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. 

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Washington Snapshot: Sector issues on the Hill

This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee introduced a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current levels through December 11. The CR also includes a provision that would prevent the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from implementing revisions or rewrites of the…

Philanthropy's Response to 2026 Washington Wildfires

OverviewWildfires forced the evacuation of more than 60,000 people within the city limits of Spokane, WA. The fire is the largest of 15 burning across the state, destroying more than 700 buildings and over 7,000 acres. It is considered the worst disaster in Spokane's history.As updates about the…

For 250 Years, Philanthropy Helped Build America. Now It Must Stand Up for It

Milestone birthdays call for both celebration and honest reflection, and America’s 250th is no exception.As the world’s oldest democracy, we find ourselves at a complicated moment. Many of the institutions we have long depended on are facing growing skepticism and strain. Too many people are…

Disaster Communications Quick Start Kit

Toolkit
This guide was prepared for the Council on Foundations by ECPR Texas, as part of Communicating Around Disaster: A Crisis Communications Workshop. Download this guide as a PDF.Jump to section:Before a DisasterDuring a DisasterAfter the Immediate ResponseFive Communication PrinciplesPre-Crisis…

How Minnesota Became a National Model for Investing in Rural Communities

On their 40th anniversary, it’s worth looking at what the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have built in greater Minnesota — and why they still matter.A billboard on Interstate 35 in the early 1980s said: “Will the last one leaving Duluth please turn out the light?” By then, rural Minnesota…

Community Philanthropy Update - July 2026

A new grant opportunity from the Council is now open, providing an opportunity to receive funding for working across differences.

Communicating Around Disaster: A Crisis Communications Workshop

Recording
Our facilitators draw on real experience — including the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country’s response to the July 2025 Kerr County floods, along with lessons from Uvalde, Texas, the Maine and California wildfires, and the Baltimore Key bridge collapse.Facilitators walk through a…

New Beginnings in Topeka, KS

The Topeka Community Foundation began impact investing as a tool to create sustainable and transformational change in their community.From multi-generational care facilities to affordable housing, donors' dollars are put to work investing in projects that address some of the most complex challenges…

We Need to Rethink Who We Call a Philanthropist

"It’s time to reclaim philanthropy as a shared human value, not just a privilege of the wealthy." Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO of the Denver FoundationWhen most people think of a philanthropist, they think of an older, wealthy white man, giving away his accumulated wealth at the end of…

Six Greater Minnesota Leaders on their Regions’ Biggest Challenges

We asked the six presidents of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations to lay out a significant challenge their region is facing today and how their communities are trying to address it.Housing Instability Across Northwest MinnesotaBy Karen White, president, Northwest Minnesota FoundationIn northwest…

Council on Foundations Launches Grantmaking Program to Support Community Foundations Working Across Differences

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Council on Foundations today announced the launch of the Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator, a direct investment in the community foundations working to bring people together across divides.The accelerator helps community foundations design and…

2026 UN General Assembly Philanthropic Side-Events

Sunday, September 20, 20262026 Concordia Annual Summit September 20 - 23 | 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET | In-PersonPhilanthropies Represented: Novartis Foundation, AB InBev Foundation, The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, and more. Learn More Monday, September 21, 2026Ceres Climate…

Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator Definitions

Working Across DifferencesThe work to connect and collaborate across differences manifests in many ways. That work includes strategies known in the field as belonging, bridging, building common ground, and conflict transformation. These strategies inform a variety of activities and investments,…

Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator Requirements

To be eligible for the Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator, community foundations (as defined by Community Foundations National Standards) must be from the United States. Preference will be given to Council members, though non-members may also apply. Organizations that…

Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator

Applications Now OpenApply by September 4 to join the Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator.Apply todayAs trusted civic leaders, community foundations are uniquely positioned to bring people together to drive shared progress across differences. To support these efforts, the…

Washington Snapshot: Ways and Means Markup of Legislation Impacting Nonprofits

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a markup of four bills that impact the tax-exempt sector. The Council opposed three of the bills. Plus, upcoming policy and advocacy trainings at the Council, the Unified Regulatory Agenda, and more.
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