Great Southern makes naming-level donation to Efactory

Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GSBC) contributed a naming-level donation in support of the Efactory’s expansion plans.

With the donation, the first-floor space housing the Efactory’s business accelerator for nearly three months of the year and Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies classes will be dedicated with the Great Southern Bank name, according to a news release.

“The Efactory is a vital resource for the growth and development of entrepreneurs and business owners in southwest Missouri,” Great Southern Bank President and CEO Joe Turner said in the release.

Great Southern spokeswoman Kelly Polonus declined to disclose the donation amount, and Efactory Director Rachel Anderson could not be reached for comment by deadline.

The board of Missouri State University — which owns the Robert W. Plaster Center for Free Enterprise that’s home to the Efactory — voted in September to award the expansion project to DeWitt & Associates Inc. The construction company submitted the low bid of $3.3 million for the project, which has a total funding source of $4.25 million, Springfield Business Journal previously reported.

Funding for the expansion is provided, in part, by a $1.25 million U.S. Commerce Department grant announced in August. The Efactory must raise matching funds for the project that calls on the addition of eight new private offices, a conference room, a training and event space, and a potential rooftop terrace.

Great Southern, along with BancorpSouth, Central Bank, U.S. Bank and Wood & Huston Bank, also recently made an investment in the Efactory’s seed capital fund. Together, the investments came to nearly $100,000, according to a separate release.