Dec. 19, 2024
Grants continue four-decade legacy of Springfield-area grantmaking
In partnership with the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation and U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks granted $780,000 today to 46 nonprofits through several programs. The grants, presented at Drury University, continue the long legacy of support for Springfield-area causes established by the late Mrs. Musgrave.
Jerry Redfern Grants
Named in memory of the Musgrave Foundation’s longtime manager, the grants, totaling $400,000, will support operating expenses for nonprofits with missions that align with the Musgrave Foundation’s grantmaking priorities of health care, mental health, and improving quality of life for low-income communities, children and babies, and the unsheltered. Each of the following agencies received $10,000:
- American Red Cross
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield
- Care to Learn
- CASA of Southwest Missouri
- Cents of Pride
- Child Advocacy Center
- City of Springfield/Mayor's Commission for Children
- Community Partnership of the Ozarks
- Council of Churches/Diaper Bank of the Ozarks
- Developmental Center of the Ozarks
- Dickerson Park Zoo/Friends of the Zoo
- Doula Foundation of Mid America
- Drew Lewis Foundation Inc.
- East Grand Community Services
- FosterAdopt Connect
- Foundation for Springfield Public Schools
- Friends of the Garden
- GLO Center
- Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, Missouri Inc.
- Harmony House
- Help Give Hope
- Isabel's House
- Junior Achievement in Southwest Missouri
- Least Of These, Inc.
- Lost and Found Grief Center
- Missouri State University/Ozarks Public Television
- Newborns In Need
- Ozark Trails Council, BSA
- Ozarks Food Harvest
- Ozarks Literacy Council
- PFLAG Springfield
- Springfield Community Gardens
- Springfield Regional Arts Council
- Springfield Sister Cities Association
- The Kitchen Inc.
- The Salvation Army
- Ujima
- Victim Center Inc.
- Women's Medical Respite
Nursing Scholarship Grants
Health care education is a specific grantmaking priority of the Musgrave Foundation. For the 2024 University Nursing Scholarship program, five institutions each received $30,000 to provide scholarships to students in the nursing education path:
- Cox Health Foundation
- Drury University
- Missouri State University Foundation
- Southwest Baptist University
- OTC Foundation
Capital Campaign Support
The Musgrave Foundation has long supported capital projects for nonprofits with missions that align with Mrs. Musgrave’s funding priorities:
- AcompañARTE Cultural Center: $30,000 to support floor repairs, building maintenance and the purchase of art materials to expand art education offerings
- City of Springfield/Springfield Art Museum: $100,000 for the museum’s expansion and renovation project
This is the second year of the Musgrave Capital Campaign administered by the CFO. A $172,175 grant to Women’s Medical Respite was announced in October as part of this same grant round.
Wingspan Initiative Year 2
OTC Foundation received an additional $100,000 to support the Wingspan Initiative at Ozarks Technical Community College. Launched in 2023, the program supports single parents, primarily single mothers, with funding for living expenses and child care during their time as students at OTC. The program’s primary goals are to support parents financially beyond tuition assistance, allowing for up to $10,000 a year for life expenses that would impede the parent’s ability to graduate on schedule. This grant is the second of a possible three years of funding for the program.
“We are honored to continue the legacies of Jeannette L. Musgrave and Jerry Redfern, who both cared so deeply for the Springfield community,” said Winter Kinne, president and CEO of the CFO. “Our partnership is a true testament to the power of philanthropy and the spirit of collaboration that our community prides itself on.”
The Musgrave Foundation’s distribution committee is chaired by Rob Baird and includes Emily Bowen-Marler, Ferba Lofton, Danny Perches, Peggy Riggs, Thomas Slaight and recently elected members Emily Denniston and Michele Risdal-Barnes, with support from Ashley Fleming, the CFO’s director of community impact.
The Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation is a private charitable foundation managed by U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management and administered by the CFO. Since 1983, the Musgrave Foundation has granted more than $21 million to nonprofits in Springfield and southwest Missouri.
