country in terms of charitable transactions processed. That accomplishment reflects the trust our donors, fundholders, nonprofit partners and affiliates have placed in us. It is a trust we never take for granted.
At the same time, a 2023 assessment conducted with an outside consultant and input from our board challenged us to think bigger. The question was not whether we could continue providing excellent philanthropic services. We absolutely can. The question was how we could leverage those services, relationships and resources to create even greater impact.
In other words, how do we move from being highly transactional to increasingly transformational?
That challenge inspired the strategic planning work that followed. In partnership with Habitat Communication and Culture, our staff and board developed a roadmap that focuses not only on what we do, but how we do it — and the change that emerges from that work.
By 2031, we envision a CFO that is helping drive meaningful change across the region, supporting a dynamic affiliate network, operating with greater clarity and efficiency, leveraging our facilities as strategic assets, and serving as a recognized leader within place-based philanthropy.
Those goals begin with the work already underway. Over the next year, we are focused on strengthening our team, refining our operational systems, clarifying how we define and measure impact, supporting success across our affiliate network and continuing progress on our new headquarters.
And none of this happens alone.
I am deeply grateful to the donors, nonprofits, affiliates and partners who make this work possible every day. I am also thankful for our talented staff, who continue to lead with professionalism, adaptability and purpose as we embrace meaningful change. Strategic plans may provide direction, but only a group of people with a clear vision for a better future can make our communities truly thrive.
Winter Kinne is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
