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. 

The Savvy CEO

Publication
The role of the foundation CEO is pivotal to the success of a foundation’s goals. Even at foundations without staff, the tasks of the CEO do not disappear, but rather are carried out by board members. In this publication, we explore some of the critical issues and challenges that foundation CEOs…

Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy

Publication
While cross-border philanthropy has much in common with domestic giving within a country, it also differs in significant and challenging ways. Language differences, communication across vast distances, unfamiliar cultural values and perspectives, multiple legal systems, and disparate accounting…

Sample Foreign Grant Expenditure Responsibility Letter

Sample Document
Sample foreign grant expenditure responsibility letter. This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the information…

Sample Expenditure Responsibility Grant Agreement

Sample Document
Editable grant agreement for grants requiring expenditure responsibility. This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations.  Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship…

Should CEOs Be on the Board?

Fundamentals
This briefing will help your board consider three main questions: what are the advantages and limitations of CEOs on boards? If the CEO is on the board, should they have full voting rights? How do your colleagues approach this decision?

What is the Best Size for Your Board?

Fundamentals
This article will help your board consider three main questions: What are the advantages and limitations of large versus small boards? What size will help us best accomplish our mission? How do our colleagues approach this question? Although board size varies significantly among different…

Articulating the Foundation's Mission

Fundamentals
A mission statement gives all who are interested an idea of why the foundation was established and how it defines its own work. The statement is usually broad, worded to reflect the donor’s intent, and give a flavor of the foundation’s values and interests. For family foundation trustees,…

Ten Ways for Community Foundations to Consider Diversity and Inclusive Practices

Publication
Please note: This resource was published in 2010.   This guide is designed to help foundations consider how more diverse and inclusive practices might advance their mission by making their work more effective and more reflective of communities served. By highlighting 10 ways community…

Community Foundations Series from The James Irvine Foundation

The Community Foundations Series is based on knowledge gained from Irvine's multiyear investment in a group of small, growing community foundations in California. It features practical information, examples, and tools that community foundations can use to help plan for growth…

The Four Ps of Marketing: A Roadmap to Greater Visibility for Community Foundations

Toolkit
Visibility is vital to community foundations as they seek to gain credibility and attract new resources. But how can younger and smaller community foundations best use their limited marketing budgets? What audiences should they target first? How important is broad public awareness — and how much…

Working with the Media

Fundamentals
Working with the media should be part of your overall communications plan. Even if you don't have a written communications plan, you still need to focus some attention toward the media. Working with the media—that is, public relations—establishes a strong public presence and image for your…

Charitable Contribution or Business Expense?

Staff members administering a company’s charitable giving program are sometimes asked whether payments to a charity may be deducted as a charitable contribution or a business expense by the company. Although business expense deductions have fewer limitations than charitable contribution deductions…

Handbook on Responsible Investment Across Asset Classes

External Resource
From the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, this handbook on responsible investing provides the blueprint for foundation asset managers interested in multiplying their organization’s impact on society. 

Case Study: Expanding Philanthropy - Mission-Related Investing at the F.B. Heron Foundation

External Resource
Prepared by the Southern New Hampshire University's School of Community Economic Development and available through Mission Investors Exchange, this case study explores the details of the F.B. Heron Foundation's rationale, exploration, and implementation of its mission-related investment strategy,…

Compounding Impact: Mission Investing by U.S. Foundations

External Resource
This report by FSG Social Impact Advisors provides the first comprehensive analysis of mission investing by U.S. foundations and analyzes the activity of 92 U.S. foundations, which have made a combined total of $2.3 billion of mission investments.

Mission Possible: Emerging Opportunities for Mission-Connected Investment

External Resource
From the New Economics Foundation, Mission Possible considers how foundations might more effectively use a proportion of their endowment in support of the change they set out to create – their mission. Starting from the premise that paths are made by walking, it explores the potential of ‘mission-…
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