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.
CF Insights Interactive Strategy Model Toolkit
Toolkit
Building on the Activity-Based Costing methodology, the Interactive Strategy Model (ISM) helps community foundations model the impact of strategic changes on their economics.
Consulting services are available for any of our CF Insights operating model analysis tools. Email cfinsights@cof.org to…
CF Insights Economic Scenario Planning Toolkit
Toolkit
The Economic Scenario Planning (ESP) Model, or “Stress Test,” allows community foundations to create five-year forecasts to answer questions about the potential effects of investment market performance and donor behavior.
Consulting services are available for any of our CF Insights operating model…
Assessing Community Foundation Needs and Envisioning the Future
Publication, Research
Community foundations have several attributes that, taken together, distinguish them from many of their philanthropic brethren, including a local orientation, relationships with many living donors, and a public charity tax status. This affects everything from their approach to solving problems to…
Council & CEONet | Community Foundation CEO Roundtable - September 2023
Innovative Donor and Community Engagement Strategies
Community foundations are positioned to offer a variety of engagement strategies to effectively educate, connect, cultivate, and deepen relationships among the community and its donors. Listen to this roundtable discussion on creative and…
September Public Policy Update: What’s Happening in Congress?
Congress is back in session this month and facing several decisions and deadlines that could impact your work—and bring the government to a standstill. With federal funding set to expire at the end of September, plus must-pass defense and agriculture legislation that’s causing fights across the…
CF Insights
Explore the Data
See the results from the FY22 Survey,
and watch a recording of our webinar where
we discuss the findings.
Submit your foundation's data at any time.
Explore the benchmarking tool.
The idea behind CF Insights is simple: What if each community foundation could know what…
Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times: Helping Community Foundations during Economic Volatility
Publication, Research
To help community foundations address twin challenges of fewer resources and greater need, CF Insights conducted research by interviewing and collecting survey responses from a cross section of 73 community foundations during the month of October 2008.
Philanthropy Supporting Ukraine - September 2023
Innovative Solutions in Education
How can philanthropy apply lessons from the war in Ukraine and support education systems during and after a crisis and in conflict zones across the globe? Since the war began, over 2,600 schools have been damaged and some 5.3 million children face barriers…
FAOG and CF Insights Growing Pains Survey Results
Publication
Community foundation growth impacts all aspects of the operating model. Whether growth happens steadily or is the result of a large, one-time contribution, it is likely to create the need for additional capacity. Through a survey created and disseminated by the Fiscal and Administrative Officers…
Assessing the Need for a Nationwide Community Foundation CEO Network
Publication
In partnership with a group of community foundation leaders, CF Insights conducted a field-wide survey of community foundation CEOs to determine the strength of demand for their own formalized, unified network, which would allow them to connect to each other on issues relevant to chief executives…
2015 Columbus Survey of Community Foundations: List of Top 100 Community Foundations by Asset Size
Publication
Includes results of the FY 2015 Columbus Survey of Community Foundations that pertain to the top 100 community foundations by asset size as of July 22, 2016. The table includes the community foundation name, amount of assets at the time of the survey, and fiscal year-end (FYE). Stats are based on…
2015 Columbus Survey Findings
Publication
2015 Columbus Survey Findings present a snapshot of data on community foundation growth and related operational activity during fiscal year 2015. These findings are based on Columbus Survey responses from 271 community foundations, accounting for over 90 percent of the field's estimated assets.…
Benchmarking Beyond Asset Size Top 100 Lists - FY 2015
Publication
In this publication, CF Insights highlights attributes that characterize community foundations in ways beyond asset values.
Participants in the FY 2015 Columbus Survey are ranked based on:
Most Active Grantmakers—distribution rates, with percent of donor-advised assets
Most Gifts per Capita—…
Benchmarking Beyond Asset Size Top 100 Lists - FY 2014
Publication
In this publication, CF Insights highlights attributes that characterize community foundations in ways beyond asset values.
Participants in the 2014 Columbus Survey are ranked based on:
Most Active Grantmakers—distribution rates, with percent of donor-advised assets
Most Gifts per Capita—gifts…
2014 Columbus Survey of Community Foundations: List of Top 100 Community Foundations by Asset Size
Publication
Includes results of the FY 2014 Columbus Survey of Community Foundations that pertain to the top 100 community foundations by asset size as of May 19, 2015. The table includes the community foundation name, amount of assets at the time of the survey, and fiscal year-end (FYE). Stats are based on FY…
Sustained Growth in an Expanding Field 2014: Columbus Survey Findings
Publication
With this report, CF Insights' aim is to share a snapshot of community foundation asset growth and activity during 2014. The findings are based on 274 community foundation responses to the Columbus Survey as of May 2015. The community foundation field achieved another year of healthy growth in 2014…
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