See the 19 nonprofits that made the cut for $233K in grants

The Stanley & Elaine Ball Foundation managed by Central Trust Co. yesterday presented $232,665 in grants to 19 Springfield-area nonprofits.

The top award — a $25,000 matching grant — was presented to the Council of Churches Foundation. The next largest grants were to Taneyhills Library Club, at $20,000, and Good Samaritan Boys Ranch, at $18,500, according to a news release.

Good Samaritan Boys Ranch CEO Kevin Killian said the nonprofit would use the grant to upgrade its security system and cameras in its dormitories and public areas of the ranch, according to Central Trust Co. spokesman Will Carter.

“They know there are people watching and someone can’t take advantage of them or hurt them. That goes a long way with these kids,” Killian said during the news conference announcing the grant recipients. “What it means to us is that what we do matters, that the kids that we affect and the kids that we work with matter, and that the community sees that and realizes that these are their kids too.”

The grant recipients, by amount, are:
    •    Council of Churches Foundation, $25,000;
    •    Taneyhills Library Club, $20,000;
    •    Good Samaritan Boys Ranch, $18,500;
    •    Cents of Pride, $15,000;
    •    Convoy of Hope, $15,000;
    •    Isabel’s House, $15,000;
    •    Children’s Smile Center, $13,375;
    •    Friends of Abilities First Inc., $13,000;
    •    Branson R-4 School District, $12,080;
    •    The Arc of the Ozarks, $10,211;
    •    Foundation for Springfield Public Schools, $10,000;
    •    I Pour Life, $10,000;
    •    Ronald McDonald House, $10,000;
    •    Springfield Workshop, $10,000;
    •    The Discovery Center of Springfield Inc., $10,000;
    •    The Victim Center, $10,000;
    •    Women in Need, $10,000;
    •    Ozarks Literacy Council, $5,000; and
    •    Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield Inc., $500.

Stanley Ball, who died in March 2015 at 97, served as mayor of Branson, worked on the boards of several charitable organizations and was president of Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ first affiliate, the Nixa Community Foundation. He established the Ball Foundation in 2005, after his wife Elaine died, to help those less fortunate in the community, according to the release.