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. 

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services - November 2023

High Touch Donors: Strategies and Solutions Join this discussion for peer-led insights to gain knowledge and inspiration from your peers in the field who have experienced challenges and successes working with high-touch donors. The interactive discussion will be an open conversation to exchange…

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services - September 2023

Navigating IRA Charitable Gifts In this virtual meet-up, we will dive deep into the world of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) charitable gifts and how they can benefit both donors and the charitable organizations they support. We will discuss the ins and outs of the IRA charitable gifts…

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services - July 2023

Bequests: Encouraging Conversations  Join this interactive and informal virtual-meet up for all community foundation staff who are philanthropic advisors or involved in donor stewardship. This peer-led conversation will be a time to connect with peers across the nation and share learnings.…

Community Foundation Excellence (CFE) Fundamentals Course - Virtual - July 2023

A well-trained staff and an informed board are critical to the success of community foundations in our fast-changing world. This course helps new and growing community foundation staff build the essential skills they need to balance governance and management with the broader understanding of…

SDG Learning Community for Foundations March 2023 Meeting

Join us for the March meeting of our Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work. Discussion Topic: This meeting will be an open roundtable…

Public Policy Action Network - March 2023 Meeting

The Council’s Public Policy Action Network is a members-only group of foundation leaders committing their voices, experiences, and networks to engage and educate federal elected officials to foster a policy environment in which philanthropy can thrive. Policymakers depend on the voices and…

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services - May 2023

Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) and Donor Portals  Join this interactive and informal virtual-meet up for all community foundation staff who are philanthropic advisors or involved in donor stewardship. This peer-led conversation will be a time to connect with peers across the nation…

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services - March 2023

Our upcoming virtual meet-up will be a time to connect with peers across the nation- be prepared to share insights or ask questions in this peer-led conversation! This conversation will focus on how to creatively engage with fundholders and discuss: How do you engage with donor…

Trends in Philanthropy Tech: Findings from 2022 Survey of Grantmakers

Results are in from the 2022 State of Philanthropy Tech survey, conducted every two years by Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG). Join this interactive call to explore key findings and trends.   This is the only comprehensive survey on the current state of technology in…

Philanthropy's Response to the Turkey and Syria Earthquake

Overview More than 47,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands more injured after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey (Türkiye) and Syria, resulting in the deadliest earthquake to hit the region in over two decades. A large population of people had already been…

Closing the Wealth Gap to Strengthen American Communities

Every day, more than 50 million Americans live in or near financial crisis, threatening to undercut a future of shared prosperity, greater opportunity, and increased equity. How can funders effectively address this pervasive issue? In this webinar, we partner with Arabella Advisors to …

Accepting Cryptocurrency as Charitable Contributions

Legal Compliance Guidance
Accepting Cryptocurrency as Charitable Contributions will help community foundations navigate questions and concerns around receiving cryptocurrency as charitable contributions. Get comprehensive, state-by-state information from the Council's Legal Resources Team on how your foundation can…

2022 Year in Review: Looking Within and Acting Together

At home and across the country, the Council community flourished in 2022. Check out the graphic below to see the metrics behind the impact, and read the full Year in Review, including a letter from our President and CEO, to learn more. Download the Year in Review.  

Council & CEONet | Community Foundation CEO Roundtable - March 2023

Supporting Local Journalism In recent years, local news outlets have faced unprecedented pressures from declining revenue and increased complexities of operational structures. Local journalism is a significant factor in building trust and strengthening communities, in which community foundations…

SDG Learning Community for Foundations February 2023 Meeting

Join us for the February meeting of our Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work. Guest Speaker: Stefan Cibian, Ph.D., co-founder and…

Philanthropy's Response to California's Storms

Overview California experienced one of the state's most devastating disasters this January when historic storms devastated a large portion of the state, leaving at least 20 people dead. There have been 9 atmospheric rivers, bringing massive flooding, tornado-like winds, dangerous mudslides, and…
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