Causes:
Children & Youth,
Community Service Clubs,
Economic Development,
Microfinance,
Rural Economic Development,
Youth Community Service Clubs
Mission: Missouri communities, especially small rural communities, struggle to maintain their livelihood, facilitate growth and improve their quality of life due primarily to a variety of interdependent economic and population challenges. Missouri Community Betterment offers hope by helping community leaders expand personal connections through individual contact, technology use, resource networks, celebrations and gatherings.
MCB provides a network for progressive communities that is designed to facilitate, promote and showcase meaningful community efforts and serves as a conduit to technical assistance, funding sources and partnerships. It is also an advocate that encourages community leaders to move forward. The MCB program accomplishes this mission primarily by connecting community needs with available resources and by providing networking and educational opportunities through conferences and webinars to those involved in improving their communities.
While Missouri Community Betterment, a nonprofit organization established in 1963, exists to benefit any community within the state, participants are primarily those that lack professional economic and community development, chamber of commerce, or local convention and visitor’s bureau personnel. The most active communities tend to be those in the rural regions of the state with populations less than 5,000 residents and are not necessarily defined by traditional geo-political boundaries as collaboration balanced with individual community pride is encouraged.
Most individuals within MCB member communities are volunteers who have gathered a group of people who recognize the need for improvements and take it upon themselves to plan and facilitate group efforts to move their community forward.
Many primary contacts are local business owners, elected officials and board members of various civic and nonprofit organizations. Local youth who are interested in leadership and civic engagement are also involved. MCB encourages communities to include and foster their seniors, adults and youth in every aspect of their community betterment efforts.
Results: From 2008 to 2018 MCB Communities poured more than $435,001,329.01 back into their local economies through their community development efforts. MCB has provided service to more than 420 communities throughout their history covering all parts of the state.
As the longest standing statewide community betterment/development organization in the nation, we have updated our vision, mission and purpose statements and strategic action plan to focus our efforts on the greatest needs and unique value of our role in ensuring Missouri thrives with connected communities where people desire to live, learn, work, play and visit.
As our 55th anniversary year closed in 2018 we are more committed than ever in 2019 to serving grassroots volunteers who are banding together with their neighbors to be changemakers – people who believe in “the possibility of better” – in their communities.
Target demographics: improve the quality of life
Direct beneficiaries per year: community members from 62 rural communities around the state of Missouri.
Geographic areas served: rural communities all across the state of Missouri
Programs: the Youth Civic Leaders Summit (co-hosted with University of Missouri Extension 4-H); our annual youth and adult educational fall conference open to the general public on a statewide level.
