Foundation issues $250K in grants to local nonprofits

The Jeanette L. Musgrave Foundation on Friday presented $250,641 in child-impact grants to local nonprofits.

The grants administered by Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. have the potential to reach $650,000 over a three-year period if the agencies meet renewal guidelines, according to a news release.

Eight nonprofits were selected for the first year of the Musgrave Foundation’s Change for Children initiative designed to assist kids in the area.

The grant amounts are:
• $50,000 for the Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation to support a full-time staff leader at the Study High School nursery;
• $50,000 for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board to provide staff training to address the mental and social-emotional behavioral needs of youth in Springfield via before- and after-school programs;
• $41,097 for The Kitchen Inc. to add a case manager position for its Rare Breed drop-in center for youth;
• $30,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield to support the group's workforce development program for students;
• $25,000 for Ozarks Food Harvest for its weekend backpack program that provides food for children;
• $22,250 for the Springfield Regional Arts Council to support youth in the arts;
• $20,000 for Care to Learn to establish a chapter for the Strafford school district; and
• $12,294 for Ujima Language and Literacy to educate participants on financial literacy and help the organization achieve its five-year development sustainability plan.

Founded in 1983 by Jeannette Musgrave, the Springfield-based foundation has awarded more than $15 million to nonprofits focused on initiatives impacting children and senior services; health care and education; poverty, hunger and homelessness; and arts and community betterment, according to its website. CFO assumed the foundation's grantmaking responsibilities last year.

“We are proud to carry out Mrs. Musgrave’s intentions, which included focusing on better lives for children in Springfield-Greene County,” CFO President Brian Fogle said in the release. “These projects, especially looking over a three-year time horizon, address a wide spectrum of needs and enhancements that will benefit our kids.”