Dec. 16, 2021
Grants support variety of late Mrs. Musgrave’s grantmaking priorities
On behalf of the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks awarded $355,000 to 29 nonprofit agencies today at the Fairbanks community center. The grants continue a legacy of support for Springfield-area causes established by the late Mrs. Musgrave.
The Musgrave Foundation, established in 1983, is a private charitable foundation managed by U.S. Bank Wealth Management. The CFO took over grantmaking services for the foundation last year following the death of Jerry Redfern, the foundation’s longtime manager. The CFO named the Musgrave Foundation’s annual fall grant round, which support a number of the foundation’s grantmaking priorities, in his honor.
The recipients of the 2021 Jerry Redfern Grants are:
- Asbury United Methodist Church: $10,000 to support the Crisis Cold Weather Shelter Partnership, which provides shelter for unhoused individuals during severe weather conditions.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks: $10,000 to support the Lunch Buddies program.
- Care to Learn: $10,000 to support the health, hunger and hygiene of students in Springfield and Greene County chapters.
- CASA of Southwest Missouri: $8,900 to provide matching funds to add a new Advocate Supervisor, who will support an additional 75 foster children.
- Cents of Pride: $10,000 to support its mission of empowering at-risk students to make positive choices at school.
- Child Advocacy Center: $10,000 to sustain and expand direct-service capacity and reduce delays in accessing services.
- Diaper Bank of the Ozarks: $10,000 to support its mission to improve the health and happiness of babies and their families.
- Drew Lewis Foundation: $10,000 to provide financial education and mental health resources to families living in poverty.
- East Grand Community Services: $5,000 to upgrade technology and software in its Computer Lab for students.
- Foundation for Springfield Public Schools: $10,000 to support a variety of classroom projects such as the Pipkin Tower Gardens and the Lightning Thief Literacy Experience.
- The GLO Center: $5,100 to support programming for LGBTQ+ youth.
- Harmony House: $10,000 to support the Family Advocacy program, which helps meet a variety of educational and childcare needs for families at Harmony House.
- Isabel’s House: $10,000 to support salaries for two Child Advocates, who will create a warm, structured environment for children that have experienced trauma.
- Junior Achievement: $10,000 to support programs focused on financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship programs for K-12 students.
- The Kitchen: $10,000 to support affordable low-income housing at Franciscan Villa.
- Least of These: $5,000 to support the Full Plate program, which provides healthy supplemental food to families experiencing food insecurity.
- Mayor’s Commission for Children: $5,000 to support implementation of the Readiness for Kindergarten Study 2022.
- Ozarks Food Harvest: $10,000 to support emergency food assistance to families
- Ozarks Literacy Council: $10,000 to support the One-to-One Reading Tutoring program focused on reading, writing and comprehension skills in school-aged children.
- Ozark Trails Council Inc.–Boy Scouts of America: $5,000 to support scouting programs in Title I elementary schools and Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield units.
- The Victim Center: $10,000 to support its mission in reducing or eliminating immediate and long-term psychological trauma in children.
- Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Ozarks: $6,000 to support specialty vision testing and glasses for uninsured or underinsured children.
- Women’s Medical Respite: $10,000 to support a safe and nurturing environment for unsheltered women recovering after hospitalization.
A specific grantmaking priority of the Musgrave Foundation is health care education. For the Musgrave Foundation’s University Nursing Scholarship program, five institutions each received $25,000 grants to provide scholarships to students in the nursing education path:
- Cox College
- Drury University
- Mercy College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Southwest Baptist University
- Missouri State University
- Ozarks Technical Community College
Finally, in alignment with the Musgrave Foundation’s grantmaking priority of poverty, hunger and homelessness, Community Partnership of the Ozarks received $30,000 for the O’Reilly Center for Hope. This three-year grant, ultimately totaling $90,000, will support operational expenses at the community hub for homeless and affordable housing services.
The Musgrave grantmaking committee is chaired by Rob Baird and includes Emily Bowen-Marler, Thomas J. Carlson, Ferba Lofton, Danny Perches, Peggy Riggs and Thomas Slaight, with support from CFO staff members Bridget Dierks and Krista Moncado.
“We’re so grateful to help carry on the caring, charitable legacies of Mrs. Musgrave and Jerry Redfern,” said Brian Fogle, president and CEO of the CFO. “Though she passed thirty years ago, Mrs. Musgrave continues to inspire hope for so many in our community.”
