The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI -- Three northeast Missouri nonprofits have received a total of $300,000 in grants from the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH).  Grant funding supports nonprofit organizations that work to improve the health of thousands of Missourians.
 The local grants are part of a nearly $5.8 million round of funding approved by MFH’s board in March 2010.  First-time MFH grant recipients are marked with an asterisk (*).

All three area grants come through MFH’s Basic Support program.  Basic Support funds operational expenses for health-related nonprofits’ existing salaries and benefits, equipment and supplies.  Area organizations receiving Basic Support grants are:
* Hospice of Northeast Missouri, Kirksville, $75,000.  Funding supports the organization’s efforts to provide end-of-life care and assistance for the terminally ill.
* Northeast Missouri Area Health Education Center, Macon, $75,000.  This grant assists the organization in its efforts to promote health professional recruitment and training, especially in underserved areas.
Northeast Missouri Health Council Inc., Kirksville, $150,000.  Funding supports the organization’s efforts to provide safety-net medical, dental and behavioral health needs for underserved clients.

Established in 2000, MFH is the largest nongovernmental funder of community health activities in Missouri.  MFH is in its eighth year of grantmaking, having issued more than
$363 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.