Community Foundation Of West Plains, Inc.

06/16/2026

Great news for Christos House!!!

06/15/2026

UPDATE: Additional grants from the Paula Kaye Speraneo Memorial Fund for Community and Culture were awarded to Yellow House Community Arts Center and West Plains High School 2026 graduate McKrae Brewer. We are pleased to recognize these recipients alongside the Lincoln School Project highlighted below.

Paula Speraneo helped others see beauty in their own heritage. Her work to amplify local culture was so significant that some say it contributed to West Plains being chosen as the Missouri Arts Council’s 2026 Creative Community.

Speraneo died in early 2025, but her work continues through the Paula Kaye Speraneo Memorial Fund for Community and Culture. Held by the Community Foundation Of West Plains, the fund supports scholarships and grants for community betterment.

06/15/2026

Paula Speraneo helped others see beauty in their own heritage. Her work to amplify local culture was so significant that some say it contributed to West Plains being chosen as the Missouri Arts Council’s 2026 Creative Community.
Speraneo died in early 2025, but her work continues through the Paula Kaye Speraneo Memorial Fund for Community and Culture. Held by the Community Foundation Of West Plains, the fund supports scholarships and grants for community betterment.
“Her priorities always amounted to making sure wherever there was lack, wherever she saw that she could contribute, she found a way to position herself there without being imposing or controlling,” says Amber Miller, her daughter, who helped establish the fund. “She was helpful and quiet about her helpfulness and prioritized making sure she wasn’t the one taking credit.”
Along with her deep involvement in the West Plains Council on the Arts, Speraneo supported the Ozarks Heritage Research Center and the Media Arts Center, both of which offer opportunities to preserve and share local culture and history. Another initiative was the Ozark Heritage Festival, which began in 1994. It’s an enduring celebration of Ozarks traditions — a gathering that brings together people from across the region and beyond.
“I think she had a skill for letting people be the best that they could be (and) not being judgmental about them,” says Kathleen Morrissey, a longtime friend and collaborator of Speraneo. “Her thing was always to just give people the moral support that they needed to do well.”
And now, beyond her lifetime, her support continues.
“Probably like most people who have lost someone who was such a big presence, her absence has really taken a toll on our family,” Miller says. “I wanted to create something that would not only be honoring to her legacy and beliefs, but that would allow her children and friends and grandchildren to feel close to her still, by staying close to what she believed in.”
One of the fund’s first grants supports the Lincoln School Project, a nonprofit parter of the CFO. Lincoln School was where Black students were educated in days of segregation. Today, it’s been restored into a place of community.
Story by Kaitlyn McConnell.

06/04/2026

☕ Join Us for Coffee & Conversations! ☕

Looking for a way to make a meaningful difference in West Plains?

Come join us for Coffee & Conversations on Monday, June 23, from 7:30–8:30 AM at 10/40 Coffee, located at 14 Court Square.

Enjoy a cup of coffee, a muffin, and great conversation while learning about The Impact Circle, a powerful giving circle created through the Community Foundation of West Plains. Discover how ordinary people can come together to create extraordinary change in our community.

We’re also excited to hear from two of our 2025 Impact Circle Grant Recipients:

💙 David Ball, Sleep in Heavenly Peace
💙 Shannon VonAllmen, Birthday Blessings

They’ll share how Impact Circle grants are making a difference and helping serve local families and children.

Whether you’re curious about becoming a member, interested in community philanthropy, or simply want to learn more about local nonprofits, we’d love to meet you.

✨ Everyone is welcome.
✨ Bring a friend!

Together, we can create meaningful and lasting change in West Plains.

