Passion & Purpose: Summer 2026
Long-running partnerships support “resiliency” with $1.5 million in grants
“Resiliency” was the recent grantmaking theme for two of the CFO’s long-running impact partnerships that dedicated more than $1.5 million to improving the quality of life across the region.
On April 30, the CFO announced the Coover Regional Resiliency Grants, which directed $500,000 to 23 nonprofits (pictured above) that serve rural communities and faced funding challenges due to the loss of government funding.
“As a member of the Greatest Generation, resiliency came naturally to someone like Mrs. Coover,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation grant selection committee. “I think she would be proud of the focus of this year’s program, and the work all of these organizations do to foster resiliency in our communities.”
This year’s Coover Regional grant program was doubled by a match from The HWS Charitable Foundation Inc., a private foundation with a passion for improving economic outcomes of residents in rural communities.
Bright Futures Joplin received a $2,700 Regional Resiliency grant from the Coover Foundation. The funds will expand “Project Access” to meet the increased demand for food, clothing, transportation and educational supplies.
On June 16, the CFO announced $1.01 million in several grant programs from the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation, managed by U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, to 15 nonprofits serving the Springfield metro area. New for 2026 was the “Resilient Families” multi-year program, splitting $300,000 among Child Advocacy Council, FosterAdopt Connect and Harmony House for their first-year initatives to build family resiliency, empower parents and improve outcomes for children — all with the goal of preventing cycles of abuse.
“The key focus of (our program) is really raising education and awareness so that the adults who work and live within our communities — as caregivers, teachers, childcare workers — all can understand what the dynamics around abuse and neglect are,” said Katiina Dull, executive director of Child Advocacy Council. “(They can) help recognize when families may be spiraling towards crisis and feel empowered to step up and help ... so we can intervene before those circumstances truly escalate to crisis.”
