Silver Dollar City Foundation
Serving God by Bringing Families Closer Together
The Silver Dollar City Foundation is a nonprofit organization supported by the Silver Dollar City Attractions and dedicated to serving God by helping kids and bringing families closer together in the community of Stone and Taney Counties. Care For Kids, dedicated to meeting the needs of area kids, is a major project with half a million dollars committed over five years.
Since the Silver Dollar City Foundation was incorporated as a 501c(3) private foundation in December of 1996, it has provided grants to support youth and adult ministry programs, has sponsored marriage, parenting and life skill classes; Family Resource Centers in area libraries; reading programs for kids and a community asset matching program. Building upon a decade of programs and projects strengthening families and providing assistance to kids, the Foundation continues to provide leadership and coordination to such programs community-wide.
The Silver Dollar City Foundation is coordinated by President John Baltes. Properties/champions of the Foundation projects are Silver Dollar City, Celebration City, the Showboat Branson Belle and White Water, all part of Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation.
Programs/Projects:
Care For Kids - An innovative program of the Silver Dollar City Foundation provides help to meet the basic physical needs of kids where funding is below adequate or nonexistent and also helps with in-school mentoring in partnership with area schools. The program also provides funding and assistance to four area youth ministries that work to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of youth. To read more about Care For Kids, click here.
Leadership and Coordination
Providing leadership and being a catalyst for local schools, churches, ministries and businesses to cooperate as a community in caring for kids is a major role of the Silver Dollar City Foundation. The Silver Dollar City Attractions Care For Kids program is the newest cooperative effort coordinated by the Foundation.
Partnerships
Supporting and partnering with organizations meeting the needs of kids and families within the community is another role of the Foundation. Partnering with the national organization Love In The Name of Christ (Love INC), a local affiliate was launched in 2001 with a grant from the Silver Dollar City Foundation. The organization partners with area churches, ministries, agencies, individuals and business leaders to provide a bridge between those in need and those with a desire to help. Assistance is provided in areas such as transportation, financial planning, medical care access, marital and parenting classes, school readiness drives, holiday special needs and a drug court program.
The Silver Dollar City Foundation began partnering with Church Army Branson in 2007. Church Army Branson is a community-oriented, nondenominational faith-based organization that seeks to help "working poor" individuals and their families seeking help with alcoholism, methamphetamine and other drug addictions. The organization provides spiritually-based treatment for addictions as well as safe and affordable housing.
Insight Ministries Outreach In The Ozarks Inc. is another program supported by the Foundation. A Christian-based counseling service, Insight Ministries provides psychological and emotional testing and counseling services to families with financial needs in Stone and Taney Counties.
The Foundation is an active partner with Christian community leaders in the Healthy Families Catalyst Group, formed as a collaborative effort of agencies, ministries and individuals to identify and eliminate the problems experienced by families with the greatest needs.
Uninterrupted Prayer Team
The Uninterrupted Prayer Team unites Christian volunteers in continual prayer, seeking to further God's will within the community of Stone and Taney Counties. Volunteers commit to one hour of prayer a week, linking with others to cover the entire week, based upon the Biblical direction to "pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17). For more information or to volunteer for the UP Team, click here.
Guidelines for Grant Seekers
The Silver Dollar City Foundation accepts grant proposals from 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations serving Stone and Taney Counties. Preference is given to organizations with programs to meet the spiritual needs of kids or that lead individuals to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to proposals that closely fit the mission of the Foundation. Grant applicants should send a one-page letter describing the purpose of the request and the amount requested. First-time applicants should include evidence of nonprofit status. Send grant concept letters to: Silver Dollar City Foundation, Attn: Grant Requests, 7347 West Highway 76, Suite A, Branson, Missouri 65616. For questions, click here.