News & Updates
Daffodils Across the Ozarks
To celebrate the CFO’s 50th anniversary in 2023, 50,000 daffodil bulbs were planted in Springfield and more than 40 rural communities across the region.
The CFO's 50th Anniversary
Regionwide beautification project symbolizes perpetual power of place-based philanthropy
Mamma Mia! Here we go again …
The CFO is ushering in its next 50 years with a burst of bloom and color in spring 2023, thanks to 50,000 “Mamma Mia” variety daffodil bulbs planted this fall.
Across Springfield and some 40 affiliate communities, the bulbs will bloom in publicly visible spaces, supported by volunteer leaders, gardeners, parks staffers and youth groups who dug all those holes and trenches for the mass plantings.
Daffodils were selected because they will multiply and rebloom for years to come, a fitting analogy for the power of place-based philanthropy cultivated by endowments that grow over time even as they provide steady support for grantmaking and distributions.
With credit to our colleagues at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, the CFO modeled this program on the OCCF’s “Rebloom Oklahoma” initiative, which has distributed some 170,000 daffodil bulbs and hundreds of trees in its mission to beautify the city and refresh its tree canopy after multiple severe storms took their toll over the past decade.
In the coming months, we’ll be reflecting much more on how the 50 years past will shape our next half century.
My, my … we can’t wait to see what blooms.
Scroll down for more info and photos from the “planting parties” that took place in rural communities across central and southern Missouri during fall 2022.
Vice President of Programs Bridget Dierks helps XPO Logistics driver Wade Lumley unload one pallet of bulbs; in all, 100 boxes, each containing 500 mixed bulbs, arrived from the Netherlands in early November.
About the Daffodils
The “Mama Mia” mix is a colorful blend of large cupped, trumpet and fragrant tazetta narcissus. This blend of bulbs, shipped straight from the Netherlands, is recommended for mass plantings.
Volunteers with Friends of the Garden planted 2,000 daffodil bulbs at the Springfield Botanical Gardens.
Plantings in Springfield
- Volunteers with Friends of the Garden planted 2,000 bulbs at the Springfield Botanical Gardens. The planting site is near the statue of Anne Drummond, who is considered one of the CFO’s honorary founders.
- The City of Springfield planted several thousand bulbs at the intersection of National Avenue and Sunset Street, near McDaniel Park.
- Downtown Springfield Association planted several hundred bulbs throughout downtown Springfield.
- Watershed Conservation Corps planted bulbs outside of the CFO’s office in Springfield.
- Ozark Greenways planted bulbs along several trails.
Daffodil bulbs were planted at the Springfield Botanical Gardens near the bronze statue of Anne Drummond, one of the CFO’s honorary founders.
Rachel McManus, Brendan Brothers and Grant Denbow of the Watershed Conservation Corps plant daffodil bulbs near the CFO’s office in downtown Springfield.
Plantings in Affiliate Communities
Forty regional affiliate foundations participated in the daffodil project with the help of volunteer gardening and school groups. The Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation, managed by Commerce Trust Company, provided grants to support the installation of the daffodil bulbs.
Community Foundation of the Lake
The Community Foundation of the Lake, representing the Lake of the Ozarks area, planted 1,000 bulbs at the Magic Dragon Skills Park. The park is part of the CFL’s Magic Dragon Trails initiative.
Meramec Regional Community Foundation & Owensville Area Community Foundation
In partnership with Community Foundation of the Ozarks, Meramec Regional Community Foundation and Owensville Area Community Foundation, the City of Owensville Parks & Recreation Department was awarded the Daffodil Grant Project that includes 500 daffodil bulbs and $500 in grant funds to use towards the planting and maintenance of the bulbs. On November 22, the bulbs were planted at the entrance of Memorial Park by staff and volunteers.
Aurora Area Community Foundation
Aurora’s YEP chapter planted daffodil bulbs in several locations on Nov. 16, 2022.
