🎭 Our next stop on our Route 66 road trip of philanthropy is Rolla's Ozark Actors Theatre 💚
Since 1987, @ozarkactorstheatre has connected the Rolla community (and beyond) with the performing arts. The CFO nonprofit partner — which has received grants from the Meramec Regional Community Foundation — began out of a desire to bring quality professional theatre to the Ozarks. That dream has grown into a legacy: OAT is one of a few professional summer stock theatres in rural Missouri. It’s also become a community fixture through more than 100 shows — ranging from comedies to full-scale musicals — and is recognized as an Equity Small Professional Theatre. In 2026, its summer season begins in June with “The Addams Family.”
Find the full roadmap through the link in our bio! #Route66 #route66roadtrip #route66missouri #ozarks #swmo #Rolla
🚗 Farther along on our philanthropic Route 66 road trip, we have Marshfield's Hidden Waters Nature Park.
Whether they’re traveling from down the street or across the globe, Hidden Waters Nature Park takes visitors on a journey into Ozarks history and natural beauty.
The park along Route 66 in Marshfield is the realized dream of Dan and Zoe Beckner, who founded it in 2003. Over the past 23 years, Hidden Waters — which holds a fund with the Marshfield Area Community Foundation — has expanded multiple times in acreage and amenities.
“Many travelers locate our park and use it as an opportunity to bring lunch, stretch their legs, let the kids romp and walk their dogs,” says Chris Davis, president of the Hidden Waters board of directors.
The historic Callaway Cabin, built in the 1850s, was moved to the park and reopened in 2010. Trails and interpretative displays share history. In 2023, the park opened a welcome center for classes and educational events. But the work isn’t done. Future improvements include a metal bridge, constructed in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, and a ‘green’ parking lot with a lodge-type pavilion that will connect sidewalks and landscaping.
Hidden Waters isn’t the only Route 66 stop in Marshfield. A new Route 66 park, featuring a vintage service station, is under construction about a mile away.
Find the full roadmap in our spring 2026 newsletter. Link in bio! #Route66 #route66roadtrip #route66missouri #ozarks #swmo
🚗 Route 66 is a century old, and we’re celebrating the Mother Road's centennial by highlighting work by our affiliates and nonprofit partners to add vibrancy along the historic highway. Kaitlyn McConnell's next stop in our road trip is Joplin's Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex!
The full roadmap is in our spring 2026 newsletter — find the link in our bio!
The Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex is a hub for artistic activities, local creativity and community building in Joplin and beyond.
Two nonprofits are leading these missions: @connect2culture and the @spivacenterforthearts , complementary organizations that moved into the Cornell Complex upon its completion in November 2022. More than $19 million was raised through the facility’s capital campaign, which was administered through multiple funds held with the CFO and the Joplin Regional Community Foundation.
Among other activities, the center’s auditorium is home for performing arts, and Spiva’s gallery showcases an evolving slate of exhibitions — including the nationally recognized PhotoSpiva, a juried photography show that began in 1977. The complex also hosts classes and workshops for all ages.
“The building provides an intentional space for the arts, and the work of C2C and Spiva is what makes it vibrant, active and full of energy,” says Emily Frankoski, executive director of C2C. “The biggest strength of the complex is that it brings different art forms together in one place — visual arts through Spiva and performing arts through Connect2Culture. That combination allows the building to serve a wide range of artists and audiences.”
#joplinmo #Route66 #route66roadtrip #route66missouri #ozarks #swmo
Half a million dollars for rural resiliency. 💚 Rural communities can grow stronger when they have healthy nonprofits serving people in need — that’s the underlying belief of the Coover Regional Resiliency Grants, which support agencies in rural communities that face financial challenges due to the loss of government funding.
“As a member of the Greatest Generation, resiliency came naturally to someone like Mrs. Coover,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee. “I think she would be proud of the focus of this year’s program, and the work all of these organizations do to foster resiliency in our communities.”
We are deeply grateful to the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust for funding this work, and to The HWS Charitable Foundation for its matching gift that doubled the impact for the betterment of rural communities.
See the full list of recipients and funded projects on our website — follow the link in our profile.
@springfieldgreenecountylibrary #rural #fundrural #ozarks #SGF #swmo
Happy 100, Route 66! 🎂 The famed Mother Road was born in the Ozarks on April 30, 1926, and has since connected Springfield and rural communities to travelers from around the world. We’re celebrating this centennial by highlighting work by our affiliates and nonprofit partners to add vibrancy along the historic highway. Follow along with our Writer in Residence, Kaitlyn McConnell, as she kicks off a philanthropy-fueled road trip at Carthage’s @bootscourt .
The full itinerary is in our spring 2026 newsletter — find the link in our profile.
🚗 The Boots Court, a vintage Route 66 motel in Carthage, is on a journey of renewal.
Opened in 1939, it drew travelers — including, some say, Clark Gable — for decades until it fell into decline. Two sisters purchased the motor court to save it, beginning a restoration process that took it back into the minds of Route 66 travelers. When they decided to retire in 2021, the Boots Court Foundation stepped in to continue that work.
“Boots Court is an outstanding example of early motor court lodging and one of the few original motels still operating along historic Route 66,” says Betsy Flanigan, president of the Boots board. “Its preservation safeguards an important piece of Carthage’s history while strengthening the city’s connection to Route 66.”
Restoration efforts include extensive interior and exterior repairs to the original motel building. Period furnishings enhance the rooms. Next door, a vintage gas station has been transformed into a visitors center.
“Nearly every inch of the structure was inspected, repaired or replaced, with great care taken to preserve the building’s historic integrity,” Flanigan says, expressing gratitude for the @carthage_community_foundation ’s support of those restoration efforts. “Today, guests are invited to unplug, unwind and experience the nostalgia of an earlier era.”
