Community Foundation


Rossville Community Foundation P.O. Box 74 Rossville, KS 66533


Informational Brochure (PDF)

Fact Sheet and Donation Form (PDF)

"Anything is Possible"

The Rossville Community Foundation was established in January 2003, to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the Rossville Community. The foundation is a not-for-profit organization where all proceeds from the foundation are used for projects to benefit everyone in the community.

  1. Building a community swimming pool
  2. Establishing educational scholarships
  3. Supporting Leadership Initiatives
  4. Early Childhood Learning / School Readiness

In 2002 a small group of citizens came together in Rossville to form the Rossville Community Foundation. What began as an effort to gather and manage funds for a community pool has now matured into a Foundation that has assets more than $120,000. The Rossville Community Foundation has been a valued partner in several community projects over the last 10 years.

More than $300,000 has been raised by the Foundation since its inception in 2002. Money is carefully granted by the Foundation board for programs/projects in the Rossville Community such as: the Rossville Community Swimming Pool, Welcome signs for the entrnaces to town, early childhood initiative, summer academy, youth leadership, Fellowship of Christian Athletes sports camp, Take A Second Make A Difference program, adult leadership, Rossville community playground build, and annual Celebration Dinner.

The Board of Directors guide the foundation in establishing goals and suitable projects to receive funding from the proceeds of the foundation. The Board of Directors represent the entire community and consists of individuals from the city government, local businesses, churches, and civic organizations. Meetings are open to the public and all suggestions or recommendations are welcome. Members of the Board of Directors are: Brenda Brown, Dennis Keller, Shelly Buhler, Dr. Myron Leinwetter, Alan Streit, Christi McKenzie, Jane Davis, Ann McCullough, Doug French, Barbara Hesse, Genevieve Jacobson, and Jason Perine

Through the Rossville Community Foundation, donors can create a philanthropic fund suited to their specific needs and interests. Donors may specify the general or specific purposes of their gifts or, they may choose to make unrestricted contributions to be used by the Rossville Community Foundation wherever the need is greatest. Regardless of the form they take, contributions to the foundation are tax-deductible. Your contribution to the community through the foundation will have a lasting impact.

Special Opportunity GROW II. Through a matching grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, every dollar contributed to an endowment fund at the Rossville Community Foundation will be matched two-to-one. The endowment fund will benefit health programs in our community in perpetuity. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation and the GROW II matching grant opporunity, go to: www.kansashealth.org.

As an affiliate of the Topeka Community Foundation, an amzaing opporunity has been presented to us. The GROW II campaign sponsored by the Kansas Healthy Foundation is a chance for us to grow our assets and give us the funding to make an even bigger impact on our community.

For More Information on making a lasting impact on the community with a donation to the Community Foundation, contact Dr. Myron Leinwetter at (785) 584-6597 or view the donation form.

Leadership Initiatives. Developing community leaders means building relationships between people in our community. The Foundation supports three levels of leadership skills development through RGS 6th grade leadership class, TASMAD (Take A Second Make A Difference) group at RHS and adult leadership classes. Leadership skills that are instructed include servant leadership, using consensus, being inclusive, building collaborations, learning styles, creating a shared vision, being change agents, and serving from a personal mission. TASMAD will have their annual retreat this summer to train together and develop their goals for the next school year. Look for adult leadership classes this fall.

This summer the Foundation has partnered with Fellowship of Christian Athletes to bring Power Camp to Rossville. Power Camp encourages youth to make a difference on and off the court. Through the powerful medium of athletics the values of integrity, serving, teamwork and excellence are taught. Youth are challenged to create a healthy mind, body and spirit. Power Camp has 50 youth participating this first year.

Building our future. Right from the Start - The Rossville Early Childhood Initiative Kickoff Brunch was held in April. The featured speaker was Dr. Gayle Stuber, KSDE, Early Childhood Program Consultant who addressed child development and school readiness. The years from birth through preschool set the foundation for much of what a child will learn in kindergarten and beyond. During the first five years of life, children are not only learning to walk, dress themselves, name people, places and ask for things that they want but also new words, how to take turns, to work and play with others, to have a conversation and to listen to others. All of these skills are necessary for school, work and for all that we do in life. Children are learning from the moment they are born.

Building our future. Right from the Start - The Rossville Early Childhood Initiative Kickoff Brunch was held in April. The featured speaker was Dr. Gayle Stuber, KSDE, Early Childhood Program Consultant who addressed child development and school readiness. The years from birth through preschool set the foundation for much of what a child will learn in kindergarten and beyond. During the first five years of life, children are not only learning to walk, dress themselves, name people, places and ask for things that they want but also new words, how to take turns, to work and play with others, to have a conversation and to listen to others. All of these skills are necessary for school, work and for all that we do in life. Children are learning from the moment they are born.

For more information on the Community Foundation's "Build from Birth" initiative, visit:

Build from Birth www.kansaschildren.org

Kansas Action for Children www.kac.org

Kansas Health Foundation www.kansashealth.org

All Hands in. Bullying Behavior and Prevention: Kaw Valley USD 321 and the Foundation are presenting Bill Biermann this fall. He will address all students and staff and have community night for everyone to attend. Topics that will be addressed are how to recognize bullying, ways to help, and enlisting everyone's help to create a commitment that bullying is unacceptable.

Annual Celebration Dinner. Each March the Community Foundation hosts a night out to celebrate the Foundation's successes. Staying true to its mission, the goal of the evening is to recognize community volunteers and the many projects in Rossville that help to improve the community for every family. Volunteers create custom designed table settings to provide a unique dining experience while live entertainment is provided. Display booths often feature information about current projects. The following friends of the foundation helped designed table settings for the 2010 Celebration Dinner: Toby Brown, Betsy Baker, Janell Campbell, Ed Claycamp, Jan Dannefer, Jane Davis, Karen Dick, Angie Essman, Colleen Gillum, Ernestine Gordon, Genevieve Jacobson, Ann Keller, Tandy Leinwetter, Jane McClelland, Edith McClain, Nancy McKenzie, Virginia Meyer, Gay Nadeau, Gladys Parnell, Marcia Ross, Lisa Thornburg, Shelia Towers, Rossville Community Playground, Rossville PRIDE.

Paving the Way Campaign (2004-2007). Driven by strong community support, the dream of a Rossville Community Pool finally came true in July 2007. With overwhelming generosity from Rossville residents, a custom engraved brick courtyard became the feature of the new Community Swimming Pool?s main entrance. Each brick forms the entrance and walk-way that welcomes families each and every warm summer day. Each brick is a lasting donation that will stand for generations to mark the commitment of so many in our community. See more information on the Paving the Way Campaign and Brick Courtyard.

Community Swimming Pool (2003-2007). Once the dream of generations of Rossville children, the Rossville Community Swimming Pool became a reality on July 8, 2007. With hundreds of youth lined up, the clock struck noon and the gates to the swimming pool opened for the joy of each family in our community. The Rossville Community Foundation served as the main fundraising arm of the community pool project throughout the past decade and oversaw countless contributions by community volunteers, local business involvement, and corporate donations. The opening of the pool was once viewed as an impossible goal for this small town, but with the hopes of dreams of Rossville youth in mind, the community came together to raise millions of dollars for a new swimming pool. See more information on the Community Swimming Pool.

Summer Academy for Youth (2003-2008). For five summers, the Foundation helped sponsor youth activities through the Summer Academy. Youth in grades 5th through 8th grade participated in classes that ranged from Extreme Outdoor Sports, Self Defense, Arts and Crafts. All the instructors were volunteers from our community.