The Community Foundation of the Ozarks moved onto the fourth floor of its new six-story, 80,000-square-foot building in August. On Tuesday, the organization officially cut the ribbon with a small ceremony attended by partners in the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and others.
Before CFO got ahold of it, the building was owned by the Missouri State University Foundation, which will occupy a new headquarters in about a year. At that time, CFO will start seeking tenants (the building is several times larger than CFO needs — they were originally looking for 20-25,000 square feet).
"Please help us dispel the rumor that we are going to fill this building with nonprofits and nobody's going to pay rent," said CFO president Winter Kinne to some laughter. "That is not what we're doing!"
The foundation's old headquarters had been cramped for years, with employees shoved into corners and conference rooms at a premium. The new space has offices in spades: Full-timers get their own office, part-timers get a cubicle, and there are high-top desks for regional employees to use while they visit Springfield. The same goes for conference rooms. Rather than using the big room for everything, there are several smaller ones as well, including one with frosted glass.
"Part of working in philanthropy is sometimes setting up memorial funds," said CFO communication director Aaron Scott during a tour of the new space. The frosted glass is intended to provide a degree of privacy to relatives who may be grieving a recent loss.
The office is full of small amenities in the same vein. There's a quiet room with a refrigerator in case someone working at the foundation becomes a mother and needs an area to pump. There are pieces of wood paneling designed to soften the appearance of the brutalist design, slotting into the corrugated concrete walls. There are paintings on display from Springfield Regional Arts Council's corporate art program. Another appearance-softening measure? Power washing the exterior for the first time in the building's life.
Probably the most impressive feature for this reporter was tucked away in the breakroom: A machine that makes soft, cylinder-shaped Sonic-style ice. One can only imagine that this was one of the features that made the new office worth the wait for the staff of CFO.