Community Foundation for Independence

06/04/2026

⏰ Reminder: Community Impact Microgrant Applications Are Open!

There's still time to apply! Applications for our Community Impact Microgrants will be accepted through June 30, with grant recipients selected and funded by July 31.

We're also asking for your help spreading the word. Do you know a nonprofit, community group, volunteer organization, school project, or local initiative that could benefit from a microgrant?

👇 Tag them in the comments or share this post so we can connect with as many impactful organizations as possible.

Together, we can support projects that strengthen and enrich our community. 💙

More info and apply: https://www.cffindy.org/community-impact-grant-application

06/02/2026

📬 Did you receive your Invitation to Give?

Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who participated in Growing Up Giving have been helping us fundraise for next year's program by creating handmade Invitations to Give for community members.

These students were so excited to help ensure future students have the same opportunity to learn about philanthropy, generosity, and giving back to their community.

We're still fundraising for the 2026-2027 Growing Up Giving Program and would love your support as we begin planning for November!

💻 Donate online:
https://donorbox.org/growing-up-giving

📬 Mail a check to:
P.O. Box 1003, Independence, KS 67301

Did you receive one of the students' cards? Let us know in the comments! ❤️

05/25/2026

Today, we pause to remember and honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. Wishing everyone a meaningful and reflective Memorial Day.

05/22/2026

Our office will be closed May 25–29 as our team takes a little time for rest and relaxation. ☀️

We’re grateful for the opportunity to recharge so we can come back refreshed, energized, and ready to continue serving our community beginning June 1. ❤️

Thank you for your understanding, and we hope you have a wonderful week as well!

05/21/2026

Today is our BIG kickoff for fundraising for the 2026–2027 Growing Up Giving Program! 🎉❤️

As part of Growing Up Giving, students don’t just learn about philanthropy — they become part of it.

After learning about local charitable organizations, discussing community needs, and making real grant decisions with “CFFI Bucks,” the students wanted to help make sure other kids get the same opportunity in the future.

So they created “Invitations to Give” for us to share with donors and community members to help support the program.

And honestly… this is where the full-circle moment really hit us.

The students were SO enthusiastic about helping other kids experience Growing Up Giving. They took their time creating artwork, carefully thinking about what they wanted to say, asking thoughtful questions, and getting excited knowing their creations would go out into the community to help others.

You could truly see the spark.

It feels like Growing Up Giving is doing exactly what we hoped it would do — encouraging young people to become the kind of people who show up, care deeply, and give back however they can. But every time we leave a classroom, we are profoundly touched by just how naturally these students embrace generosity, compassion, and philanthropy with so much joy and excitement. 🥹

This week, we’ll be mailing out their handmade Invitations to Give along with more information about CFFI and the Growing Up Giving Program.

If you’re able, please consider donating to help us keep this program strong and growing as we begin planning for November!

💻 Donate here:
https://donorbox.org/growing-up-giving

📬 Prefer to mail a check?
CFFI, P.O. Box 1003, Independence, KS 67301

Want to make sure YOU receive one of the students’ handmade cards? Message us and we’ll send you one! 💌

The kids were so excited to help that many of them made 2 or 3 cards because they wanted as many people as possible to receive them and support the program.

We can’t wait to share their hard work with all of you. ❤️

05/20/2026

Last November, we launched our Growing Up Giving Program as a way to engage local youth and teach students about philanthropy, charity, and giving back to their communities. ❤️

This year, we had the opportunity to work with 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students at St. Andrew Catholic School, Zion Lutheran School & Preschool, and Jefferson Elementary School !

As part of the program, CFFI provided students with “CFFI Bucks” (real grant dollars!! 💵). The students learned about each of our charitable partner organizations, discussed causes they cared about most, and worked together to come to a consensus on which TWO organizations would receive their class donations.

Then CFFI matched those donations to make an even bigger impact!

