For the following grant program opportunities, please e-mail applications to Julie Leeth, Vice President @ jleeth@cfozarks.org.

Current Grant Opportunities 

The Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation Regional Grantmaking Program of Commerce Trust

The Coover grantmaking program will provide $150,000 per year in grantmaking support for cooperative ventures that enhance teaching and learning through innovative place-based education programs. Eight to fifteen projects funded annually (range: $10,000 to $20,000 per project).

For more information on the basic tenets of place based education, click here…

CFO encourages proposals that include local matches or other leveraged resources.

Applicants who receive funding will be required to make a presentation on their respective projects at the Rural Schools Partnership conference on May 6, 2010 in Thomasville, MO at the historic Thomasville High School.  Please include a travel stipend in your budget proposal.

You will notice the application process focuses on the conceptual nature of your project or program.  One of the highlights of the Rural Education Rendezvous in Thomasville will be an implementation workshop for  grant recipients with Dr. Doris Williams of the Rural School and Community Trust.  Dr. Williams is a nationally recognized leader in the place-based education movement.

Applications require a primary contact, program/project description, collaborating partners, a list of existing resources that ensure success and a program/project budget.

The Application may be downloaded here (PDF) or MS Word format here.

Application DEADLINE: April 15, 2010

Youth Philanthropy

CFO’s Philanthropy Initiative will provide start up grants to support the establishment of youth philanthropy/leadership programs in rural communities. This is an excellent way for a school to become a partner in the Rural Schools Partnership. Contact Bridget Dierks at (417) 864-6199 or bdierks@cfozarks.org for more information.

 

Past Grant Opportunities

The Conco Community Arts Program

This program will provide $10,000 for student-led community arts efforts.
Eight to twelve projects funded annually (range: $500 to $1,500 per project).  

Applications require a primary student contact and teacher/supervisor contact, student organization, community partners, project description and project budget.

The Application may be downloaded here (PDF) or MS Word format here.

Application DEADLINE: November 16, 2009

Student Conservation Grants Program

The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Stewardship Ozarks Initiative will provide $10,000 annually to support conservation education grants for student-led conservation activities and projects.
Eight to twelve projects funded annually (range: $500 to $1,500 per project).

Applications require a primary student contact and teacher/supervisor contact, student organization, community partners, project description and project budget.

The Application may be downloaded here (PDF) or MS Word format here.

Application DEADLINE: November 16, 2009

Harry Cooper Company Campaign for the Ozarks Phase II

$250,000 in challenge grants for educational endowment building; 25 school districts and community foundations will have the opportunity to raise $20,000 for academic-oriented endowments and receive a $10,000 match.

Participating organizations will have from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010, to raise the $20,000 that will be matched with $10,000. Contributions must go into a specific, permanent endowment fund held at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks or one of its affiliates.

Applications require a primary contact, key project partners and a brief description of the fundraising strategy. Special consideration will be given to proposals that leverage local dollars to increase the total challenge amount.

The Application may be downloaded here (PDF) or MS Word format here. 

Application DEADLINE: December 1, 2009

Student Wellness Grants Program

Community Foundation of the Ozarks will provide $10,000 to support student wellness grants for student-led wellness activities and projects.
Eight to twelve projects funded annually (range: $500 to $1,500 per project).

Applications require a primary student contact and teacher/supervisor contact, student organization, community partners, project description and project budget.

The Application may be downloaded here (PDF) or MS Word format here.

Application DEADLINE: January 29, 2010

Ozarks Teacher Corps Program

Recruiting, preparing, and retaining outstanding teachers for rural communities

The Ozarks Teacher Corps will develop a cadre of talented teaching candidates who will explore rural education issues, serve as teacher interns in small schools, and commit to teaching in their respective home communities for at least three years.  The overarching purpose of the Ozarks Teacher Corps is to encourage extremely capable and passionate young people to become educators and return to their rural hometowns as teacher-leaders.  This program is made possible by the Wallis Trust, a $1.7 million Community Foundation of the Ozarks charitable fund.

The program will be launched in the spring of 2010, with a cadre of 16 teaching candidates—8 juniors and 8 seniors.  A minimum of 8 new participants will be added each spring.  Over time, the Ozarks Teacher Corps will develop a growing network of educator-activists who recognize the importance of rural education to a sustainable American society.  We also believe that this effort has outstanding potential to attract and leverage additional funders.

The Ozarks Teacher Corps will include the following procedural steps:

• Sophomore-level teaching candidates at MSU, MSU-West Plains, OTC, Drury, Baptist Bible College and Evangel who are committed to teaching in their Missouri Ozarks’ hometowns will apply for acceptance to the program by March 1, 2010.
• Applicants will fill out an application, write an essay on the value of rural schools, be recommended by their respective teacher education unit head, and obtain an endorsement/commitment from their hometown school’s superintendent.  The endorsement from the school superintendent will be a “good faith” commitment to hire the applicant upon graduation if an appropriate teaching position is available in the hometown district.

 By applying, applicants agree to: 

• Attend selected seminars on rural education issues;
• Graduate and become certified within a two-year period;
• Serve as a teacher-intern in a small, rural school (preferably their hometown);
• Take advantage of a provided membership with the national Rural School and Community Trust’s Rural School Innovation Network;
• Attend the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ annual Rural Schools Partnership “Place-Based Education Conference;”
• Agree to return to their hometown as a teacher for a minimum of three years.  If no appropriate position is available, recipients may fulfill their requirement by teaching in another rural Missouri Ozarks’ community.

Upon selection, participants will receive a $4,000 per year scholarship for their junior and senior years.  If recipients do not complete their teaching certification or program or honor their commitment to teach in their hometown (or other rural school), the scholarship will be revoked.

Application DEADLINE:  March 1, 2010