Joplin Regional Community Foundation earns CFO Affiliate of the Year
When your main focus is to help others, good things happen.
The Philanthropic Society of the Joplin Regional Community Foundation was recently awarded $5,000 after being named one of the four Community Foundation of the Ozarks Affiliates of the Year award recipients for the third time in six years.
“It’s just very nice to be honored,” JRCF Affiliate Manager Pete Ramsour said. “It recognizes the work of our board members, our community and our Philanthropic Society members. It really does take a village. 100-plus people working directly to make our community better. I think it’s very exciting that we won this.”
The award selection was judged by evaluating growth in several areas as well as with instances of community leadership, collaboration and advancement of planned giving. As of May 30, the JRCF’s assets had increased by 13%, reaching over $11 million across 158 charitable funds. From July 1 to May 31, 2023,, the grantmaking from these funds exceeded $3.3 million, addressing community needs and supporting causes that matter to donors.
The JRCF’ and its Philanthropic Society had a phenomenal year of difference-making in the community. Some highlights, aside from the endowment grants to several nonprofits, the Philanthropic Society gave a $50,000 grant to Watered Gardens help support a family-unit expansion as well as $50,000 to the Joplin Police Department to help Police Chief Richard Pearson’s program to embed social workers into the police force.
“The Chief also spoke to the Ozark Center and they agreed to supply social workers with the training and expertise to help these people,” Ramsour said. “So, we switched our grant over. We are going to pay for a new van the social workers will use, a laptop and some other things they’ll need to keep track of the people they are trying to help.”
The Philanthropic Society also gave a $30,000 grant to the Creative Learning Alliance to support programming, supplies, equipment rental and more.
This is the third time in six years the JRCF earned the CFO Affiliate of the Year award.