SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is now accepting applications for the Coover Regional Celebration of Public Spaces Grant Program. The CFO is administering the program on behalf of the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation, a private foundation managed by Commerce Trust Company.
With a total of $250,000 available, the primary goal of this grant program is to ensure outdoor public spaces serve all citizens in their communities effectively. Possible projects include the improvement of outdoor public spaces such as parks, gardens, amphitheaters or open-air gathering spaces, playgrounds, public pools, walking or biking trails, or other community spaces.
Agencies may apply for up to $25,000 in funding for supplies, equipment and labor costs to make improvements. Eligible agencies must be 501(c)3 nonprofits or organizations with similar tax-exempt status, including educational, faith-based and governmental agencies, that serve rural communities in the CFO service area outside of Greene County.
Agencies can begin the application process at cfozarks.org/applyforgrants. Applications must be submitted by 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
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. Since then, the Coover Charitable Foundation has awarded more than $7 million in grants to nonprofit agencies and school districts serving rural communities across the Ozarks.
Founded in 1973, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving a network of donors, 53 regional affiliate foundations and nonprofit partners across central and southern Missouri through with assets of $375 million as of June 30, 2022.
