Herschend family's giving collective awards nearly $2.6 million to 15 groups in rural southwest Missouri
Neighbor, the collective that pools the Herschend family's giving, made grants to organizations serving Taney, Stone, Douglas, Lawrence, Ozark, Barry and Christian counties. The amount of each grant was not disclosed.
Branson. Neighbor, the giving collective of the Herschend family, has awarded nearly $2.6 million in grants to 15 organizations working in seven rural counties of southwest Missouri, according to a news release reported by the Springfield Business Journal on Nov. 5.
The grants go to groups serving Taney, Stone, Douglas, Lawrence, Ozark, Barry and Christian counties. Officials declined to disclose the amount of each grant, the newspaper reported.
Who received grants
The recipients, as the Business Journal lists them, are Activate Missouri, Christian Action Ministries, the CoxHealth Foundation, Elevate Branson, the Foundation for St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth, Greater Ozarks Cooperating School Districts, Hope Counseling Center, Kimberling City Library, My Neighbor's Charitable Pharmacy, Our Stone County with CityThread, Senior Friendship Site, Show Me Christian County, the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments, the Stone County Historical Genealogical Society and the Taney County Partnership.
Anne E. McGregor, the collective's chair and a third-generation member of the Herschend family, said in the release that rural areas receive about 7 percent of annual charitable contributions while holding nearly a fifth of the nation's population. The grants are meant to help close that gap by strengthening local nonprofits, she said.
How the collective gives
Neighbor was created in 2013 and brings together the giving of more than 20 households across four generations of the family, according to its website. In 2023 the family narrowed its giving to a place-based approach in southwest Missouri, where its first business, Silver Dollar City, began. The collective says it is independent of Herschend Family Entertainment's giving arm and is run by an executive director and an elected board of family and independent members.
Its guidelines open its grants to 501(c)(3) organizations, and to projects with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, located in or focused on the seven counties. Spark grants of $2,500 to $50,000 run for one year; Momentum grants of up to $150,000 run one to three years; Horizon grants of up to $500,000 run two to three years and require collaboration across organizations or sectors. Neighbor does not fund scientific research, political lobbying, evangelism, capital projects or campaigns, school endowments, or youth camps and camp scholarships. Churches with projects that fit its pillars may apply.
Applications are taken from April 30 to June 30, invited applicants meet the grants committee from August to mid-September, and final awards come no later than Oct. 30, the website says. Groups outside the seven counties are asked to contact the collective first.
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