The mission of the Robert W. Plaster Foundation is to expand educational access and promote the virtues of the American Free Enterprise System through named capital projects. To this end, the Robert W. Plaster Foundation is committed to continuing and expanding the legacy of generosity established during the life of Robert W. Plaster. We stand on four cornerstones that are a part of every project we support:
Promoting Educational Opportunities for Students
The Robert W. Plaster Foundation is dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for students in the Midwest through named capital projects. These grants help provide high quality facilities that are positive and effective learning environments for young people. These grants also help educational institutions keep their tuition lower for their students.
Empowering Students for Success
Robert W. Plaster knew that a college education opens doors for young people and gives them a good start towards success in their lives. The Robert W. Plaster Foundation empowers students to succeed by helping provide educational facilities for colleges and universities. The impact is to help make higher education more accessible to those who want to have a good educational foundation that propels them towards success.
Robert W. Plaster knew the American Free Enterprise System has increased human flourishing by lifting more people out of poverty than any other economic system in human history. Basic principles of free enterprise include: legal equality, private property rights, competition, profit motive, voluntary exchange, free contract and open opportunity. The Foundation promotes free enterprise by supporting capital projects housing programs educating students about these virtues.
Continuing the Legacy of Robert W. Plaster
Robert W. Plaster knew that success comes through hard work and that the effectiveness of hard work is multiplied by having a good education. As a young man, Mr. Plaster wanted a good educational foundation but was not able afford more than three semesters of college. As he became successful, he began looking for ways to help young people, like himself, get a better educational start than he was able to have. To that end, he established the Robert W. Plaster Foundation in 1983. Mr. Plaster wanted to help as many people as possible and so chose to focus his Foundation on capital projects rather than scholarships, for example, to broaden the impact of his Foundation. Throughout the rest of his life, the Robert W. Plaster Foundation provided naming gifts for educational institutions in southwest Missouri such as Southwest Baptist University, Missouri State University and Missouri Southern State University (formerly Joplin Junior College, his alma mater) and others. Since his passing in 2008, the Robert W. Plaster Foundation has continued his mission to help students in Southwest Missouri and the surrounding region get a better start in life with a high quality, affordable education. The funding of these capital projects positions the Robert W. Plaster Foundation to make sustainable and lasting investments into the future of our nation and promote free enterprise for all.
To find out more about The Robert W. Plaster Foundation, email us at Info@RobertWPlasterFoundation.org or call us at 417-533-3007.