Community Foundation for Mississippi

09/03/2026

This could be you!

Sitting around the table with some of your favorite people. Meeting a few new ones. Eating an incredible meal. Hearing stories that remind you why you care so much about the places we call home.

Friendsgiving is part dinner, part gathering of the family we choose and part chance to spend an evening with people who believe our area is worth showing up for.

Tickets are going fast! Purchase here: https://formississippi.org/friendsgiving/

09/01/2026

Today is the final day to apply for a 2026 Community Impact Project Grant!

Grants of up to $5,000 are available for eligible, project-specific work focused on Placemaking, Children and Families, and Community Partnerships across CFM’s 22-county service area.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. tonight.

If your organization has developed a project and is ready to move the work forward, complete your application today at formississippi.org/grants.

08/27/2026

A quick Community Impact Project Grant reminder: location matters!

Projects must take place within CFM’s 22-county service area across central and southwest Mississippi: Adams, Amite, Attala, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds, Holmes, Jefferson, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Madison, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Walthall, Warren, Wilkinson and Yazoo counties.

If your project will take place in one of these communities, you may be eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in funding through this year’s grant cycle.

Applications are open through September 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Review the full eligibility requirements and apply at formississippi.org/grants.

08/25/2026

One week remains to apply for a 2026 Community Impact Project Grant!

If your organization has been developing a project and working through the details, this is the week to bring the pieces together and complete your application.

CFM is offering grants of up to $5,000 for defined, project-specific work in:

• Placemaking
• Children and Families
• Community Partnerships

Projects must take place within CFM’s 22-county service area across central and southwest Mississippi.

Applications are due Tuesday, September 1, by 11:59 p.m. Give yourself time to review the eligibility requirements, selection criteria and application materials before submitting.

Find everything you need at formississippi.org/grants.

08/24/2026

Congratulations to Parker Avant and Elizabeth Kilpatrick, the 2026 recipients of the Janet Leach Memorial Scholarship!

Parker, who is attending Mississippi Christian University, and Elizabeth, who is attending Northwest Mississippi Community College, will each receive a one-time $2,500 scholarship award.

The Janet Leach Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation for Mississippi honors the legacy of Janet Leach while helping foster the next generation of female golfers.

Leach spent 22 years with the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division, serving as program manager for golf and helping promote Mississippi as a golf destination to audiences around the world. She also served as a liaison for two PGA Tour tournaments in Mississippi.

Awarded annually in collaboration with the Mississippi Golf Association, the scholarship carries that passion for the game forward by investing in young women pursuing their education.

Congratulations, Parker and Elizabeth!

08/20/2026

With the Mississippi Book Festival just a few weeks away, we’re celebrating a partnership that goes back to the very beginning.

CFM has served as the Festival’s fiscal sponsor since its inception, handling much of the behind-the-scenes work that helps the team, as they put it, “keep the main thing the main thing”: building an incredible festival for readers, writers and communities across Mississippi.

That partnership also creates what the Festival team calls “brain space” to be creative, plan for what comes next and continue growing their work beyond the annual event.

There is trust built into the relationship, too. When the Festival talks with funders, its home at CFM provides an added level of confidence that charitable dollars will be managed well.

And our support goes beyond fiscal sponsorship. Through the John and Lucy Shackelford Fund at CFM, we are also honored to serve as presenting sponsor of the Mississippi Book Festival, helping provide foundational support for the event each year.

As Festival day gets closer, we’re excited to celebrate an organization that continues to bring people together around books, ideas and a love of Mississippi, while finding new ways to reach communities across the state.

We hope to see you downtown on September 26!

08/18/2026

Two weeks can go quickly!

CFM’s Community Impact Project Grant application closes September 1, and we want organizations considering an application to have plenty of time to review the requirements, gather the information they need and submit their best work.

Grants of up to $5,000 are available for project-specific work focused on Placemaking, Children and Families, and Community Partnerships within CFM’s 22-county service area.

Deadline: September 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Start or continue your application at formississippi.org/grants.

08/17/2026

We're looking forward to seeing Blake Brewer of the Legacy Letter Challenge in Jackson on September 3!

A Legacy Letter is a personal letter that puts into words what matters most: the stories, wisdom, love and values you want the people in your life to always have with them.

Blake knows firsthand how powerful those words can be. On September 3, he’ll guide participants through the process of beginning their own Legacy Letter during a special event with New Perspectives, Inc, sponsored by the Community Foundation for Mississippi.

Take a listen to this interview to get to know Blake and the heart behind this work, then make plans to join us.

Space is limited to 30 participants, so reserve your seat soon at legacyletter.com/cffm.

08/12/2026

Another grant opportunity - this time from the Mississippi Development Authority!

Through the Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant Program, eligible applicants can apply for up to $500,000 to support projects that revitalize downtown districts, preserve historic properties and strengthen communities.

Applications are due September 11, 2026.

The Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant Program application portal is now open.

Mississippi communities have a new opportunity to invest in the places at the heart of their local economies.

Through the Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant Program, eligible applicants can apply for up to $500,000 to support projects that revitalize downtown districts, preserve historic properties and strengthen communities.

Applications are due September 11, 2026.

Review the requirements and apply:
https://bit.ly/45VuKti