July 18, 2022
New program targets mental wellness in Springfield metro area
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks opens its 2022–23 competitive grant rounds today with about $2.4 million available for eligible nonprofit, civic, educational and faith-based organizations across central and southern Missouri.
The CFO’s discretionary grantmaking funds are made possible by donors who make gifts that are unrestricted or focus on a general field of interest such as youth, health or education, as well as external partnerships in which the CFO administers grant programs on behalf of funders.
Open grant programs are listed on the CFO’s website at https://www.cfozarks.org/find-grants-scholarships, and agencies can begin the application process at cfozarks.org/applyforgrants. Updates on application periods for grant cycles will be shared through the CFO’s social media accounts throughout the year.
Highlights of the 2022–23 grantmaking program include:
- The Advancing Mental Wellness Grant Program, a new grant cycle designed to reduce the stigma of seeking mental-health treatment in the Springfield metro area. Mental health needs are again identified as a high priority in the Springfield-Greene County Community Health Assessment released in May. This program will encourage partnership-focused proposals from mental health providers to encourage residents to seek mental health care. The program will open in fall 2022 with $200,000 available and the opportunity to renew the grants for two additional years.
- An expansion of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grant Program in both geographic scope and funding increased to $120,000. This program is open now to eligible agencies across the CFO’s service area for proposals for up to $25,000 that improve the quality of life for under-served and under-represented residents. A related program, the Inclusion and Belonging Grant Program, is open on a rolling basis for grants of up to $3,000 to support events and projects intended to create equitable participation and engagement in local communities.
- The Let’s Get to Work Grant Program has re-opened for grants of up to $10,000 for agencies that assist workers and job seekers by reducing transportation-related barriers to employment. The CFO established this fund earlier this year and has distributed nearly $600,000 to agencies in a 14-county area. For more information on LGTW, visit cfozarks.org/transportation.
- A returning program is renamed in honor of a longtime CFO donor as the Jewell Schweitzer Collective Impact Program. This $150,000 grant cycle offers up to $40,000 for proposals in which three or more agencies collaborate to address “Red Flag” issues identified in the 2021 Community Focus Report for Springfield-Greene County.
Other 2022–23 grantmaking programs include: the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Fund grantmaking programs for regional communities and schools in partnership with Commerce Trust Company; the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation grantmaking program in partnership with U.S. Bank Wealth Management; the Greene County senior citizens program in partnership with the Greene County Senior Services Fund and the Hearld Ambler Fund for Senior Centers; and the Arts & Culture grant program administered by the Springfield Regional Arts Council.
