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July 26, 2010
Community Foundation Welcomes 42nd Affiliate The Community Foundation of the Ozarks welcomes the Meramec Regional Community Foundation as its 42 nd affiliate across central and southern Missouri and the first collaboration with an existing regional planning commission to create a charitable foundation. The Meramec Foundation is a new venture within the Meramec Regional Planning Commission, which serves eight counties in central Missouri – Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington – and 32 cities within those counties. The Planning Commission was created in January 1969 by then-Gov. Warren Hearnes. Today, it provides economic development assistance, housing assistance, planning and development expertise, solid-waste management, emergency-management planning, grant writing and administration, small-business loans, transportation planning, and other communication and community-building services. The newly created Foundation will support community charitable grantmaking within its service area. The Community Foundation’s existing affiliates within this region will continue to operate their own asset-building and grantmaking programs based on their specific priorities. Meramec Regional Community Foundation President Laura Antolak said the Foundation was a natural outgrowth of the services provided by the regional planning commission. “We are committed to working to keep local assets in our communities and this provides one more avenue we can use to fulfill our mission,” Antolak said. “This will also provide us with one more community development tool as we work on strengthening the communities in our region now and in the future.” CFO President Brian Fogle said the addition of the new Foundation through the Planning Commission is a good fit for all three organizations and will strengthen the opportunities for charitable and planned giving throughout the central Missouri region. “We all share a mutual goal of growing stronger communities and we are looking forward to this new type of partnership with the resources already in place through the Planning Commission,” Fogle said. “We have some existing strong affiliates in the region, which will continue to do their important work as they always have been. However, MRCF will provide us a means to expand to other underserved areas that aren’t being reached by existing community foundations.” The organizing board members for the Meramec Regional Community Foundation are: President Laura Antolak; Vice-President Russell Scheulen; and Secretary-Treasurer Richard Cavender. Each county in the Meramec region will have a representative on the MRCF board and appointments are underway. Community Foundation of the Ozarks
425 E. Trafficway Springfield, MO, 65806 (417) 864-6199 Fax (417) 864-8344 www.cfozarks.org |