JOPLIN, Mo. — Members of the Joplin Tornado First Response Fund board approved grants Monday for all but four of the 18 applicants that remained after earlier cuts.

Phil Stinnett, chairman of the board overseeing the trust, said that with only $350,000 to parcel out and requests that totaled $1.2 million, the panel would not be able to fully fund requests. Several of the smaller requests were given final approval, but large requests were pared to $50,000 or less.

Those requests that made it to the final round but did not receive any funding were from Habitat for Humanity, $60,000; the American Red Cross, $77,000; the Salvation Army, $169,000; and the city of Joplin, $250,000.

Board members said they appreciated the work of Habitat, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army since May 22, 2011, but they noted that Habitat for Humanity has a number of resources right now for labor, materials and funding as it builds houses for tornado victims. Board members also said the Red Cross request was to fund future projects for emergency preparedness, but it was not as immediate a need as requests from other applicants. Board members also noted that the Salvation Army has other resources available for its work.

Scott Clayton, executive director of Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity, said that even though his organization wasn’t funded this round, he was pleased with the results.

“I’m glad 14 nonprofits are going to benefit from the (First Response) fund,” he said. “I’m glad this community has the resources.

“There are a lot of organizations that will be able to do some good work with it.”

The city’s request for $250,000 to help residents pay for storm shelters could be resubmitted as the city firms up plans for a shelter program and finalizes other funding sources, board members said during the meeting.

Debi Meeds, CEO of the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the Red Cross, said: “I understand there was a lot of competition for the funding. Our grant was for preparedness and resiliency programs. We’ll wait and see if we can get the money from another source, and we’ll certainly consider applying again.”

A ceremony to award the grants will be held at a date to be announced, Stinnett said.

All of the applicants may apply again when the board announces another round of funding later this year. There will be about $450,000 left in the fund for future grants.



Funds granted

Allocations that were granted Monday:

• Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, $30,000 of a $50,000 request for money to provide appliances and storm shelters for tornado survivors.

Maura Taylor, executive director, welcomed the news. She said the organization, which set up in Joplin soon after the storm, completed the rebuilding of two homes last year. It has three that are awaiting occupancy permits, six more in some phase of construction, and two others on the drawing board.

“We will be adding more once we get these under way,” she said.

Twenty other homes also are being restored by volunteers working through Catholic Charities.

“This partial funding will allow us to really complete the homes we are working on,” Taylor said.

• Area Agency on Aging, $40,000 to buy a truck for the Meals on Wheels program. The agency’s delivery truck was destroyed in the storm and was not insured because of its age.

“We’re completely thrilled. We’ve been trying to get funding for a truck almost since May 22,” said Stan Heater, executive director.

He said the truck also was used as the backup for delivering frozen meals to seniors in rural areas.

“So for the last year, if anything happened to any of the other trucks, we were scrambling to get meals delivered,” he said. “It’s a blessing that we won’t have to worry anymore.”

Heater said the new truck will be added to the delivery fleet, and one of the older vehicles will be shifted into a backup role.

• Independent Living Center, $8,000 for equipment to help disabled people receive weather information and be prepared for emergencies.

• Freeman Health System, $11,000 for portable emergency lights that could be used to carry on medical procedures when power is out. The lights could be made available to other area locations when they have an emergency.

• Legal Services of Southern Missouri (Legal Aid), $20,000 toward a need for $30,570 to fund two staff attorney positions for two more years to continue representing tornado survivors with legal issues.

• Economic Security Corp. (Head Start), $4,000 toward $8,500 sought for playground equipment at the agency’s North Main Street school.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters, $6,000 of $6,285 requested for salaries of staff members to mentor children displaced by the tornado.

• Jasper County Sheltered Facilities, $15,000 for shelters at two group homes.

• Ozark Center, $30,000 to help start a texting service to help teenagers who are troubled by the storm.

• Long Term Recovery Committee, $25,000 to help pay for unmet needs and furnishings for tornado survivors.

• Joplin Family Worship Center, $50,000 for food and housing costs for volunteers working in the tornado zone, and for supplies and building materials for tornado survivors in need.

• Joplin Family Y, $36,000 to pay counselors to work with storm victims in after-school programs during the school year.

• Arc of the Ozarks, $25,000 toward the $50,000 the organization has left to raise to rebuild a group home duplex for disabled people that will cost $263,000.

• St. Bernard Project/Rebuild Joplin, $50,000 of a $250,000 request for building materials and other expenses.



Background

THE JOPLIN TORNADO FIRST RESPONSE FUND was established within a few days of last year’s deadly storm to receive donations that would be under local control and go directly to benefit Joplin. A total of 35 grant applications from charitable or governmental entities were received for the first round of funding. The fund is held by the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.