06/03/2026

The Community Foundation of West Plains has received a $1.1 million gift from the Robert L. Fant Trust. The planned gift establishes the Robert L. Fant Memorial Scholarship Fund, a permanent endowment that will provide scholarships to graduating seniors of West Plains, Willow Springs and Liberty high schools who attend Missouri State University-West Plains to study medicine, education or business.
The Robert L. Fant Memorial Scholarship will open for application Jan. 1, 2027, for the 2027–28 school year. More details about the scholarship will be available at that time. Students can go to cfozarks.org/applyforscholarships to preview the process. The CFO administers more than $1.7 million in scholarships annually, including several others exclusively available to Howell County students.
Fant was a successful real estate entrepreneur. After he retired and began living in West Plains, Fant engaged attorney Chrys Fisher to assist him with his estate planning goals. Fant died in March 2024.
“In the course of my discussions with Bob, what emerged was a desire to make a difference in the lives of hard-working young people who were focused on pursuing their education,” said Fisher. “Bob wanted to support our local high school students and he quickly realized Missouri State University-West Plains was an important next step in their educational journey after high school.”
“These scholarships will change students’ lives and provide the skilled workforce local employers need to stay and grow in the Ozarks,” said Zora Mulligan, chancellor of MSU-West Plains. “We are grateful to Mr. Fant and appreciate his commitment to education.”
The gift builds on Fant’s legacy for supporting education in Howell County. The Robert Fant Fund, established in 2023, provides more than $4,000 annually to Southern Missouri Technical Institute.
The Community Foundation of West Plains, as an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, facilitates planned giving by local donors through flexible fund options and the ability to receive complex gifts like real estate, appreciated stock and life insurance. To learn how to establish a charitable legacy through planned giving with the Community Foundation of West Plains, contact Amy Thomas at [email protected] or 417-427-4514.
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and 55 regional affiliate foundations with $549 million in assets under management as of June 30, 2025. The CFO’s mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in central and southern Missouri through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.

06/02/2026

Thanks to The Impact Circle members, a $10,000 grant to Christos House enables the small house project to transition from concept to reality.

05/13/2026

Congratulations to Richard’s, Howell Valley and Fairview School's on each receiving grants from the Coover Foundation!!!

The Coover/RSP Celebrate Rural Grants support projects that amplify local voices and strengthen community connections.

05/07/2026

We’re proud to highlight one of our own, Dr. Greg Carter, director of the West Plains Public Library and board member for the Community Foundation of West Plains, in the latest edition of Passion & Purpose!

Greg’s passion for education, literacy and community access is helping make a lasting impact across the Ozarks. Under his leadership, the West Plains Public Library was named Missouri’s Library of the Year in 2025. 📚

Read Greg’s story and explore the Spring 2026 newsletter here:
Passion & Purpose Spring 2026 Newsletter

https://media.cfozarks.org/PPQ-Spring-2026-for-web.pdf

05/06/2026

The Fourth-Annual Rural Philanthropy Summit brought together more than 120 rural leaders, funders and community partners from across Missouri to explore innovative ways to strengthen rural communities through collaboration, connection and local leadership.

Hosted by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Philanthropy Missouri at Missouri S&T in Rolla, the statewide summit focused on the importance of listening to communities, valuing lived experience and investing in solutions rooted in local knowledge.

We were honored to hear from keynote speaker Andy Mink, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Rural Initiatives, who shared the powerful connection between local history, civic engagement and community belonging. His message reinforced that rural communities thrive when people feel connected to their story and their place.

We’re also proud to see West Plains represented by Mayor Mike Topliff as part of the panel discussions focused on innovation and the future of rural communities.

Thank you to everyone working to strengthen rural Missouri through partnership, philanthropy and leadership.

05/04/2026

Strong Leadership. Stronger Community.

The Community Foundation of West Plains was recently awarded a $5,000 Affiliate Action Grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. This funding will help local nonprofit partners build long-term sustainability by establishing endowments, with matching support of up to $2,000 per organization.

We’re also proud to recognize Jen Anselm for being named a Board Member of Excellence. Her leadership and dedication continue to make a meaningful impact across our community.

Congratulations to everyone involved in strengthening West Plains—today and for the future. 💙