Coover Regional Vaccination Initiative

Oct. 15, 2021 — Eight regional affiliate foundations of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks will share a total of $60,000 in challenge grants for encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations in their respective counties.

Affiliates opted in on behalf of a single county to increase the percentage of residents ages 12 and up that have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination. The CFO tracked data collected by the CDC for each county from July 26 to Sept. 20 to determine the winners.

• The Carthage Community Foundation, Joplin Regional Community Foundation and Sarcoxie Community Foundation share the top prize of $20,000 for Jasper County’s increase of 8.7%. During that timeframe, Joplin became the first city in Missouri to cross the 50% threshold for fully vaccinated residents.
• The Cassville Community Foundation and Monett Area Community Foundation share the West Region prize of $10,000 for Barry County’s increase of 8.6%.
• The Marshfield Area Community Foundation receives the West Central Region prize of $10,000 for Webster County’s increase of 7%.
• The Jacks Fork Community Foundation receives the Central Region prize of $10,000 for Shannon County’s increase of 7.7%.
• The Community Foundation of the Hermann Area receives the East Region prize of $10,000 for Gasconade County’s increase of 8.1%.

The prizes are unrestricted grants, which the affiliate foundations can use for their own grantmaking to improve their communities. The CFO announced the winners of the Coover Regional Vaccination Initiative during its annual Affiliate Appreciation Conference on Oct. 7.

The Coover Regional Vaccination Initiative was supported by the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation, managed by Commerce Trust Company. The CFO and the Coover Charitable Foundation have partnered since 2002 to award more than $7 million through grantmaking programs, particularly targeted to rural Missouri. The Coover Charitable Foundation is also a key contributor to the CFO’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.

“Congratulations to these affiliate foundations and the great communities that they represent,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust. “We applaud the leadership of the foundation board members to make their communities safer and take steps towards putting this pandemic behind us.”