United Way issues $821K in first-year grants for new funding initiative

United Way of the Ozarks has issued funding to more than a dozen nonprofits as part of a new two-year grant program.

Funding is going to 20 programs operated by 15 nonprofits for causes that help children and focus on poverty reduction, according to a news release. A competitive seven-month process led to the selection of the grant recipients.

Mary Sue Hoban, director of communication and engagement for United Way, said more than $821,000 is being provided in the first year of the grant program.

"Second-year funding levels will be determined in spring 2025, but our hope is that they will match or exceed this year’s grants," Hoban said via email.

Hoban additionally provided grant amounts for each of the programs.

Upstream program recipients are:
• Betty and Bobby Allison Ozarks Counseling Center, $50,000 to improve access to mental health care
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield, $120,000 for its Shape-up Program
• Child Advocacy Center, $45,000 for youth protection services
• Community Partnership of the Ozarks, $41,388 for the O’Reilly Center for Hope
• Council of Churches of the Ozarks, $35,000 for its math and reading buddy program
• Developmental Center of the Ozarks, $23,883 for pediatric therapies
• Good Dads, $25,000 for New Pathways for Good Dads
• Harmony House, $55,189 for community outreach
• iPour Life, $47,042 for its LifeStrengths youth development program
• Ozarks Literacy Council, $17,500 for reading tutoring
• The Victim Center, $25,000 for counseling and education

Safety net grant recipients are:
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks, $19,500 for mentoring services
• CASA of Southwest Missouri, $60,000 for child advocacy services
• Child Advocacy Center, $32,115 for forensic services
• Community Partnership of the Ozarks, $41,388 for its O’Reilly Center for Hope
• Harmony House, $40,000 for its emergency shelter
• KVC Behavioral Healthcare Missouri, $35,000 for its Ozarks Family Resource Center
• Ozarks Food Harvest, $15,642 for its Weekend Backpack Program
• The Victim Center, $19,000 for crisis intervention and advocacy

Innovation program grant recipients are:
• Betty and Bobby Allison Ozarks Counseling Center, $33,852 for parental mental health wellness skills and enhancement
• CASA of Southwest Missouri, $40,000 for the CASA Clubhouse

“This was our most competitive grant process yet, and we’re thrilled with the quality and variety of community needs United Way can help address,” said Brandi VanAntwerp, president and CEO of United Way of the Ozarks, in the release. “We’re happy to support our community’s most vulnerable – our children – and help break the cycle of generational poverty.”