Community Foundation of the Ozarks Stock Trust

About Community Foundation of the Ozarks Stock Trust

A defining feature of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks Stock Trust is its mix of donor-directed and discretionary grantmaking tied to specific programs across the Ozarks. The trust’s recent grants are large, program-specific awards to Community Foundation of the Ozarks entities in Springfield, including a $1,490,941 grant in 2024 and a $1,017,531 grant in 2023. That pattern points to a funder that works through the broader community foundation structure rather than through open-ended operating support. The trust’s public program list shows a broad community role: rural schools, outdoor access, regional resiliency, scholarships, arts, health-related support, and local affiliate grantmaking. It also supports individual-focused efforts such as orthodontic services for eligible young people and small assistance for amputees, alongside annual artist support. Across these activities, the trust appears to fund both institution-level initiatives and targeted services for residents in its service region. Its recent record is concentrated in Missouri and anchored in Springfield, with all tracked grants going to U.S. recipients. The combination of very large program awards and smaller, place-based grants suggests a foundation that uses multiple channels to support local priorities.

What Community Foundation of the Ozarks Stock Trust Funds

In education, the trust backs rural schools and student aid. Its Rural Schools Partnership is built around supporting rural K–12 schools with grantmaking and resources, while the scholarship program opens calls for student applications and advertises more than $1.7 million in scholarships. In outdoor recreation and conservation, the Everyone Outdoors program funds outdoor-access and outdoor-recreation projects across the CFO region; the site reports a recent cycle of $120,000 and a regionwide expansion. That places parks, trails, and access to nature within its active grantmaking. Health-related support appears in two different forms. The Charles L. and Dorothy Weaver Memorial Orthodontic Grant provides three scholarships annually for full-treatment orthodontic services for ages 10–30 who meet financial-need criteria, and the L.E.A.H. grant offers up to $150 per year per person for medical or prosthetic-related supplies. Community resilience is another clear focus. Coover Regional Resiliency Grants support rural communities and the nonprofits serving them, including 23 nonprofits across the region.

How Community Foundation of the Ozarks Stock Trust Gives