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.
2019 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF) Report
Publication, Research
The CCSF report is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2019 CCSF studies 265 private and community foundations that represent $104.7 billion in assets. Topics covered include:
Returns and Investment Objectives
Asset…
Breaking Barriers: Wealthy Donors and Causes Left Out
How can community foundations foster connections between
donors and nonprofits advancing equity?
Community foundations play a powerful role in connecting high net worth donors with local organizations working to advance community needs. Research shows that community-based organizations…
Washington Snapshot: Congress Returns to DC with a Long To Do List
The Coronavirus - THE MORE YOU KNOW
World Health Organization: Situation Dashboard
How Philanthropy Can Respond:
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Council on Foundations:
COVID-19 Resource Hub
List of COVID-19 Response Funds
Council's Comprehensive Coronavirus…
New Report Outlines How Philanthropy is Responding to 2020 Crises
WHO:
Dalberg
Philanthropy California
Council on Foundations
WHAT:
The public health, racial justice, and economic crises of 2020 have affected millions of Americans and laid bare the glaring inequities in our systems and institutions.
A new report from Council on Foundations,…
2020 Annual National Conference for Growing Community Foundations - Online
Community foundations have long been an important membership constituency to the Council and we are forging important partnerships like this one with Kansas Association of Community Foundations (KACF) to ensure our rapidly growing community foundation membership is well served. When an excellent…
Community Foundation CEO Virtual Roundtable: December 2020
Join the Council and CEONet as we convene CEOs and Executive Directors of community foundations for a virtual roundtable. With a focus on peer sharing and reflection, these roundtables serve as a platform for the field to scale our philanthropic response and actively engage with peers.
This…
Community Foundation CEO Virtual Roundtable: October 2020
Join the Council and CEONet as we convene CEOs and Executive Directors of community foundations for a virtual roundtable. With a focus on peer sharing and reflection, these roundtables serve as a platform for the field to scale our philanthropic response and actively engage with peers.
This…
2020 Public Policy Summit - Schedule
Schedule
Stay on the lookout for new speakers, information and updates to the Summit schedule. Please note, this schedule is based on Eastern time.
Thursday, November 12 - Navigating the Post-Election Policy Landscape
12:00-12:15 p.m. ET
Welcome & Opening…
2020 Public Policy Summit - Working Group
Working Group
Ken Austin
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
The Wallace Foundation
Ben Chandler
President and CEO
Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
Sally Ehrenfried
Principal, Government Relations
Blackbaud…
Shifting Practices, Sharing Power? How U.S. Philanthropy is Responding to the 2020 Crises
Publication
The public health, racial justice, and economic crises of 2020 have affected millions of Americans and laid bare the glaring inequities in our systems and institutions.
A new report from Council on Foundations, Philanthropy California, and Dalberg Advisors outlines how the US philanthropic…
The SDG Guidebook and Toolkit: A Community Foundation Resource on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
External Resource
This resource from the Community Foundations of Canada provides useful tips and frameworks for community foundations across the world to utilize the SDGs.
Washington Snapshot: Senate Republicans Introduced a Slimmed-Down COVID-19 Bill
With Congress adjourned for the summer, Snapshot will not be published again in full until September 18. However, it is our goal to keep you informed on key updates as they occur.
The Coronavirus - THE MORE YOU KNOW
World Health Organization: Situation Dashboard
How Philanthropy Can…
Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence: Strategy Guide
Publication
This Strategy Guide, developed in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy, invites you to reflect more deeply on how your foundation chooses to balance the four factors of Purpose, Conditions and Trends, Time Horizon, and Assets for Mission, especially in times of greater…
Outsized Challenges Demand Creative Solutions: Expanding Payout through Debt Financing
Many philanthropic institutions are exploring ways to access additional resources to respond to the deep seeded racial inequities that permeate most aspects of American society and the devastating effects of COVID-19, which is widening inequality around the globe.
The Ford Foundation joined …
2020 UN General Assembly Virtual Philanthropic Side-Events
This September, many parts of the United Nations General Assembly and its hundreds of side-events will be held virtually for the first time due to COVID-19. While many of the usual events may not take place, there are still hundreds of opportunities that are now more accessible than ever to the…
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