Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES—Twelve nonprofits in the Meramec Region participated in Give Meramec, a 24-hour online day of giving, May 9th netting $31,209.15 in donations among them.

Give Meramec was a one-day, online fundraising event for agency partners of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO). Using the power of Cause Momentum crowd-funding website, nonprofits across southern Missouri were able to accept donations for each of their various projects, competing for matching funds and prizes. Meramec Regional Community Foundation (MRCF) supported its partnering agencies by localizing Give Ozarks, an online day of giving for the entire Ozark Region, and helping the nonprofits through marketing efforts to raise awareness of their specific needs and purposes.

Give Ozarks raised a final total of $1,397,147.64 for more than 240 nonprofit agencies across the region. This final total reflects online gifts, offline donations made at events and activities before or on the May 9 Give Ozarks Day, prizes, and endowment matching funds. The 2017 total is $211,000 more than the final 2016 total of $1,185,806. Over the three-year Give Ozarks initiative, donations, prizes and matching funds exceed $3.6 million.

Totals raised by each organization in the Meramec Region are as follows:

•          ABLE Senior Center – $256.98;
•          Assistance Association of Missouri Veterans Cemetery – $1,934.67;
•          CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of South Central Missouri – $1,429.29;
•          The Community Partnership – $1,378.57;
•          The Kaleidoscope Discovery Center – $1,585.52;
•          Missouri Rock Island Trail – $10,062.97;
•          Ozark Actors Theatre – $5,582.97;
•          Pulaski County Route 66 Preservation – $1,474.99;
•          Riverways Pregnancy and Family Resource Center – $271.25;
•          Rolla Nutrition Site – $285.81;
•          S.A.V.E. Rolla Animal Shelter – $6,022.40; and
•         Washington County Community Partnership – $923.73.

Nearly 25 percent of donors indicated they were first-time donors to the organization they were supporting. That decreased slightly from 30 percent in previous years, but also reflects that many donors have participated in multiple years.

In addition to the amounts raised via donations, two nonprofits secured prizes. S.A.V.E. Rolla Animal Shelter was awarded the Edward Jones Golden Ticket Regional Prize of $2,500 and Ozark Actors Theatre was awarded the Conco Companies Night Owl Prize of $2,000.

For more information about the organizations that participated or how to get your nonprofit involved, visit givemeramec.giveozarks.org or call Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s (MRPC) Maria Bancroft at 573-265-2993.

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. A professional staff of 25, directed by the MRPC board, 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/.