OVERVIEW: The Community Foundation of the Ozarks supports arts and culture, seniors, youth, poverty, rural needs, education, and other community needs in central and southern Missouri.
IP TAKE: This large community foundation offers a wide range of grant opportunities. Community Foundation of the Ozarks is an accessible funder that accepts unsolicited applications from nonprofits via several competitive grant programs, offering modest totals especially for local human services-oriented outfits. Nonprofits serving rural communities may also receive increased support. As reported by IP, the Foundation recently received a national grant the Trust for Civic Life to strengthen civic engagement and create opportunities for long-term community collaboration in rural America.
CFO runs on a July–to–June fiscal year, so grant cycles begin in July. The Foundation publishes particularly detailed annual reports—they’re a great resource for prospective applicants and existing partners to understand who’s getting funded and which part of the Foundation funds come from. This Foundation offers a ton of opportunities, as well as a growing pool of funding for competitive applicants, so feel free to reach out directly to the staff for assistance in finding the ideal option. Longtime grant partners of the Foundation should note its new headquarters in downtown Springfield, as of 2025.
PROFILE: Established in 1973, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) is a community foundation based in Springfield, Missouri. It administers at least 3,100 charitable funds and has 49 affiliate foundations. The foundation aims to “enhance the quality of life in our region through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration, and public leadership.” CFO funds local efforts for arts and culture, seniors, youth, poverty, rural needs, education, and other community needs. It also hosts numerous specialty grants available that address a wide variety of topics, such as pediatric cancer support, Holocaust education, firefighters and police, and women making mid-life career changes.
Grants for Education and Youth Development
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks supports children and educational opportunity through a variety of discretionary and donor-advised giving. The bulk of funding supports K-12 schools and programs, institutions of higher education in Missouri and out-of-school learning.
- University of Missouri, Missouri State University, Drury University and Ozarks Technical Community College often receive support.
- Library foundations and independent education foundations like Generation Next and Care to Learn receive support.
- CFO also hosts the Holocaust Education Grantmaking Program, a type of specialty grant, which “supports educators, faith leaders, and concerned individuals to visit and learn at either the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum or the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C by supporting travel expenses.” Grantees can request up to $5,000.
The Foundation also hosts a robust scholarship program for high school students in Central and Southern Missouri. In a recent year, CFO doled out $1.6 million from 844 total scholarships. Most recipients of scholarships attend University of Missouri and Missouri State University, but plenty of students seeking to attend other undergraduate programs receive support.
CFO’s youth development funding takes many forms, but tends to promote mental wellbeing, opportunity for outdoor activity, empowerment and leadership.
- For instance, the Explore the Ozarks grants support conservation education by funding transportation costs, field trip admission and curriculum design.
- The Show Me Wagyu Charities Lyla Adams Children With Disabilities Fund offers up to $3,000 in “support for Barton and Dade County families with children with disabilities who are under the age of 18.”
- The Springfield City Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) “supports Springfield area nonprofits that are working to provide safe and supportive spaces for kids in need.”
- Nonprofits can request up to $5,000, and the pool of total YEP funding is capped at $15,000.
- Example projects supported include youth resource or drop-in centers in underserved neighborhoods, after-school programs for at-risk youth, safe space resources and art programs as tools for emotional healing and self-expression.
Grants for Community Development and Human Services
As a large regional community foundation, CFO broadly supports a range of human services in Missouri, including basic needs, housing, elder care, family services, food security and the disabled. While the bulk of funding here comes from donor-advised and field-of-interest funds beyond the purview of nonprofit applicants, a number of the Foundation’s programs and affiliate programs do accept applications. Be sure to review CFO’s Find a Grant page for the entire listing of opportunities.
Grants for Disaster Relief and Recovery
CFO hosts a handful of competitive funds meant to provide immediate support to nonprofits experiencing a crisis due to natural disasters, loss of federal funding or some other unanticipated problem.
- The Mother’s Industry Support Fund “seeks to support hospitality employees in the Springfield Metro area who have been impacted and are unable to afford expenses” do to workplace closures.
- The Rapid Response Grant Program “provides one-time support to agencies with urgent, unanticipated needs such as: loss of federal and/or state funding, natural or man-made disasters, time-sensitive opportunities for collaboration or innovation, etc.” with totals up to $3,000.
- Outside of these grants, the Foundation also deploys larger totals beyond the scope of its grantmaking in the wake of natural disasters.
Grants for Equity and Justice
CFO offers a number of opportunities for nonprofits working toward inclusion, belonging, and mental wellness in local communities.
- The Regional Everyone Outdoors Grant Program “focuses on engaging residents, particularly individuals living in low-income and high density neighborhoods, with the Ozarks outdoors” and offers up to $10,000 in grants to nonprofits connecting various local populations to the outdoors.
The Inclusion & Belonging Grant Program “supports small grant requests to ensure inclusive participation and engagement in local communities.” Recent grantees include the Children’s Center of Southeast Missouri, Queen City Rock Camp and the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence.
- In recent years, the Foundation has also funded programs related to Indigenous rights and justice, including the American Indian Center of Springfield.
Grants for Cancer Treatment
CFO runs three competitive programs involving general and pediatric cancer support.
- The Paisley Collins Memorial Foundation grant supports individuals experiencing “current or ongoing consequences of treatment related to pediatric (age 18 years or younger) cancer.”
- Sally Sachs Foundation grants support individuals experiencing “current or on-going consequences of treatment related to cancer.”
Hope for the Journey Foundation for Cancer Treatment Support grants “provide non-medical financial support to patients facing a life-altering cancer journey and their families.”
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between about $500 and $30,000. The average grant hovers around $10,000. In a recent year, this funder gave $25.04 million in total grants. Of that total, $937,282 in discretionary grants were made.
- Grantmaking focuses on central and southern Missouri. This includes the 58 counties of Missouri that are south of the Missouri River.
- This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits for certain programs.
- Grant cycles run from July 1 to June 30. Each opportunity has its own set of grant guidelines and deadlines.
- Most programs accept applications via online portal. Read more information on how to apply here.
- Direct general questions to the staff at cfo@cfozarks.org or (417) 864-6199.
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