CFO announces capital campaign to provide nonprofit support space

Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. kicked off a capital campaign yesterday with a pledge to turn its 300 S. Jefferson Ave. building into a “Front Door for Philanthropy.”

The campaign has an $8 million goal, officials announced, while noting that $4.5 million has already been raised.

CFO President and CEO Winter Kinne said in an interview that the renovation of the building will help to serve the needs of nonprofits, both in Springfield and in the larger CFO region.

“The whole campaign is really grounded in this building being welcoming and accessible for philanthropy, because CFO believes that philanthropy is for everyone,” she said.

She said the building will be available for nonprofit community use and will also be a space to train the next generation of philanthropists.

“We want it to also be a regional center for philanthropy,” Kinne said, pointing out that the foundation serves a 63-county area. “So far, it has resonated with some regional donors who want to be part of it.”

The CFO building is a distinctive architectural icon in a 20th-century style known as brutalism. Architectural Digest defines the movement as prioritizing functionality, while showcasing raw materials, like concrete, and emphasizing a building’s structure. Brutalist buildings often have a social purpose, the publication notes. Critics of the style often characterize it as cold, with a rejection of decorative elements.

Kinne said she is not an architecture buff, but she acknowledged the challenge of turning an imposing style into a welcoming space.

“It’s one of the things I’m excited about,” she said, noting a courtyard would provide green space to help soften the building, and the interior will have multiple shared spaces, including an event center. Natural elements will be incorporated throughout, she said.

“I have come to believe that this big building in downtown Springfield represents our commitment to downtown and the region and stewardship in a new form for us,” she said. “The architects are very excited about it, because they love it, too.”

Openness is more than a look for CFO; it is practicing what it preaches by sharing its parking space with some of its neighbors. Springfield Business Journal reported in February that the foundation was allowing evening use of its 221-spot parking garage to people attending performances at Springfield Little Theatre at the nearby Historic Landers Theatre.

Kinne said the foundation is in talks with other downtown entities about sharing its parking resource. That’s part of CFO’s mission to enhance quality of life in the region, she said.

“If we can get more people to come downtown to attend live theater, concerts, church – all of the placemaking that makes our region cool – I think that definitely enhances the quality of life, and parking is typically what people are talking about,” she said.

Renovation plans
The campaign is intended to cover the costs of a complete renovation of the building’s first floor.

Plans call for an expanded event center with an outdoor courtyard and catering kitchen, as well as offices and collaboration space for emerging nonprofits and a new 900-square-foot conference room.

These facilities will help nonprofits in numerous ways, Kinne said.

The event center will provide a space for midsized events, something that is scarce in the market, Kinne said. Additionally, nonprofits will be able to bring in donated food to help them keep costs down.

The north half of the building will have a few small offices meant for emerging or recalibrating organizations and available at a low cost.

Kinne said the area is not exactly incubator space.

“We’re not planning on encouraging new nonprofits to start into the world, since Springfield has so many great ones, but we’re trying to give them access to low-cost space, meeting rooms, parking and some services from CFO,” she said. “We have a core belief that the stronger our nonprofits are, the farther everybody’s donated dollars go.”

She added that a living room space, called a collaboration lounge, will be located in the front of the building and can be used for meetings or mixers.

She said a philanthropy showcase is planned to include 55 regional community foundations.

“We want to highlight their work also,” she said. “Yes, the building is in downtown Springfield, but it’s very important to us that it represents the region as well.”

The building, formerly a bank, has an unused drive-thru, and Kinne said that area is going to be glassed in and turned into a conference room for use by nonprofits for board meetings and other gatherings.

Kinne said the space will not serve as a profit center for CFO. She also said the campaign is for the building’s interior and exterior community-based space, and funds raised are not to go toward the foundation’s purchase of the building or the renovation of its own fourth-floor offices.

“It’s not just for the actual offices, but it’s also for the ability to meet with a donor in a space that’s more private than going to a coffee shop,” she said.

Matt Lemmon, CFO’s vice president of communication and marketing, said it has been important to the foundation from the start that the planned facility not overlap or replace existing facilities in the community. He added that the foundation has worked with the Efactory, Missouri State University’s resource hub for entrepreneurs and businesses, to ensure that duplication is avoided.

The project is designed by Dake Wells Architecture Inc., and J.E. Dunn Construction Co. is serving as general contractor, according to a news release from CFO. The two firms led the renovation of the fourth floor of the building as CFO headquarters, completed in summer 2025.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2027.

Donors
Lead gifts for the capital campaign have been provided by Eric K. Peterson of Peterson Wealth Advisors; Elizabeth Dickey on behalf of the John Wallis Dickey family; the Meek Family, in memory of Mary Kay Meek; and Patricia Hall and the late Jerry Hall.

Other named donors who had pledged support by June 22 are Jim and Janet Anderson; Arvest Bank; Ray F. and Nancy J. Aton Memorial Fund;  Rob and Sally Baird; Fiducient Advisors; Guaranty Bank; J.E. Dunn Construction Co.; Gordon and Laura Kinne; Winter and Marshall Kinne; Luis Leon; Anne E. and Mac McGregor; Charles and Robin Morgan; the estate of Jimmy Murrow; Mark and Lori Nelson; Gail and Clif Smart; Dean and Robin Thompson; and Craig and Amy Wescott.

“Right now, many nonprofits, especially those getting started or in a time of rediscovery, face barriers to space and infrastructure. At the same time, our region is growing, and so are the needs," Kinne said in the release. “This project will help meet those needs while serving as a place for aspiring philanthropists and leaders to gather, collaborate and learn.”

CFO had $549 million in assets under management as of June 30, 2025, the release states.