Plus Membership for Community Foundations

Through a Plus Membership add-on, your community foundation can access CF Insights, including:

  • Unlimited access to our powerful community foundation peer benchmarking data tool for you and your colleagues. Use it to:
    • Find an ideal peer group to benchmark against using over 100 different criteria.
    • Create and download comprehensive peer datasets.
    • Track your community foundation’s comparative growth and performance over time.
  • Customized benchmarking dashboards prepared by Council staff to share with your Board.
  • 1-on-1 assistance to make sure you find the ideal peer group and contextualize the data to make more informed strategic decisions.

Reach out to cfinsights@cof.org with any questions about Plus Membership.

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.

Need more information? A member of our team is available to assist at membership@cof.org.

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Member Benefits

Our community foundation members value these membership benefits and services most:

Networking & Connecting
Connections to peer community foundations and leaders from across the philanthropic sector, online and in-person.
Legal Consultation
Free access to our regularly expanded Legal Compendium including An Overview of the Law Governing Community Foundations.
Community Foundation Excellence Trainings
Community Foundation Excellence trainings across the country, in partnership with regional philanthropy networks.
Research and Reports
Access to research and reports relevant to community foundations, including our joint Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations Report.
Legal Matters for Community Foundations
Providing Legal Matters trainings specifically for community foundations across the country, in partnership with regional philanthropy networks.
Savings and Discounts
$250 Council membership discount with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations accreditation.

View all benefits

Membership Contribution

Community Foundations self-report the Management and General Expenses portion of their Total Functional Expenses from their most recent completed fiscal year to determine their annual Council membership contribution. This is often equivalent to Section IX, Line 25, Column C in completed 990 forms.

Management & General Expenses Annual Dues Plus Membership Dues
$149,999 & under $1,000 $500
$150,000-$349,999 $2,500 $750
$350,000-$699,999 $4,000 $1,000
$700,000-$999,999 $7,000 $1,750
$1,000,000-$1,999,999 $10,000 $2,500
$2,000,000-$3,999,999 $15,000 $3,750
$4,000,000-$6,999,999 $20,000 $5,000
$7,000,000-$11,999,999 $25,000 $5,000
$12,000,000 & over $35,000 $7,000

For more information about Council policies and member eligibility, please reference our Membership Policy.

If you do not want to use our online application system to join, you can download and complete the pdf membership application for Community Foundation Members.

Ready to join the Council?

The Council on Foundations fosters an environment where philanthropy can thrive and cultivates a community of diverse and skilled philanthropic professionals and organizations who lead with integrity, serve as ethical stewards and advocate for progress.

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Questions?

Connect with Council Staff