Best Howell County Grants for Nonprofits in Missouri

Community Foundation of the Ozarks

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) provides philanthropic leadership to build stronger communities. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in our region through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.

We help donors achieve their philanthropic goals through professional management and investment of charitable funds. We work with nonprofit organizations to help them fulfill their missions through fund administration, grantmaking and learning opportunities. We award scholarships to deserving students to help them achieve their educational goals.

Community Foundation of West Plains' The Impact Grantmaking Program

The Community Foundation of West Plains Inc. works to improve the quality of life for individuals in the West Plains area through thoughtful grantmaking and community leadership. The Community Foundation of West Plains Inc. is governed by a Board of Directors, chosen for their knowledge of the area.

As a giving circle dedicated to the West Plains area, The Impact brings like-minded individuals together by pooling their donations, inspiring a collective philanthropic impact. The Impact is excited to award grants to address priority needs in the West Plains area. Grant decisions for this program are made by The Impact group affiliated with the Community Foundation of West Plains.

Grant proposals are accepted according to an announced timetable, and grant recommendations are made as funds are available.

Missouri Department of Social Services 

The Missouri Department of Social Services is responsible for coordinating programs to provide:

• Public assistance to help Missourians with food stamps, health care, child care, child support, blind services and other basic needs
• Health care coverage for eligible Missourians
• Child welfare services to help ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of Missouri children
• Specialized assistance to troubled youth

While many programs give needed financial assistance and services, other units work toward reducing financial dependency of the citizens on government assistance.

The Department of Social Services also has teams dedicated to:

• Protecting the integrity of public assistance programs by combating fraud, waste and abuse
• Administering and managing Medicaid audit and compliance initiatives
• Offering support to law enforcement agencies to help protect Missouri children

ToRCH Care Smart Growth and Service Line Modification

Purpose and Background Information

Missouri is transforming how rural healthcare works through ToRCH Care. Missouri’s ToRCH Care’s purpose is to help preserve access to essential services, advance high-priority health focus areas (e.g., maternal health infrastructure, behavioral health (BH) infrastructure or diagnostics, outpatient care and chronic disease management infrastructure), and strengthen regional care coordination. These goals will be advanced through coordinated implementation across several RHTP program areas. Additional information on the RHTP program can be found at Rural Health Transformation | mydss.mo.gov.

The Strategic Minor Renovations Program is one component of ToRCH Care’s Provider Transformation initiative. The program supports strategic investments to stabilize, modernize, and transform rural healthcare infrastructure and access-to-care capacity. Strategic Minor Renovations investments are structured across multiple horizons:

• Horizon 1 – Core Access and Service Preservation: Minor renovations or alterations to prevent disruption of core care access and preserve essential services. Horizon 1 focuses on urgent safety, compliance, and access risks that could jeopardize continued operation of essential healthcare services.

• Horizon 2 – Smart Growth and Service Line Modification: Smart growth and service-line modernization to “right-size” rural care access by renovating, reconfiguring, equipping, or repurposing existing spaces and capabilities into high-rurademand service lines. Horizon 2 is the focus of this IFB.

• Horizon 3 – Transformative and Future-Facing Projects: Larger-scale transformation, innovation, training, shared technology, or multi-partner redevelopment projects that reimagine rural care infrastructure. Horizon 3 is not the focus of this IFB.

The Hearld Ambler Fund for Senior Centers Grant

The Hearld Ambler Fund for Senior Centers serves senior centers in the SeniorAge Area Agency on Aging service area, which includes the following counties in Missouri: Barry, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Howell, Lawrence, Oregon, Ozark, Polk, Shannon, Stone, Taney, Texas, Webster, and Wright. Recipients must return a grant follow-up report within six months, and at that point, any unused funds must be returned. 

This fund will grant up to $13,200 in the summer of 2026.

In awarding grants, the CFO will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status. Grantees must not, in the use of CFO grant funds, discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status either in its employment practices or in its policies and procedures concerning access to services.

Rapid Response Grant 

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is now accepting applications to the Rapid Response Grant Program. This opportunity, which is open to the CFO's entire service area, provides one-time support to agencies with urgent, unanticipated needs such as: loss of federal and/or state funding, natural or manmade disasters, time-sensitive opportunities for collaboration or innovation, etc. A total of $80,000 is available for this first year of the grant program, with a maximum request amount capped at $3,000.00.

The maximum request amount is $3,000.00.

This is a one-time grant. Agencies may not submit multiple requests in the same fiscal year. Final reports will be due 6 months after funding is awarded.