Our Programs

Funds donated to the Monmouth Independence Community Foundation are used in one of the five funds listed below. They can be designated by the donor or left to the discretion of the MICF board to be distributed. Donations may include endowment and non-endowment funds.

Unrestricted Funds

Charitable Purpose: providing post-high school Academic or Vocational Education scholarships to graduates of Central High School.

Creation and Intent: Introduced in May 2000, the Monmouth Independence Community Foundation (MICF) Scholarship Fund was created with money from the former Monmouth-Independence Education Charitable Trust.

Founding member Scott McArthur assisted in establishing the scholarship fund. His leadership and continued support have been instrumental in the continuation of the scholarship fund.

The scholarship fund has increased the number of scholarships given each year and the value of the scholarships awarded since the program was started. Currently, five $1,500 awards are given each year. Awards are provided to graduating seniors of Central High School, Independence, Oregon, for post-high school academic or vocational education. Scholarship recipients are selected by a designated committee of the MICF Board, which determines the applicants’ criteria. The committee may include non-board members appointed by the Board as stated in the MICF bylaws.

Charitable Purpose: providing modest funds for Central 13J teachers to enrich the curriculum in their classrooms or school clubs. 

Creation and Intent: The Classroom Enrichment Grant Program was introduced in 2000 to benefit Central 13J classrooms by providing mini-grants to teachers with creative and motivating ideas for use in the classroom.  In 2018 the MICF board voted to expand the Classroom Enrichment grants to include school clubs that provide academic benefits to students; this benefit must be shown by the club when applying for the grant.

The first grants did not exceed $500 value per grant; these amounts have increased several times with changes in funding amounts determined by the MICF Board as outlined in the Statement of Purpose. The Classroom Enrichment grants use non-endowment and earnings from the Classroom Enrichment Project Endowment Fund to provide grants to Central School District teachers at the recommendation of a MICF board committee or committee of educators appointed by the board. Grants are only to be used for goods and services not available from School District funds.

Don and Verna Duncan created the concept of, continue to be involved in, and are primary funders for the Classroom Enrichment Program. Don was a founding member of MICF and served on the Foundation board until retiring in March 2018. 

Classroom Enrichment Grant Application

Now closed for Central School District 13J teachers K-12th grades for the 2022 Grant cycle. Please check back in the spring of 2023 for information on the 2023 Classroom Enrichment Grant. Thank you. 

Charitable Purpose: Honoring youth ambassadors for the Monmouth-Independence community and Central School District who engage in co-curricular, enrichment; cultural exchanges; competitions and whose achievement in those exchanges take them outside of the community to represent Central. 

Creation and Intent: Started by MICF Founder Donald Duncan in memory of his wife, Verna Duncan. Established as an endowment fund by Donald, family, and friends, a portion of the endowment was put into a non-endowment fund to begin the Ambassadors of Excellence Fund.

The fund supports students’ travel costs and offsets accompanying teacher travel costs for those unable to participate in an exchange or competition due to lack of funds. The fund may also offer a modest teacher stipend to reward those who bring these opportunities to students.

Charitable Purpose: Established to allow support for any community project that meets the Purpose and the Mission of the Monmouth Independence Community Foundation mission. 

Creation and Intent: Created in November 2018, the Community Grant Fund provides additional funding opportunities for community projects that meet the Purpose and Mission of the MICF. Grant requests are reviewed by a committee assigned by the MICF Board Presidents. The final decision on funding a grant and the amount to be granted are made by the full MICF Board.

Grants provided through the Community Grant Fund are normally not less than $1,000 or more than 20% of funds available within the non-endowment portion of the Community Fund.

Grants applications are accepted starting July 15th and are due by August 15th. Award winners are notified in mid-September.

MICF Community Grant Application

Charitable Purpose: A fund to receive general donations from donors. The Unrestricted fund allows the Board of Directors to direct these funds to other Monmouth Independence Community Foundation Funds or other Programs. 

Creation and Intent: Created as one of the first funds of the Foundation, the Unrestricted fund is used to allow the Board of Directors to direct donations when the donor does not list a specific program. The unrestricted fund can then be dispersed into funds or programs with the greatest need as the board determines. 

Funds given to the Unrestricted fund may be moved into other programs or funds, including the Administrative Fund for operational needs at the Board of Director’s discretion.