CFO awards $50K for seven projects

Community Foundation of the Ozarks awarded $50,000 toward seven projects in its 2014 community innovation grant cycle.

The projects were selected from 23 proposals requesting $193,700. Grant recipients were selected based on their proposal's innovative and collaborative approaches toward improving Springfield and Greene County, according to a news release.

The recipients are:

• Community Partnership of the Ozarks, $12,000 to pay expenses related to the One Door Program, which serves as a centralized access point for shelter, hotel-motel vouchers and other referrals for individuals or families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness;
• Springfield Community Gardens, $12,000 to support expansion of the Grant Beach Community Garden, adding an urban food forest adjacent to the grounds and helping the Weller Neighborhood Association build a garden for its elderly and food-insecure residents;
• Greene County Extension, $5,000 to conduct workshops connecting local food producers and large purchasing systems in an effort to create sustainable food systems;
• Tree City USA, $5,000 to buy 25-gallon tubes allowing for efficient watering of trees planted by the city of Springfield;
• Ozarks Regional Food Policy Council/CoxHealth, $4,900 to help complete a Springfield metropolitan food system assessment and to build a website allowing farmers to connect with restaurants and consumer-oriented businesses;
• Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, $10,000 in support of a community garden at LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home; and
• University of Missouri/Greene County Council, $1,100 to support the costs of a collaborative program with Drury University architecture students to study the diversity of housing types available in the area.