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. 

Climate, Community Foundations, and Ties That Connect Us All

As we celebrate and ponder a century of Community Foundation impact in our society, the convergence of community and climate is increasingly relevant. In just a few days, EGA, the Council on Foundations, and Funders Network for Smart Growth are bringing together community foundations who have led…

Removing Barriers to Cross-Border Grantmaking

For more than 20 years, the Council has played a key role in working to reduce barriers to cross-border philanthropy. We are committed to working with grantmakers, the Federal government and multilateral institutions, think tanks, global philanthropic networks, and other partners to facilitate a…

A Lesson for the Next 100 Years

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

Give. Grow. Create.

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

Webinar: What's New with National Standards for Community Foundations

Every five years, the community foundation field selects representatives to review the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations™. 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the first community foundations receiving their accreditation; therefore the National Standards Action Team, the Community…

Blueprint for Success

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

Strengthening Nonprofit Capacity

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

Council Releases the 2014 Grantmaker Salary Tables and 2014 Board Compensation Tables

The Council on Foundations today announced the release of its 2014 Grantmakers Salary Tables and Board Compensation Tables. Both publications include data collected through the Council’s annual Grantmakers Salary and Benefits survey, and represent two of the most comprehensive sets of data on U.S.…

Los Angeles County Responds to the Humanitarian Crisis of Refugee Children at the U.S. Border

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

2014 Fall Conference Site Sessions

Experience Philanthropy-At-Work! Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 12:30 p.m. Junior Ballroom B, Cleveland Convention Center A Changing Landscape: Access, Research and the Future of Health Care | From Vision to Transformation: How the Arts Can Drive Community Change | Land Use as a Connector and…

It takes a lot of NURVE!

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

A school teacher’s dream becomes reality with help from the Derby Community Foundation

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

9 Lessons on Preparing for Disaster Grantmaking

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

Multi-Year Collaborative Effort Addresses Food Insecurity

This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series. See where it all began at our Fall…

Protect giving: A chance for real bipartisanship

Foundations and charities face a pivotal moment. In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the America Gives More Act (H.R. 4719) with a bipartisan vote of 277 to 130. Now it needs to pass the Senate. I signed 100 letters to the members of the U.S. Senate urging them to act…

Saying Yes to a Brighter Future

“When Say Yes launched, I said ‘Yes, here we go! Yes to everything. Yes, you can go to college. Yes, you can accomplish your dreams. Yes, you can be a role model.’” JAMES GRICE, FATHER OF A SAY YES BUFFALO STUDENT This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on…
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