#carthagemo #SGF #Route66 #route66roadtrip #route66missouri #ozarks #swmo
💚 We're so proud of Springfield City's YEP chapter!
Students in the Springfield City chapter of the Youth Empowerment Project presented $15,000 in grants today at the CASA of Southwest Missouri headquarters. Bolstered by a gift from JE Dunn Construction, the Springfield City YEP Grant Program funds projects that provide safe and supportive spaces for youth in need.
Supported by the CFO, YEP is designed to instill core values of grantmaking, service, education and fundraising in high school and middle school students. More than 20 high school students from Greenwood Laboratory, Springfield Catholic, Hillcrest and Kickapoo participate in the Springfield City YEP chapter.
The seven grant recipients are:
• 417 Bridge Builders: $1,500 to support the Black History Summer Academy, a five-day inclusive educational program that brings together students from all demographic backgrounds to engage in rigorous, culturally grounded learning.
• CASA of Southwest Missouri: $2,500 to support the Older Youth Advocacy Council, which gives older youth in foster care the opportunity to participate in program development and community advocacy, allowing them to shape the way CASA advocates on their behalf.
• empower: abilities: $2,300 to support Empower Youth workshops, which provides safe, supportive and skill-building spaces for youth with disabilities in Springfield and surrounding communities.
• FosterAdopt Connect Springfield: $3,000 to support YouthConnect Center Family Night, designed to strengthen family connections, offer resource navigation and reduce isolation.
• Isabel's House: $3,000 to provide transportation assistance to more than 150 clients and families, ensuring consistent access to the crisis nursery’s services without undue hardship.
• The Kitchen, Inc.: $1,500 to support the Rare Breed Youth Outreach Center, a drop-in center for homeless and at-risk youth.
• Springfield Ballet: $1,200 to support Star Steps, which delivers free ballet instruction to students in Title 1 schools and prepare them for SLT's pre-professional ballet school.
💚 "A rural town with a lot of pride, history and heart."
That's how Kolby Ghan described Aurora after a Sense of Place workshop held there on March 27. A participant in the Ozarks Teacher Corps and senior at Missouri State University from Marionville, Kolby knows rural Missouri communities well, and this workshop deepened that connection.
"A meaningful moment was our time to walk around and explore the 'behind the scenes' of Aurora," Kolby says. "We got into a group of teachers and set out to complete a scavenger hunt. Anything from swinging on a swing in the nearest park to ordering a coffee from a local coffee shop. We got to catch small glimpses of what made Aurora so special and how each person plays a significant role in the community."
From that community scavenger hunt to powerful reflections from local panelists, Kolby and his peers came away with a clearer sense of what place-based learning looks like in practice. The workshop "left us all feeling energized and prepared for our roles as rural educators," he says.
Experiences like this are central to the Ozarks Teacher Corps, which prepares future educators to put down roots in the communities where they'll teach. The program, part of the CFO's Rural Schools Partnership, offers a $4,000 renewable scholarship to education students at MSU, Drury, Missouri Southern State and Southeast Missouri State who commit to teaching in a rural school district for at least three years. Established in 2010, it has since become a model for rural teacher preparation programs across the country.
Learn more about the Rural Schools Partnership through the link in our bio.
💚 One week left to join.⏳
Membership in the Generosity Collective closes April 10.
GenCo members don't just give. They gather, learn and decide together where Springfield's most pressing issues lay. Last year, that meant $105,000 granted to two organizations working to expand access to child care and keep kids out of the foster care system.
Since 2023, GenCo members have helped ensure 166 children receive mental health counseling, given a family of five a home, and are working to keep up to 100 children out of foster care.
💜 Don't wait — April 10 is the last day to register. How will you GenCo? Get started through the link in our bio!
💚 We're proud to be a part of February's Jewell Schweitzer Quality of Life grant presentation. Here, CFO board chair emeritus Laurie Edmondson relates the experience of honoring Jewell Schweitzer's legacy.
The grant program, named after the late Springfield philanthropist, granted $165,000 to Springfield-area nonprofits working to improve the quality of life for area residents. Its total funding was bolstered by generous donors who contributed $45,000 to the program's $120,000 budget, helping ensure maximum impact.
Learn more about the projects this program has fundeds through the link in our bio!
The CFO is seeking two motivated student interns to assist our Development & Philanthropic Services team and Community Impact team. These part-time, *paid* internships are ideal for students who have a strong interest in nonprofit and philanthropic initiatives and who are eager to learn how community-focused organizations create meaningful change.
The internships are anticipated to run from April to August 2026.
Find more information — including full descriptions and application instructions — through the link in our bio!
#internshipopportunity #philanthropy #springfieldmo #sgfmo
💚 As part of February's Jewell Schweitzer Quality of Life grant presentation, @casaswmo received $30,000 to enhance the child advocacy program by strengthening family support through an early childhood specialist.
The grant program, named after the late Springfield philanthropist, granted $165,000 to Springfield-area nonprofits working to improve the quality of life for area residents. Its total funding was bolstered by generous donors who contributed $45,000 to the program's $120,000 budget, helping ensure maximum impact.
Learn more through the link in our bio!
💚 As part of February's Jewell Schweitzer Quality of Life grant presentation, @centerstonehealth received $30,000 to partner with Preferred Family Healthcare to provide scheduled drop-in child care services for families in need, allowing increased access to behavioral health crisis services, individual/family therapy and weekly parenting skills groups.
The grant program, named after the late Springfield philanthropist, granted $165,000 to Springfield-area nonprofits working to improve the quality of life for area residents. Its total funding was bolstered by generous donors who contributed $45,000 to the program's $120,000 budget, helping ensure maximum impact.
Learn more through the link in our bio!
