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Community Foundation of Central Missouri outlines local Boonville funds, plans $17,500 in grants
Summary
Eric Covington, executive director of the Community Foundation of Central Missouri, told the Boonville council the foundation will distribute $17,500 in local grants on Dec. 5, described fund structures for the animal shelter, library and a legacy fund, and offered staff support to help nonprofits with fundraising.
Eric Covington, executive director of the Community Foundation of Central Missouri, visited the Boonville City Council on Nov. 18 to explain how the foundation supports local organizations and to publicize an upcoming grant distribution.
Covington said the Foundation serves a 10-county region that includes Boonville and maintains a local board for the city. He told the council the Boonville fund is in an active grant cycle and that the local grants committee has approved awards that will be distributed at a Dec. 5 event, totaling $17,500. He said individual awards typically range from about $1,000 to $2,500.
The executive director listed funds already established in Boonville, including an animal-shelter fund, a library fund and a community legacy fund that provides annual grant dollars. He described the Foundation’s role as administrative and investment manager: donors establish funds with the Foundation (a nonprofit) so gifts can be tax-deductible, the Foundation invests the assets (Covington said they work with Commerce Trust), and distributions are made according to donor instructions. "This is what happens in Boonville stays in Boonville," Covington said, emphasizing local reinvestment.
Covington gave examples of how the structure helps organizations that are not tax-exempt or that lack staff to manage donations. He said businesses or volunteer groups sometimes use the Foundation as a vehicle to create funds and continue longtime programs; he described memorial scholarship funds and a long-running dental-aid program that the Foundation recently took under its management.
Council members asked how residents can give. Covington urged donors to consider both unrestricted and restricted funds and pointed to the Foundation’s website, cfcmfoundation.org, for online giving and lists of funds. He also requested the city help publicize the Dec. 5 awards and encouraged local groups to contact the Foundation for assistance with fundraising.
The council thanked Covington for the presentation and invited the Foundation to follow up with city staff on publicity and coordination.
