Rural Ozarks Health Initiative

About the Rural Ozarks Health Initiative

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Missouri Foundation for Health are partners for the Rural Ozarks Health Initiative, a multi-year grant program to address priority health issues in communities or regions served by the CFO’s rural affiliate foundations.

The CFO is partnering with MFH to provide $750,000 in this multi-year grant opportunity available only to rural affiliates of the CFO.

Highlights of the Rural Ozarks Health Initiative

• Three $50,000 grants have been awarded in Carthage, Cassville and Monett for three years, totaling $150,000 for each awardee; each area is providing a one-to-one local match, which can include in-kind resources.
• Each year from 2018 to 2020, the CFO will make 10 grants of $10,000 (total of $300,000 over the course of three years) to rural affiliate foundations in the CFO’s network to address locally identified health issues. Those rural affiliates (defined as areas that do not include a city with a population of more than 50,000, which excludes Springfield and Joplin in the CFO’s service area), in conjunction with local civic and health care leadership, are invited to apply for these grants. Each $10,000 grant is intended to serve as a pool to be distributed to local nonprofits at the affiliate’s direction.

About the Missouri Foundation for Health

As a catalyst for change, MFH improves the health of Missourians through partnership, experience, knowledge, and funding. The Foundation takes a multifaceted approach to health issues, understanding that programs, policy, and collaboration all play a role in creating lasting impact. An independent philanthropic foundation, MFH was created in the year 2000, following Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri’s conversion from nonprofit to for-profit status. It is the largest organization of its kind in the state and among the largest in the country.

Helpful Links

• Ozarks Health Commission
  
• County Health Rankings and Roadmap