Community Foundation for Independence

09/01/2026

🎉 𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗢! 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆! 🏐💙

We’re excited to share that the footings for the new volleyball net at Riverside Park are being poured, and the net is expected to be up and functional by the end of the week!

What started as an idea from Carson is now becoming something the entire community will be able to enjoy. Carson saw an opportunity to create a space where kids, families, and community members could gather, play, and make memories, and we couldn’t be more proud of him for having the courage to share his idea and bring it to life.

Of course, great ideas need great people behind them, and we want to give a HUGE thank you to the City of Independence park staff for all of their hard work behind the scenes. From ordering the equipment and coordinating the details to preparing the site and doing the hands-on work to get everything ready, they have played a huge role in turning Carson’s vision into a reality. 💙

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who supported this project and everyone who donated or helped Carson along the way.

This is what community collaboration looks like. One person had an idea. A community believed in it. And people stepped up to put in the work to make it happen.

𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻!🏐☀️💙

Tamara Kolbinskie Lacey Lies Riverside Park and Ralph Mitchell Zoo Friends of Riverside Park and Zoo (FORPAZ) GET INDEPENDENCE

08/31/2026

🎃 Mark your calendars for October 31! 🎃

We’re excited to help spread the word about a BIG fundraiser happening at the IGC Sporting Heritage Center! This is a great opportunity to come out, have some fun, and support an organization that plays an important role in preserving and celebrating our local sporting heritage.

👉 Head over to the IGC - Sporting Heritage Center page for all the details about the event, and make plans to join them on October 31!

We love seeing our community come together to support the organizations and causes that make our area special. ❤️

Go give their page a follow, share their fundraiser, and help spread the word!

This is "L2 Gun Club Promo" by R Blake Webster on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

08/31/2026

📢 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲

Our office will be closed 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟳𝘁𝗵 for a short break. We’ll reopen and resume regular office hours on Tuesday, September 8th.

Thank you for your understanding, and we hope you have a wonderful week and a safe Labor Day weekend!

08/28/2026

𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴… 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵. 👀

Our Month of Giving is returning this November, and we're working behind the scenes to make this year's celebration of local generosity bigger and better.

📅 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭–𝟯𝟬

More details are coming soon!

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗮𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴. ❤️

08/26/2026

𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆!❄️

We’re excited to celebrate the progress of the Collective Operation Lions Deep Freeze (COLD) Project—a community effort to help the Community Access Center replace its obsolete freezer with a new $67,000 unit.

They’re now just $3,000 away from having the funds needed to purchase the new freezer!

If you’d like to help get this project across the finish line, consider making a direct donation to support the COLD Project. Every contribution can help!

We love seeing local organizations come together to meet important needs in our community. ❤️

📍 To donate, reach out directly to the Community Access Center!

COLD PROJECT SUCCESS: Members of the Independence and area Lions clubs, the SEK Area Agency on Aging, and Community Access Center board and staff celebrate Monday's $3,000 check presentation from the Agency on Aging to help replace an obsolete 1990s freezer, shown in the background, with a new $67,000 freezer for the CAC. The 'Collective Operation Lions Deep Freeze (COLD)' project was initiated in August 2025. Project supporters and funding contributors include the Lions Clubs International Foundation, area Lions clubs, the Kansas Food Bank and numerous corporate and civic partners in southeast Kansas. The COLD PROJECT is now within $3,000 of having the necessary funds to purchase the new unit.

08/26/2026

𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺! 🎉

After working hard to raise funds for a new home, the Community Crisis Team has officially purchased a building that will serve as their headquarters and provide much-needed storage space.

This is an exciting milestone for an organization that does so much for individuals and families in our community. ❤️

While the building has been purchased, the fundraising isn’t quite finished. They’re still working to close the remaining gap from the purchase and build ongoing support for the maintenance and upkeep of this important community resource.

Watch their video to learn more about their new home and how you can help support what comes next!

👉 https://donorbox.org/cct-building-fund

We’re proud to celebrate this milestone with CCT and look forward to seeing all that this new space makes possible!

08/25/2026

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿! 🎉

Today marks one year since our Executive Director stepped into the role at the Community Foundation for Independence—and what a year it has been!

The past year has been full of learning, growth, new relationships, and a lot of hard work. Most importantly, we’ve worked to build trust in our community and strengthen CFFI as a resource for both donors and local charitable organizations.

We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but we know we’re not finished. There is still so much opportunity ahead to grow the Foundation, support the organizations doing good work in our community, and make charitable giving easier and more meaningful.

Thank you to our board, donors, fundholders, nonprofit partners, and community members for your trust and support this past year. ❤️

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱!

08/24/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲. ❤️

From feeding neighbors, supporting students, caring for seniors, providing opportunities for kids, preserving our history, supporting the arts, strengthening families, and so much more—our local nonprofits are doing important work every single day.

This week, we're celebrating the organizations, volunteers, donors and community members who make that work possible.

𝗧𝗮𝗴 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆! 👇

08/20/2026

💙 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 💙

As we wrap up our Community Impact Microgrant spotlights, we're excited to highlight The Hub of Indy Church and their vision for bringing local youth together in a safe, positive environment.

The Hub is preparing to host a youth block party at its new facility at 1400 N. 8th Street, with food, games, giveaways, and opportunities for middle and high school students to connect, build friendships, and simply have fun together.

The Hub recently purchased the former Wesleyan church building with plans to renovate it into a youth center—a space where young people can gather, build relationships, and feel connected to their community.

While we had already reached our overall microgrant budget, we didn't want to miss the opportunity to contribute to this project. We awarded $200 toward the purchase of games for the event.

We especially loved that these games won't just be used once. They'll become resources that can be used at future youth events, creating an investment that we hope will continue bringing young people together for years to come. 💙

We're proud to support The Hub's efforts to invest in the next generation and create more opportunities for young people to connect, have fun, and build community.

Congratulations to The Hub of Indy Church, and thank you for investing in the youth of Independence!

And that's a wrap on our Community Impact Microgrant recipient spotlights! 🎉

Over the past few weeks, we've shared just a glimpse of the incredible people, organizations, and ideas that are making a difference in our communities. Thank you to every applicant, volunteer, donor, and community member who helped make these projects possible.

We're grateful to be able to play a small part in helping good ideas become meaningful community impact.

💙 Stay tuned as we continue to share updates on these projects throughout the coming months. We’ll be following along as they come to life and will share more stories, photos, and final updates as projects are completed!