Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast to award area nonprofits $35K in grants

Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast announced this morning that it will award $35,000 in community grants to eight area nonprofit organizations at a May 21 luncheon to be held at Ocean Zen restaurant at noon.

“This isn’t just a ceremony – it’s a celebration of impact,” said Steve Rice, endowment chair for Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast, in a news release. “These grants are such a blessing for the recipient nonprofits. And every dollar goes to truly changing lives in a positive way, right here in the Ozarks.”

Rotary officials said the grants were “transformational,” according to the release. They comprise the following:

• $5,000 to The Kitchen Inc. for housing placement costs, including transportation, for homeless youth

• $5,000 to Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southwest Missouri to replace a worn basketball goal, as well as install gates and lights at CASA Clubhouse playground

• $5,000 to Child Advocacy Center Inc. for curriculum and student materials for school-based prevention education

• $5,000 to Discovery Center of Springfield Inc. to purchase dinosaur sculptures, filled with concrete, for permanent protective barriers

• $5,000 to The Arc of the Ozarks to purchase a platform to support therapy goals related to strength and balance

• $4,400 to Springfield Public Schools’ Shady Dell Early Childhood Center to provide STEM opportunities and activities in the outdoor classroom

• $3,600 to Cross Trail Outfitters Inc. to purchase ADA-accessible outdoor blind for use by individuals with disabilities

• $2,000 to Women’s Medical Respite to purchase a chair lift for use by convalescing homeless women at the nonprofit’s shelter in Springfield

Rotary officials noted in the news release that an endowment fund they set up to provide an estimated $30,000 in dividends annually to local charities has reached the $800,000 mark, which they credited to continued donations and growth of the fund. Fundraising was roughly $500,000 in May 2024, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

The Springfield Southeast Rotary Endowment annual grant cycle launched in 2016, officials said in the news release. The goal is to promote a stronger, safer Springfield by providing perpetual funding to combat poverty, hunger, abuse and inequality in the region.