Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation selected for CFO grant program

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks has selected five regional nonprofit agencies to participate in a pilot program designed to strengthen their donor relationships and increase their internal capacity.

The year-long “Catalyst for Capacity” program is a pilot project in partnership with Springfield’s People Centric Consulting Group and the national Network for Good.

The agencies selected through a competitive application process are:

• Ozarks Regional YMCA, Springfield

• Arc of the Ozarks, Springfield

• The Victim Center, Springfield

• Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation, Cape Girardeau

• LovinGrace, Joplin

Network for Good, a national nonprofit consulting firm, will pair each agency with a personal fundraising coach to assist with an intensive fundraising program and also provide access to new fundraising and donor-management software. People Centric will help each agency develop a framework to improve its organizational structure.

The CFO is underwriting this pilot program with $30,000 of its FY20 discretionary grantmaking budget. Each agency is committing $1,000 toward its participation.

The National Council on Nonprofits describes capacity building as activities “designed to improve and enhance a nonprofit’s ability to achieve its mission and sustain itself over time.”

“The CFO believes that nonprofit agencies are the grease and the glue in many aspects of our communities,” President Brian Fogle said. “Our mission is to help strengthen nonprofits so they can be as effective as possible in providing their much-needed services. We also have presented many of our nonprofit programs in cohort-style training so participants can learn from each other as well as from the resources we will provide.”