Innovia Foundation, winner of the Council on Foundations' Building Together Award, is creating community in a diverse, 40,000-square mile region.Four stories tall and sheathed in weathered wood siding, the J.C. Barron Mill has stood watch over Oakesdale, Wash., population 400, for nearly 140 years…

 As the beginning of May inches (or maybe barrels) closer, the anticipation of travel builds. This comes with real excitement for learning, connecting, and inspiration, but it also comes with some challenges. Work travel isn’t easy, but conferences like this, in my experience, are always worth…

Like many other social sector services, American higher education has been battered by a set of pressures tied to political polarization: escalating campus protests, growing public skepticism, and donor and legislative scrutiny over the past several years. The result: a pervasive sense that the…

Steamboat Springs, the largest city in Routt County, is a tourism-driven ski town known for arts and recreation. Upriver in the city of Craig, the county seat of Moffat County, a rich tradition of ranching and farming carries on as multi-generational families preserve their livelihoods through…

No amount of planning could have fully anticipated the challenges we faced in 2025. But by working together, we saw the power of the Council’s members in action.Our sector's strength is borne of our collective resolve. Council members represent and serve the full spectrum of society, from who they…

By Erika Montes, Belonging Colorado Program Lead at The Denver Foundation Communities thrive when people feel they belong. Feeling connected and having a sense of belonging is not just a "nice-to-have"-it is essential for physical and mental health. In schools, belonging improves academic…

By Lola Harmon-Ramsey, director of impact and engagement at the Fremont Area Community Foundation I live and work in Newaygo County, a large rural county in Michigan with five municipalities and just under 50,000 people. Each locality moves to its own rhythm and its own priorities. Combined with…

At a former convent in Portland, Maine, the air hums with children’s laughter and the clinking of meals being prepared in the communal kitchen. Those sounds bouncing across the halls of the Frances Warde House would have been unimaginable in June 2023, when Maine officials turned to the John T.…

The importance of charitable giving to American society can be seen in every community. Each of us has our own story about the charitable sector’s impact on our lives, whether it is a foundation’s support making a community program possible or the causes we choose to support with our charitable…

When change and uncertainty abound, it’s hard to know what to do. For many philanthropic organizations, and especially our nonprofit partners, so much is at stake right now. But times like these are precisely what philanthropy is built for. Philanthropy consistently steps up during difficult times…

Change has been a constant over the past few years, making it ever more important that philanthropy evolve its support for our communities. By providing flexible funding, yes, but also by modeling a way forward that is shaped with all voices at the table. In the wake of a polarizing election cycle…

As we end our terms as co-chairs of the Council’s Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations, we wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on our experience.   In early 2023, the Council responded to community foundation feedback to reconvene an advisory group of leaders from…

Over the last five years, the Council on Foundations has been on a journey to become a learning organization—one that experiments with innovation, seeks fresh input, and keeps its eyes focused on the horizon. A key part of this commitment is listening to feedback from the 900+ organizations that…

As originally published in The NonProfit Times. Civil society organizations in the United States and around the globe are beacons of hope and connection, building toward a better future, even when headwinds are strong. Devoted to the greater good, not partisan ends, the rich tapestry of charitable…

When Yeselie and Vilenti Tulloch founded the Academic Leadership Association, they were newcomers to the nonprofit sector. Being unfamiliar with grantmaking, applying for funding wasn't even on their radar – until the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) reached out.  "Someone…

They were straightforward questions, added to provide greater help in a time of greater complication. "Aside from funding, what else do you need?" and "How else can we serve you better?" were simple additions to the grant application for Idaho Community Foundation (ICF) during the COVID-19…