Nonprofits talk partnerships for generating sizable results

The importance of partnerships – particularly those involving public-private connections – garnered most of the attention Oct. 30 at a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce event centered on nonprofits.

Those partnerships can result in significant results, such as companies committing to naming rights for a facility or organizations uniting on a common goal of increasing access to child care, said panelists at the second-annual Nonprofit Outlook. Regardless of the size and scope of any prospective collaborative projects, officials speaking at the event encouraged attendees to facilitate conversations.

The luncheon event’s panel discussion mixed nonprofit and business representatives to talk about partnerships and advice on making community connections. Participants were Andrea Brady with Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: SBC), Mary Kromrey at Own Inc., Ozarks Area Community Action Corp.’s Kimberly Shinn-Brown and Kevin Weaver of The Warrior’s Journey. Joe Daues, CEO of Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, served as moderator.

Brady, who serves as Great Southern’s community outreach and development manager, said the Springfield-based banking company has been a longtime supporter of for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The company, which turned 100 years old last year, donated $5.5 million in 2022 to the Missouri State University Foundation for the naming rights to the former JQH Arena. The Great Southern Bank Arena name debuted in April 2022.

“Just that partnership alone has been a long-term partnership with us. To do something like naming an arena, you’re not going to see our name throughout our footprint on a lot of arenas,” she said of the company that operates roughly 90 branches in 13 states and employs around 1,100 people. “That’s not necessarily something we do a lot, but in this particular case, it just seemed the right fit for us and the right time to do it.”

She said the brand recognition to do something like that is significant to attract attention not only from locals but from those who attend sports, concerts and other events at the venue from out of town.

“The economic impact of a university on a community like ours was really what pushed that decision for us,” she said, noting MSU’s large enrollment and employee count.

MSU set a new enrollment record this fall for its Springfield campus, reaching 25,038 students, up roughly 3.4% from last year, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The university also ranked No. 6 on SBJ’s 2024 list of Springfield area’s largest employers with 3,705 local employees.

Lining up
When it comes to nonprofits connecting with companies, Brady and Kromrey said a successful partnership should involve a lining up of missions between the organizations.

“As a business in this community, we want to support missions that resonate with our current and future owners,” said Kromrey, who began in June as Springfield office manager of engineering firm Own Inc. Before joining Own, Kromrey led nonprofit Ozark Greenways Inc. for seven years as its executive director.

Brady suggested nonprofits and for-profits should research one another to see how their values align.

“We are only as successful as the communities that we serve. So, we want to look for those opportunities to help organizations in our community support the citizens and the businesses of our community,” she said of partnerships Great Southern seeks. “We want to know the impact of the things that you’re doing, the impact of your organization.”

The Warrior’s Journey, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016, provides veterans’ services for emotional and mental healing through peer connections and resources. Weaver, who is president and CEO of the Springfield-based organization, said it leans on showing companies its value for those it serves.

“Right now, about 87% of our income goes right directly back to the veteran or the veteran family or the military member,” he said, adding the nonprofit has discovered there are a lot of companies that are employing veterans.

“Many times, we find that employers aren’t necessarily aware of the people that are actually working for them or engaging them,” he said.

Weaver said The Warrior’s Journey is partnering with City Utilities of Springfield on personal and professional development, which includes certified executive coaching at no cost to the individual.

“We thought why don’t we partner with companies and say, ‘Hey, we’d like to come alongside and engage with your veterans and see how we can make those individuals better employees,’” he said.

Housing connection
A recently launched affordable housing apartment complex near the Grant Avenue Parkway has resulted in an opportunity for OACAC, said Shinn-Brown, director of the organization’s Head Start early childhood education and development program.

The nonprofit has a goal of opening classroom space for kids in the 810 W. Catalpa St. building in September 2025, according to past SBJ reporting. Shinn-Brown said she and Debbie Shantz Hart, co-owner of DHTC Development LLC, the developer of the 41-unit, nearly 40,000-square-foot Nordic Landing project, have had several conversations over the years about affordable housing. Those discussions eventually led to this connection, Shinn-Brown said.

“Affordable housing is a huge obstacle for lots of families in our community, and child care is a huge obstacle for lots of families in our community,” she said. “Timing is always tricky, and so we just had to wait for the right moment, but fortunately with a lot of patience and when the Nordic Landing development became a reality, we were able to access the lower level of that facility.”

She said OACAC is in the process of converting a portion of the first floor into an on-site child care center. DHTC Development officials said OACAC signed a 10-year lease for undisclosed terms to occupy the 3,500-square-foot space, according to past reporting.

“It’s an opportunity that we get to both expand affordable housing and expand affordable child care options,” Shinn-Brown said. “Those are definitely passions of both the Shantz family and our organization.”

Getting started on partnerships is a pretty simple process, Kromrey said.

“It all starts with a conversation, and as those conversations turn into relationships, our nonprofits and our for-profits can really start to figure out how they can coalesce to help meet the needs,” she said.

A relative newcomer to the nonprofit sector, Mark Miller began in June as the executive director of Lost & Found Grief Center after a decade working in marketing and communications at Ozarks Technical Community College. He was among those in attendance at the chamber event, noting his organization’s upcoming Evening of Hope gathering in January is a significant fundraiser.

“It accounts for almost half of our annual budget,” he said, noting Lost & Found has a roughly $1.2 million budget for 2024.

Miller said the panel’s recommendations to make community connections resonated with him. He said doing so is another vital component for the nonprofit, which marks its 25th anniversary next year.

“Being new, they want to meet me and see what my vision is and things like that,” he said. “But we rely on that because at Lost & Found Grief Center, we get zero government funding, no government grants, no federal grants, state grants, anything like that. So, it’s all donations, and we just get a little bit from individual counseling. Our groups are no cost to the people.”

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Conference Center served as host site for this year’s Nonprofit Outlook, which is part of the chamber’s annual Outlook series. Organizers noted this year’s event drew an audience of 300, well above the 225 people who attended the inaugural gathering in 2023. Last year’s attendance was capped as it was held at a smaller capacity venue, the Barley House at Moon Town Crossing.

The chamber’s annual series winds up this year with the Manufacturing Outlook, scheduled for Dec. 4 at White River Conference Center.