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At least 13 nonprofits in the Meramec Region are participating in Give Ozarks 24-hour online day of giving, set for May 3.

Give Ozarks is a one-day, online fundraising event for agency partners of Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO). Using the power of Cause Momentum crowd funding website, nonprofits from across southern Missouri will have the chance to raise funds, compete for matches and prizes, and be a part of a one-day surge in generosity across southern Missouri.

Meramec Regional Community Foundation (MRCF) is supporting its partnering agencies that are taking part in this region-wide effort. Phelps County nonprofits participating in this event are The Community Partnership, Ozark Actors Theatre (OAT), CASA of South Central Missouri, The Kaleidoscope Discovery Center, ABLE Senior Center and the Rolla Nutrition Site.

These nonprofit agencies will work to raise online donations from midnight to midnight on May 3 at GiveOzarks.org. Donations will benefit a variety of needs to improve services and opportunities for residents of Phelps and surrounding counties. These groups also will be eligible for a number of prizes based on their fund-raising success and also the overall number of supporters who make online donations on May 3.

The six Phelps County organizations have dedicated their Give Ozark proceeds for a specific purposes and needs.

• The Community Partnership, located on Hauck Dr. in Rolla, serves children and families via a variety of programs and operates a resale shop. This year’s donations will cover the costs of a new box truck to pick up donations for the shop. The Partnership has a goal of $10,000 for the day.
• Ozark Actors Theatre, located in Rolla and owner of the Cedar Street Playhouse, is one of only two professional summer stock theatres in out-state Missouri. For Give Ozarks, OAT is launching its “Historical Preservation and Operation of OAT”campaign to raise funds to tuck point and seal the exterior of the playhouse as well as purchase new seats for the theatre. The Cedar Street Playhouse, a beautiful converted historic church in downtown Rolla, is in use year round by not only the OAT company, but also Fine Linen Drama, Stop Making Sense Improv and other area groups for a variety of events.
• CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) of South Central Missouri helps ensure that abused and neglected children have a safe and permanent home by providing a voice for them in the court system. The Rolla-based office serves Phelps and Texas counties with plans to expand to Pulaski and Maries counties. A child is paired with a trained, court-appointed volunteer who meets with the child and provides information to the judge for consideration when ruling on the case involving the child. CASA has established a goal of $7,500 for its Give Ozarks campaign to allow it to provide advocacy for eight more children.

  • The Kaleidoscope Discovery Center, located on Pine Street in Rolla, will use Give Ozarks Day to raise funds to expand its robotics programming to kindergarten and pre-school students!  The discovery center currently provides opportunities for students from the ages of 6-18 through workshops, merit badges, summer camps and support of the US FIRST robotics teams including FIRST Lego League Junior, FIRST Lego League and the FIRST Tech Challenge.  These programs advance the understanding and appreciation of: engineering, science, technology, the environment, arts and math (ESTEAM) through hands-on learning experiences that inspire everyone to imagine, explore and create a better world.

• ABLE Senior Center was established over 40 years ago to provide Rolla senior citizens an opportunity to attend educational and social activities. The group relies on community donations to provide the day-to-day activities for Rolla’s seniors and will use Give Ozarks proceeds to cover those costs along with upkeep of the Holloway House. ABLE Senior Center provides tax assistance and health-related services for seniors. Several day trips are also organized throughout the year for seniors.
• The Rolla Nutrition provides approximately 52,000 home delivered meals annually to senior citizens in Phelps County.  The Nutrition Site also provides roughly 7,200 hot cafeteria meals annually. Due to decreased funding from charitable donations and increased food costs, funds are needed to maintain the quality and quantity of the services provided. The group hopes that the Give Ozarks effort will help cover some of the funding shortfall. Volunteers spend roughly 120 hours a month delivering meals to the home bound, which enables seniors to live independently.

Making a secure donation will be simple. Beginning at 12 a.m. on May 3, donors can log onto giveozarks.org and search for these local nonprofits to complete a basic credit-card donation. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the IRS.

Give Ozarks coincides with Give Local America Day when community foundations across the country will be holding similar online fundraising events to boost resources for their local nonprofits, encourage new donors and raise awareness of philanthropy in general. Online giving days, a growing movement in the philanthropy field, have raised millions of dollars for nonprofits organizations over the past several years.

MRCF is an affiliate of CFO, which is hosting Give Ozarks with presenting sponsor BKD Wealth Advisors and platinum sponsors, including The Musgrave Foundation, The Commerce Trust Co./Coover Charitable Foundation and Ron and Janice Penney. CFO is a regional public charitable foundation, founded in 1973, which includes 49 affiliate foundations and nearly 600 nonprofits partners and schools.

All six Rolla nonprofits have established funds with MRCF. Rolla banker Wayne Parry serves as president of MRCF.

Other nonprofits in the Meramec Region who are participating in Give Ozarks include the Bonebrake Center and Riverways Pregnancy and Family Resource Center, both in Salem; Bourbon Boosters Club, Cuba All Aboard Learning Center, Osage Trail Legacy, all in Crawford County; Missouri Rock Island Trail and Missouri Rock Island Trail-Owensville, both in the Owensville area.

Some of the Rolla organizations are hosting special events on May 3 to draw attention to their local causes.

From 3 to 7 p.m. on May 3, The Community Partnership will be located under the blue canopy in the Rolla City Hall parking lot for “Take a Pie For the Partnership Truck!” For a nominal fee, you will be able to throw a pie at your favorite local celebrities and enjoy some food and music.

OAT also will host entertainment and wine tasting at the Cedar Street Playhouse, starting at 5 p.m. on May 3, 2016, to celebrate Give Ozarks Day.

ABLE Senior Center, in partnership with the Rolla Nutrition Site, will host an open house from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Holloway House. Food will be available from 4-6 p.m.

This is the second Give Ozarks event, coordinated by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. In the first event in 2015, some 150 nonprofits across southern Missouri participated in the day of giving and raised more than $1 million, including more than $200,000 in prizes and matching incentives.