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. 

Community Foundations Update - July 2016

In the heat of mid summer, what a great time to check out some Council resources and opportunities that I believe you might find useful (preferably in air-conditioned office, or better yet, on the beach while enjoying some r&r!). As always, please reach out to me with any questions or concerns…

A Call For a More Compassionate and Civil Society

Last week’s shootings in Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas have made more urgent our need for a national civil discussion about longstanding systemic challenges that deeply divide our communities. The Council on Foundations steadfastly denounces the killing of innocent people, no matter their skin…

PA Funders Collaborate to Explore a Shared Approach to Policy and Advocacy

When leaders from approximately 48 Pennsylvania-based foundations gathered in State College in April for the Council on Foundations’ Pennsylvania Philanthropy Conference, the negative effects of the state’s infamous nine-month budget impasse on human service delivery were painfully fresh.…

Washington Snapshot - July 8, 2016

Last Chance to Register! Don’t miss your last chance to register for our Washington Update LIVE!: Philanthropy’s Voice in the Policy Process, taking place next Tuesday, July 12 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. This webinar will discuss the importance of advocacy and highlight opportunities to engage with…

The Ins and Outs of the Department of Labor's New Overtime Rule

Members View the Recording     This webinar provided members with a detailed understanding of the Overtime Rule directly from the Department of Labor. In addition, the Council’s attorneys explained how the Rule applies to foundations and answered some prevalent questions that have…

The Harm in Misinformation: Philanthropy Needs DAFs

From the moment the Council on Foundations was established in 1949, we have stood up to attacks on philanthropy and charitable giving. Most of these have been fueled by a common culprit — misinformation. That is why the Council is a constant presence on the Hill, travels across the country speaking…

Advocacy Toolkit

Toolkit
Sometimes the hardest part of engaging in advocacy can be figuring out where to start. Government is the mechanism for public policy process, and elected officials and their staff are driving and creating policies. As their constituents and important stakeholders in civil society, they need to…

Washington Snapshot - July 1, 2016

The Council on Foundations would like to wish all of our readers a safe and enjoyable 4th of July! News from the Hill Tax Blueprint Proposes Ideas that Could Impact Charitable Giving Our readers will recall that last week Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his Task Force on Tax Reform released their…

Rules of Advocacy & Lobbying

Legal Compliance Guidance
It is easy to get hung up on what you think you cannot do in terms of engaging with your policymakers. The good news is, you can do more than you may think! Though the law varies somewhat between what community and public foundations are allowed to do, versus what private foundations are allowed…

Foundation Law for Non-Lawyers

When my colleague and fellow attorney Lara Kalwinski, Senior Counsel for Policy and Compliance and Executive Director of National Standards, and I both came to the Council on Foundations in 2013, we each had extensive experience with the Council’s books, newsletters, and other legal publications.…

Council on Foundations Applauds Important Changes in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Policy

The Council on Foundations, a member of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF, applauds the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) recent update to its counter-terrorism recommendation on NPOs, specifically grantmakers. The Council hails the removal of the long-standing characterization of nonprofits as “…

How to Find Your Members of Congress

Fundamentals
Find your Representative(s) Members of Congress are interested to learn about the work that you are doing in their communities. When identifying your representative(s), it is helpful to think—not only about the district in which your home office is located—but also the areas in which you fund. It…

Donor-Advised Fund Letter of Support

Last week, The Washington Post published an article grossly mischaracterizing the value and importance of DAFs as a philanthropic tool. The Council immediately responded by penning a letter to the editor (see below) outlining how DAFs encourage charitable giving and enable community foundations to…

Council Member Update: Finance and Endowment Focus

Members View the Recording This member update will focus principally on important issues related to foundation financial management and endowment performance. We will look in depth at the Council's recent research on endowments and preview our upcoming Endowments and Finance Summit in New York…

Keep Calm and Carry On?

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in The Chronicle of Philanthropy on June 24, 2016 with the title "Brexit Vote Will Force Philanthropy to Tackle Many Tough Issues." The vote for Britain to exit the European Union took philanthropy and the rest of the world by surprise. But it raises tough…

Month of Pride

I started this blog post earlier in the month to recognize June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ)* Pride Month, but the tragedy in Orlando rightly caused the Council and my blog post to change course. As June comes to a close, it seems fitting to celebrate the LGBTQ…
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