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ST. LOUIS, MO -- Missouri Foundation for Health reports seven northeast Missouri nonprofits have received a total of $664,603 in grants from the organization.

The local grants are part of a $7.8 million round of funding recently approved by MFH’s Board of Directors. Grant funding supports nonprofit organizations that work to improve the health of thousands of Missourians. 

Five grants totaling $439,150 come through MFH’s Basic Support program.  Basic Support funds operational expenses for health-related nonprofits’ existing salaries, benefits, equipment and supplies.  Organizations marked with an asterisk (*) are first-time Basic Support grant recipients. 

Two-year grants were awarded to:

* Chariton Valley Association for Handicapped Citizens Inc., Kirksville, $100,000.  Funding helps the northeast Missouri organization continue offering long-term residential care to developmentally disabled individuals.

Future Well-Being of Mankind, Paris, $42,000.  With funding, the northeast Missouri organization offers substance abuse prevention services and health education to youth and their families.

Mark Twain Behavioral Health, Hannibal, $100,000.  The grant helps the northeast Missouri organization offer outpatient mental health and substance abuse services to underserved patients in nine counties.

Monroe City Senior Nutrition Center, Monroe City, $100,000.  With funding, the northeast Missouri center assists seniors with meals, personal care, daily living tasks, education, medical services and respite care in five rural communities.

* Senior Center of Macon, $97,150.  Funding helps the northeast Missouri center continue providing nutritious meals, health education and activities for seniors and disabled individuals.

One grant comes through MFH’s Mental Health & Substance Abuse (MHSA) program.  MHSA currently supports nonprofits’ efforts to provide senior citizens with important mental health services.  The local MHSA grant went to:
Northeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, Kirksville, $192,239.  With funding, the northeast Missouri organization is providing mental health outreach and case management services for seniors.

MFH’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative (TPCI) is a multi-year effort to reduce tobacco use in the state through a variety of funding strategies.  MFH awarded a TPCI grant to: Preferred Family Healthcare Inc., Kirksville, $33,214.  With funding, the organization is expanding its efforts to involve students and other community members in efforts to reduce tobacco smoke exposure.

Established in 2000, MFH is the largest nongovernmental funder of community health activities in Missouri.  MFH is in its ninth year of grantmaking, having issued more than $427 million in grants and awards to date.  It is dedicated to improving the health of unserved and underserved residents in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.