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. 

Bridging with Unconventional Tools

In an era of polarization, declining civic trust, and complex social challenges, traditional grantmaking alone cannot create systemic change. This session explores how foundations are fostering social cohesion through innovative approaches like shifting narratives, building community power, and…

Bridgebuilding Evaluation: Attitude, Behavior, or Both?

All social change efforts rely on attitude and ultimately behavior change for impact. Informed by social psychology and on-the-ground practice, top evaluators in the bridgebuilding field will help participants think through their projects and portfolios in real time. Participants will leave with…

Asset-Based Rural Solutions

Learn how Rural Development Hubs bridge divides by pairing capital with trust, cultural grounding, and local leadership. This interactive session offers funders a framework to invest in ways that deepen belonging, shift narratives, and build civic and economic power in rural communities.What to…

Understanding Values, Beliefs, and Identities to Expand Reach and Impact

Funders achieve greater impact when they can look beyond demographics to truly understand their beneficiaries. A “people-centered lens” starts with exploring the values, beliefs, and identities that shape how we think. Uncovering this, funders can see what motivates views and discover new paths for…

The Importance of Being an In-Group Moderate

At a time when extreme voices dominate our echo chambers, “in-group moderates” are more important than ever. This session features faith and philanthropic leaders from across the political spectrum, talking about how they navigate toxic polarization as in-group moderates, including practical tools…

Proven Approaches for Building and Measuring Trust through Community Libraries

This session explores how funders are supporting libraries to build bridges across differences. Attendees will learn about discoveries and recommendations from recently completed pilot projects with libraries to test new social trust measurement tools and different bridge building approaches.…

Pluralism in Action: Bridging Divides through Philanthropy

Discover how philanthropy can actively fund and model pluralism to strengthen democracy and social cohesion in a time of deep division. Guided by New Pluralists and featuring case studies from Convergence, WV Can’t Wait, and Citizen University, participants will learn to spot, support, and scale…

How Donors Can Support Community-Led Processes for Healing, Reconciliation, and Justice

Stories from around the world reveal how donors can effectively support community-healing processes anchored within the communities most impacted by high polarization. This session will use storytelling and interactive learning to provide practical strategies for how nonprofits and donors can…

Climate Action in a Polarized U.S.

Partisan gridlock has hampered U.S. climate progress, but funders have the power to change that. This session explores how philanthropy can unlock durable, bipartisan action by embracing ideological diversity and supporting authentic voices across the political spectrum. Attendees will leave with…

News That Builds: Philanthropy’s Urgent Opportunity

Like sidewalks and libraries, local news is an essential resource for strong communities. But as once-thriving local newsrooms have disappeared across America, this vital public resource is at risk. Participants will examine roles and identify integration strategies philanthropy can use to…

Measuring What Matters: Tracking Belonging in Practice

Belonging is a basic human need associated with a range of positive outcomes, but how do you know if programs or investments are meaningfully building it? Presenters in this session will spotlight nonprofit and philanthropic leaders who are piloting early efforts to measure the hard-to-measure.…

Leading Teams in Polarizing Times

Polarization is making it harder to lead organizations with diverse views. Leaders often face challenges when staff want them to speak out on polarized issues. Using new data from More in Common, presenters in this session will discuss evidence-based strategies to navigate internal pressures from…

From Gridlock to Groundbreaking Wins for Family Flourishing

How can funders convene truly diverse groups and ensure their solutions make a difference? This session features Convergence’s Supports for Working Families Collaborative, which built cross-partisan consensus on family policies like paid leave, cash support and childcare. Participants will hear…

Fearful? Furious? Get Curious

Deep canvassing is a powerful, research-proven way to lastingly change hearts and minds by building connection across lines of difference. Participants will learn how to have authentic conversations grounded in vulnerability, curiosity, and story sharing. Using case studies, video of real…

Washington Snapshot: 2025 Year in Review

The last Washington Snapshot of the year. Looking back on 2025, state legislation taking effect in 2026, and more.

Basics of Civic Engagement for Foundations

Philanthropic organizations face heightened attention and expectations. To support Council members, our Legal Resources team hosted a webinar on what philanthropic organizations need to know to engage confidently and responsibly in civic engagement work.This session covered what organizations can…
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