SEMO-based nonprofits receive $25,000 in grants from CFO, Coover Foundation

Two Cape area nonprofits received $25,000 in grant funding from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust, on April 30.

Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau received $10,000 to support live music performances on historic porches and other accessible venues to increase community engagement and connection.

“We are really changing the landscape since these concerts happened,” said Christy Mershon with the Historical Association. “We’re seeing more and more creative ideas. What I think is awesome about this is that even though we’re small towns, even though we’re individuals trying to do stuff, it’s the ripple effect: Getting one award, doing a cool thing, and seeing the next.”

Additionally, It Takes A Village – SEMO received $15,000 to connect mothers across southeast Missouri through monthly classes, online support and in-person social events.

Winter Kinne, CFO; Amanda Rhodes and Sarah Kilpela, It Takes a Village - SEMO; and Jill Reynolds, Commerce Trust

“We are working on improving mothers’ mental health through support and community,” said Sarah Kilpela with It Takes A Village. “In 2024, we want to put a stronger focus on maternal mental health. If moms are better supported and connected, the entire family benefits — and I would say the entire world benefits from that.”

A total of $220,000 was granted to 14 nonprofits through the Coover Regional Vibrant Communities Grant Program to address the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation by creating meaningful ways to connect people with their communities. For a complete list of recipients, go to cfozarks.org/coover24.

“We’re grateful to fund these grants that will bring residents of rural communities closer together,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee. “We congratulate these agencies for their innovative approaches to building community.”

Julia Dorothy Coover, a 30-year Commerce employee, founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husband’s memory. The private foundation, managed by Commerce Trust, has funded about $8 million in grants to benefit rural communities across the CFO’s service area since the partnership began in 2001. Earlier in April, the Coover Foundation, Commerce Trust and the CFO granted $80,000 to 18 rural school districts in the Coover/Rural Schools Partnership Grant Program.

Based in Springfield with offices in Cape Girardeau and West Plains, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and more than 50 regional affiliate foundations – including the Cape Area Community Foundation – with assets totaling $427 million as of June 30, 2023. The CFO’s mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in central and southern Missouri through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.