This month, things really came full circle for us. Many of the organizations who received donations reached out and sent THANK YOU videos back to the students. We were able to take those videos into the classrooms and share them with the kids — and the amount of joy and excitement it brought them was incredible. 🥹

A huge thank you to:
🩵 Montgomery County Sheriff K-9
🩵 Southeast Kansas Veteran Providers Coalition
🩵 IGC - Sporting Heritage Center
🩵 Community Crisis Team
🩵 Central Park Sports Complex

To help bring the experience home even more, we also invited the students to help raise funds to keep this program going for the 2026–2027 school year — and hopefully even expand it to reach more students!

Tomorrow, we’ll be sharing a special video showcasing all of their hard work and officially kicking off fundraising efforts for the next year of Growing Up Giving. Stay tuned for that… and in the meantime, enjoy this sneak peek of the wonderful Thank You videos the students received! 🎥✨

05/19/2026

🚨 𝙒𝙀 𝙉𝙀𝙀𝘿 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙃𝙀𝙇𝙋! 🚨

The Community Foundation for Independence is currently accepting applications for our 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 — and we want to make sure this opportunity reaches the people and organizations who could truly benefit from it.

These microgrants (𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 $𝟱𝟬𝟬) are designed to support projects that create a visible, meaningful impact in our community. 💡🌿🤝

🗓 Applications are open now through June 30
💰 Grant selections and funding will be completed by July 31

We know there are amazing groups, volunteers, schools, churches, nonprofits, clubs, and community-minded individuals doing great things in Independence — and 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

👇 𝗧𝗔𝗚 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆!

Whether it’s:
✨ Beautification projects
✨ Youth activities
✨ Community events
✨ Public art or creative ideas
✨ Neighborhood improvements
✨ Projects that bring people together

—we would love to hear from them.

𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮! 💙

Community Impact microGrant ApplicationAbout the Community Impact Microgrant ProgramGrant Application Cycle: May 1, 2026 - June 30, 2026‍ ‍ Grants Awarded: By July 31, 2026‍ ‍Project Completion: By June 30, 2026The Community Foundation for Independence is proud to offer the Community Impact ...

05/14/2026

We’re officially 2 weeks into the 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 application cycle—and we’ve already loved seeing the creative ideas coming forward! 💡

But there’s still plenty of time to apply before the 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.

The Community Foundation for Independence is offering 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 $𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁:
✨ Bring people together
🌿 Improve or beautify community spaces
🎨 Support arts, youth, or education
💡 Address a local need in a creative way
🤝 Encourage community involvement or connection

Whether you’re an individual, school, nonprofit, or community group, we encourage you to apply. Small projects can make a BIG difference in Independence.

🗓 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟯𝟬

If you have an idea that could positively impact our community, we’d love to hear it!

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 👉 https://www.cffindy.org/community-impact-grant-application

05/14/2026

🎸 Throwin’ it back to the 80s — helping our community in style! 🕺✨

Remember the good old days when the hair was big, the music was louder, and nobody cared if your windbreaker matched? Let’s go back to them for one night only! 🎤🎶

IGC - Sporting Heritage Center, one of our amazing partner organizations is hosting an 80’s Party on May 30, and the best part? Profits and non-perishable food items collected will support the Independence Community Access Center ❤️🥫

So grab your neon, tease that hair, and moonwalk your way to a night of fun for a great cause. Because helping our community never goes out of style. 😎📼

Throwin' it back to the 80's - helping our community in style!
Come help support the Independence Access Center (food bank)

05/13/2026

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗢 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲’𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝘆! 🎉

If you enjoy following along and seeing what CFFI is doing in our community, 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱?

👉 Share this post
👉 Tag a few friends who care about local impact
👉 Invite others to follow our page (we’ve included an easy guide in the image!)

Every share truly helps us connect with more people who believe in building a stronger, more vibrant community together. 💛

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝘂𝗽!