Community Foundations
Community foundations are grantmaking public charities that are dedicated to improving the lives of people in a defined local geographic area. They bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support effective nonprofits in their communities. Community foundations vary widely in asset size, ranging from less than $100,000 to more than $1.7 billion.
Community foundations play a key role in identifying and solving community problems. In 2017, they gave an estimated $5.48 billion to a variety of nonprofit activities in fields that included the arts and education, health and human services, the environment, and disaster relief. The Community Foundations National Standards Board confirms operational excellence in six key areas—mission, structure, and governance; resource development; stewardship and accountability; grantmaking and community leadership; donor relations; and communications. Foundations that comply with these standards can display the official National Standards Seal. Currently, over 500 community foundations have earned the seal.
More than 900 community foundations operate in urban and rural areas in every state in the United States; currently, approximately 350 are members of the Council on Foundations. The community foundation model also has taken hold around the world. Community foundations have participated in the growth of international giving by U.S. foundations in recent years, with international giving by community foundations more than tripling, from $103 million in 2011 to $315 million in 2015, and community foundations' share of overall international giving by U.S. foundations more than doubling, from 1.4 percent in 2011 to 3.4 percent in 2015.
You can use our Community Foundation Locator to view a list of community foundations in the United States.
Below is everything on our site for community foundations. We highly recommend that you use the navigation or our search feature to find what you're looking for on our site. Please also visit cof.org/community-foundations for curated community foundation content.
Sample Community Foundation Confidentiality Policy
Sample Document
Editable confidentiality document specifically tailored for community foundations.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client…
Sample Scholarship Policies and Procedures
Sample Document
Sample scholarship fund policies and procedures outlining selection of grantees, selection criteria, grant selection committees, and more.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the…
Sample Whistleblower Policy
Sample Document
Editable whistleblower policies that establish procedures to prevent or detect and correct improper activities; encourage each foundation director, officer, employee, and volunteer to report what he or she in good faith believes to be a material violation of law; ensure the receipt, documentation,…
Sample Agency Endowment Agreement
Sample Document
Editable agency endowment agreement for community foundations in corporate form.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship…
CDFI Fund Map of All Census Tracts Eligible for Designation as a Qualified Opportunity Zone
External Resource
The CDFI Fund has identified over 41,000 population census tracts that are eligible for designation as a QOZ, including (1) 31,680 population census tracts that are Low-Income Communities (LICs) eligible for designation as QOZs; and (2) 9,453 non-LIC population census tracts that are eligible for…
US Impact Investing Alliance Resources on Opportunity Zones
External Resource
Now that Opportunity Zones have been designated, individual and corporate investors are then given the opportunity to defer capital gains taxes when they reinvest the earnings in these communities. Additional incentives accrue over five, seven and ten years if the investment is maintained – thereby…
How Community Foundations Can Use the Opportunity Zone Tax Incentive for Community Development?
External Resource
This white paper from the Community Foundation Public Awareness Initiative discusses a timely and significant opportunity for community foundations (CFs): How they can use the recently enacted federal Opportunity Zone tax incentive to benefit communities in need by leveraging their knowledge of…
Community Foundations, Meet Opportunity Zones
External Resource
Guest writer Adam Northup, LOCUS Advisor, shares what every Community Foundation should know about Opportunity Zones. Created by the new tax law, this new tool has the potential to revitalize left behind communities.
Mission Investors Exchange Opportunity Zones Resources
External Resource
The OZ program is intended to spur long-term investments in low-income census tracts in the U.S. The new law allows investors to place unrealized capital gains (a profit from an investment that hasn’t yet been sold) into authorized O Funds that invest capital into OZs. The greatest benefits would…
LOCUS National Opportunity Zones Ranking Report
External Resource
With the creation of the federal Opportunity Zones incentive program, trillions of dollars in new private investment will flow into pre-designated low-income communities around the country. But will this investment benefit the people living in these communities now, or will they be displaced as new…
Department of the Treasury Opportunity Zones Resources
External Resource
Treasury and IRS have issued an initial set of proposed regulations and guidance on how the Qualified Opportunity Zone tax benefits under IRC 1400Z-2 (including the certification of Qualified Opportunity Funds and eligible investments in Qualified Opportunity Zones) will be administered. IRS also…
Sample Scholarship Award Letter
Sample Document
Editable scholarship award letter to be sent to selected grantees.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the…
Sample Social Media Policy
Sample Document
Editable internal polices for staff, board members, and committee members about the use of social media.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an…
Community Philanthropy Update—February 2019
This month is African American History Month, which honors the contributions of the black community to the history of the United States and the future of our country. As a white male, it reminds me that I am often unaware of the realities of my own whiteness.
To better understand the realities of…
The State of Religious Diversity in America
External Resource
As the United States faces division over the increasing religious diversity in the nation, faith leaders and philanthropists came together in 2018 to discuss #ThisAmericanMoment. The event, This American Moment: Bridging Religious Divides, was co-hosted by the Council on Foundations, The Hilton…
Pluralism in Peril: Challenges To An American Ideal
External Resource
Addressing how our nation can maintain its historical commitment to embracing people of all faith backgrounds against a backdrop of polarization, Pluralism in Peril by the Inclusive America Project looks at tools and strategies available to defenders of this core American value.
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