Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ROLLA— Eight area nonprofits were granted $71,388 from the Phelps County Disaster Relief Fund to support tornado relief projects in Phelps County caused by the March 14 storm. Those receiving funds included the Phelps County Fair, The Salvation Army Phelps County Service Extension, the Phelps County Dream Center, the Phelps County Health Foundation, Russell House, The Community Partnership, Choices for People and the Rolla Chamber Foundation.

Members from Meramec Regional Community Foundation (MRCF) and the Phelps County Community Foundation (PCCF) presented the awards to the Phelps County organizations at the MRCF Annual Meeting July 9.

The grant cycle closed June 4, and MRCF and PCCF members reviewed eight applications and were able to fund all of the requests received at the requested amount. Each application was determined to fill needs in the Phelps County community that were not currently being met by FEMA or other area agencies. The projects include:

• The Phelps County Fair to rebuild the Home Arts Building – $10,000;
• The Salvation Army Phelps County Service Extension Speak Hope Program to assist families with housing needs, such as relocation and rent expenses, home repairs not covered by insurance or FEMA and debris removal, all of which must be a direct impact of the March 14 tornado- $10,000;
• The Phelps County Dream Center to purchase a generator to ensure continuation of food distribution during power outages – $10,000;
• The Phelps Health Foundation for its 2025 Tornado Emergency Fund that will help Phelps Health patients and employees with medical, economic and critical infrastructure needs related to the tornado- $10,000;
• Russell House to fix windows that were damaged in the tornado at its emergency shelter – $1,388;
• The Community Partnership to help Phelps County families with disaster relief, including emergency transportation and basic needs assistance, directly tied to the tornado – $10,000;
• Choices for People to cover costs incurred immediately after the tornado, assisting clients, families and staff impacted by the tornado- $10,000; and 
• The Rolla Chamber Foundation to offer tornado recovery grants to businesses impacted – $10,000.

The Salvation Army, Phelps Health Foundation, The Community Partnership and the Rolla Chamber Foundation are in the process of establishing intake processes to begin taking applications for assistance. Those organizations will be sharing information very soon as to how to access these programs.

About $33,000 of donations remain. Once these eight projects are underway, MRCF will consider how the remaining funds may be distributed. Additional funds may be needed in certain areas, or new needs may come to light. Additional funding opportunities will be available in the future for the remaining funds raised for tornado relief. 

Over $104,000 in donations were collected to assist with recovery efforts from the EF-2 that hit Rolla and Phelps County on March 14, 2025. Per IRS Code, these funds cannot be given to individual persons, but can be distributed to 501©3 nonprofits, schools, churches and local governments, who in turn can assist individuals.  

“We are extremely grateful for the generous donations that came into help families, businesses and agencies in Rolla and Phelps County who were impacted by the tornado,” said Bonnie Prigge, executive director of MRPC, who coordinated the grant process on behalf of MRCF and PCCF. “We take very seriously the trust that has been placed in us to distribute these funds, and we look forward to seeing these dollars benefiting our families, businesses and organizations and helping them move forward. On behalf of MRCF and PCCF, we say thank you to our donors and to the organizations who stepped up to assist in this recovery process.”

Donations can still be made to the Phelps County Disaster Relief Fund at http://cfozarks.org/phelps for future natural disasters. These donations are tax deductible. 

For additional information, contact Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) Executive Director Bonnie Prigge at 573-265-2993 or via email at bprigge@meramecregion.org. 

MRCF is an outgrowth of the MRPC and is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) in Springfield. The regional affiliate was formed in 2010. Its 12-member board includes representation from each of the eight Meramec counties and from MRPC. Jared Niederer of Gasconade County serves as chairman of MRCF. MRPC, in addition to establishing the regional foundation and providing the initial investment to create a grant program, provides staff support to MRCF. 

The Phelps County Community Foundation is the newest affiliate of CFO founded in 2023. It’s 13-member board works to bring together individuals, nonprofits and government entities so the foundation can leverage a broader range of resources, knowledge and expertise to address community needs more comprehensively. Ben Tipton serves as board chair for the Phelps County Community Foundation. 

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Osage County Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin serves as chair of the board. A professional staff of 24 offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

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