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FEATURED EVENT
Practice and Purpose of Policy
A Training for Community Foundation Leaders
July 30 and August 6, 2024 | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
Virtual
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.
Five Trends in Arts and Culture
The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra performs at the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy along with the Voices of Inspiration Chorus and three young vocalists from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts on March 23, 2015.
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series…
Five Trends in Finance
Banksy's Elephant in a Room. Ignore it at your peril.
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series profiling important ideas that will be shaping some major fields of interest in 2017. Each piece represents the views of its author(s) and not the views of the Council.
1.…
Five Trends in Community Development
Minding the Gaps: Jobs, Income & Wealth
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series profiling important ideas that will be shaping some major fields of interest in 2017. Each piece represents the views of its author(s) and not the views of the Council.
1. A RACIAL EQUITY…
Philanthropy Responds to Another National Tragedy: Oakland Warehouse Fire
The East Bay Community Foundation has kept the Council abreast of the latest in regards to the recent tragedy in Oakland. Included in their response is a strategic move to address the safety and affordability of spaces for the artist community in Oakland.
The City of Oakland and surrounding…
Five Trends in Talent
In 2017, HR is expected to adapt to keep up with the changing business environment and evolving employee expectations.
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series profiling important ideas that will be shaping some major fields of interest in 2017. Each piece represents the…
6 Ideas to Enhance Your Environmental and Human Rights Grantmaking
We have just passed a major milestone at Global Greengrants Fund, having recently made our 10,000th grant. After 22 years of effort given by so many people to reach this achievement, there are a few lessons Global Greengrants has learned in the process of supporting grassroots environmental and…
Finding New Narratives In Rural America: A Concert of Ideas
Finding New Narratives for Rural America: A Concert of Ideas
This event is a preconference session at the 2017 Annual Conference.
Achieving shared prosperity for all Americans is the signal challenge of our time.
The Council on Foundations is staging an immersive, pre-conference experience that…
Refining the Business Case for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the Philanthropic Sector
Refining the Business Case for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the Philanthropic Sector
This event is a preconference session at the 2017 Annual Conference.
Much has been said about diversity, equity and inclusion within the philanthropic sector. Diverse talent pools, equitable grantmaking…
Five Trends in Technology
Pepper is a robot companion from the Japanese company SoftBank.
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series profiling important ideas that will be shaping some major fields of interest in 2017. Each piece represents the views of its author(s) and not the views of the Council.…
Washington Snapshot - December 8, 2016
News from the Hill
Ways & Means Republicans to Discuss Tax Reform Details
Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Kevin Brady (R-TX) announced that he will hold a two-day meeting next week (likely December 14 – 15) with committee Republicans to discuss some specific “decision points on tax…
Quick Review of FATF's Evaluation of the U.S.
On December 1, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) released their fourth mutual evaluation of the United States anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.* The report analyzes the United States’ level of compliance with…
Five Trends in Social Enterprise
Social enterprises help ensure the economy works for everyone because they have a proven benefit to include people who have the toughest time getting jobs due to their histories of homelessness, incarceration, mental health challenges, drug and alcohol abuse, as well as limited education.…
Ending Violence Against Girls: The Summit on FGM/C: Giving Innovative Leaders the Resources They Deserve
My great aunt, Georgeanna Gibbs Browne, born in 1876 in Philadelphia, was a victim of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Her upbringing was church-going and “upper crust.” Newspaper clippings describe her twirling across dance floors at summer soirees and charity balls.
Old medical journals…
Five Trends in Media
How did we get it so wrong? (Photo Credit: Marco Verch / CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series profiling important ideas that will be shaping some major fields of interest in 2017. Each piece represents the views of its author(s) and not the views of the…
Taking a Step Back: Understanding North Carolina’s Changing Landscape
During my seven-year tenure as superintendent of Guilford County Schools, I was committed to listening to and learning from others. I listened to parents, teachers and students to understand what we could do in order to make our schools better for each child. Much of that listening and learning…
Five Trends in Civil Society
Map of the world depicting where civic freedoms are threatened (green is open; red is closed). For those interested in social justice, democracy, and rights around the world, 2016 was an annus horribilis.
This post is part of our inaugural Trendspotting Series profiling important ideas…
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