Community Foundations

Community Foundations Leadership Team

Vision

Community foundations are recognized leaders and valued partners strengthening our communities through effective philanthropy and convening based on intimate knowledge of the community experience.

Mission

To serve as a strong voice, advocate, and resource for community foundations.

Centennial Plan

"The Centennial Plan: Strategies for a Strong Community Foundation Field" was developed with input from leaders across the sector. The plan outlines four broad goals designed to strengthen the collaborative field of community foundations and promote a philanthropic environment supportive of their work. The completion of these goals should greatly increase the recognition and appreciation of community foundations across the country.

Committee Roster

Community Foundations Leadership Team

Resources

• Regional Learning Forums – CFSolutions
• New Tool — Economic Scenario Planning (ESP) Model
• CFLT Tools
• 2009 Community Foundation Technology Vendor Analysis

Implementation Partners

CFLeads

CFLeads recognizes that community foundations take on challenging issues, pursue cross-sector solutions, engage citizens, and marshal the needed resources to improve their communities and provide opportunity for all. The mission of CFLeads is to help community foundations advance the practice of community leadership to build thriving communities. Please visit www.cfleads.org to access vital community leadership resources.

CFInsights

Now more than ever, community foundations need access to reliable benchmarking data to align their operating models and cost structures with their missions. In order to provide this data, FSG Social Impact Advisors has established Community Foundation Insights (CF Insights), a centralized data resource for community foundations.

CF Insights gives participating community foundations access to up-to-date information on the finances, operations and best practices of their peers. The need for CF Insights was highlighted in a 2005 study commissioned by the Council on Foundations Community Foundations Leadership Team (CFLT), and conducted by FSG, that found nearly unanimous desire among community foundations for more accurate, timely, and complete information about comparative financial performance.

The CFLT has endorsed this project as a priority for the field and has supported the development of CF Insights as a division of FSG. FSG and the Advisory Board are raising $2M to support the start-up of CF Insights.

Community Foundations Services Corporation (CFSC)

The Community Foundations Services Corporation (CFSC) is a non-profit, community foundation centric supporting organization. Founded in 2002, the mission of the CFSC is to help community foundations work with financial institutions, most notably Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The CFSC's board is composed of community foundation representatives elected from its membership. For more information about this unique public-private partnership, please go to www.npiagent.com

Action Teams

The Community Foundations Leadership Team and its Action Teams represent over 250 volunteers which form the working committee structure that the Leadership Team uses to operationalize its plans. The Leadership Team is elected by the community foundation field to set the direction and program goals for community foundation field nationally.

Using a broad committee structure, the Leadership Team and Action Teams have the responsibility to:

• represent the interests of the entire field
• lead the field in mutual learning and collective impact by serving as a communications hub
• coordinate member-driven initiatives
• provide a mechanism for soliciting member needs, at least annually, in order to set field priorities
• measure member satisfaction
• evaluate the quality of direct and shared services
• demonstrate accountability by reporting to the Council and to community foundation field and to develop an annual operating plan to advance the priorities

Field Engagement Action Team (FEAT)

The Field Engagement Action Team oversees the Idea Lab grant program that provides support for innovative pilot projects designed to field test new ways of doing work in the field; and develops strategies for sharing learnings from projects launched to address goals in the Plan of Action.

Legal and Regulatory Standing Committee (LRSC)

The Legal and Regulatory Standing Committee reviews legislation, regulations and public policy initiatives relevant to community foundations and brings those issues to the Council's Public Policy Committee for appropriate action to protect the interests of the field.

Standards Action Team (SAT)

The Standards Action Team oversees the development and updating of a broad range of standards for community foundations and the design of educational programs about these standards.

Technology Action Team (TAT)

The Technology Action Team develops strategies to promote knowledge sharing about technology resources and business tools for community foundations at www.cftech.org.