The Republic Community Foundation has pledged up to $20,000 to help Republic organizations working on the coronavirus response effort.
Half that money is earmarked as matching funds for groups who successfully apply for for grants from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The CFO has promised to give out $1-million to organizations helping with COVID-19 response and recovery.
“We really encourage our area organizations to apply for grants with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks,” said Republic Community Foundation President Chris Replogle. “The matching funds we can provide will stretch the money even farther.”
The offer to match funds is intended to give a boost to applications submitted by Republic groups. The CFO has said it will give priority to grant applications which have some promise of matching money attached.
The RCF will match grant funding up to $1,500 for each organization involved in an application – to a maximum of $5,000 per project. The system is set up to encourage collaboration between multiple groups, because projects that involve three or more organizations can receive more money from the CFO. Single groups can apply for $25,000, while collaborative applications may receive up to $40,000.
“The RCF Board’s decision to match grant funds from CFO just made logical sense,” said Replogle. “We wanted to add the matching grant as an incentive for our nonprofit groups to go after a portion of the $1-million in grants CFO is distributing. Yet, we know those local grants will only go so far. The matching grant will stretch those dollars even more, lessening the blow of this crisis.”
The RCF is also re-opening its own grant process to accept new local applications. The foundation had intended to distribute its annual grants this month, but Replogle said the community’s needs have shifted so drastically that it makes sense to re-assess where the money should go.
“We see how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted our community emotionally and economically,” said Replogle. “We knew we had to do the right thing. That’s why, after careful consideration, we decided to change the annual grant-making process.”
The RCF will take applications online as soon as the page is set up to accept them. Information about applying to the CFO’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund is here. Local nonprofits can reach out to RCF via its email address.