Golden City R-III receives $5,000 Coover/RSP Celebrate Rural grant

Date: May 18, 2026
Golden City R-III School District has received a $5,000 grant as part of the Coover/RSP Celebrate Rural Grant Program, a partnership of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust. 

The grant will support the production of a promotional video highlighting the school and community to attract families and educators.


Photo from left to right: Superintendent Dennis Kimzey and Principal Mark Stefan, Golden City R-III 

In total, 24 school districts and school foundations — all members of the CFO’s Rural Schools Partnership — received $98,000 through the Coover/RSP Celebrate Rural Grant Program, which funds projects that amplify local voices, showcase student success and strengthen community connections. For a full list of recipients, go to cfozarks.org/cooverrsp26.

“We know schools are the heart of many rural communities, and these grants deepen those connections,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee. “We’re grateful to support these rural school districts, their students and communities.”





The Coover/RSP Celebrate Rural Grants are the latest in the Coover Charitable Foundation’s long-standing support of the CFO’s Rural Schools Partnership and its commitment to grantmaking that advances rural communities. The CFO recently partnered with Coover Foundation, Commerce Trust and The HWS Charitable Foundation Inc. to present $500,000 to 23 nonprofits and school districts through the Coover Regional Resiliency Grant Program. Learn more at cfozarks.org/coover26.

Julia Dorothy Coover, a 30-year Commerce employee, founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husband’s memory. The private foundation, managed by Commerce Trust, has funded more than $9.2 million in grants to benefit rural communities and school districts across the CFO’s service area since the partnership began in 2001. 

The CFO founded the Rural Schools Partnership in 2009 as part of its regional commitment because schools are anchors for rural communities. Through the partnership, the CFO manages funds for rural school districts and school foundations. In addition to the collaboration with the Coover Charitable Foundation, key programs include the Ozarks Teacher Corps and the Youth Empowerment Project.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and 55 regional affiliate foundations — including Barton County Community Foundation — 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.