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. 

Call Summary: China's Draft Law on Management of NGOs and Foundations

On May 27, the Council on Foundations and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) hosted a conference call on China's Draft Law on Management of Overseas NGOs and its potential impact on U.S. funders and other organizations working in and with China. More than 130 participants…

Due Diligence that’s Built for Scale

The Social Impact Exchange exists to build a growth capital marketplace that supports scaling high-impact nonprofits in the U.S.  Funders with shared interests convene in working groups (currently active in health and education) to identify and vet highly effective nonprofit initiatives primed…

The Fund for Rebuilding Baltimore

After a week of nonviolent protests following the death of Freddie Gray, Baltimore erupted on the evening of Monday April 27. Stores were looted, cars were burned, tear gas hung in the air. On the morning of Tuesday April 28, leaders of the Baltimore Community Foundation gathered to discuss what…

Miles to Go on the Path to Full Equality and Dignity for LGBTQ People

Amidst all the joyous celebrations of same-sex couples finally able to participate in the legal benefits of marriage; and amidst all the exciting, visible cultural offerings, like the Amazon series, Transparent; there is the continuing drumbeat of LGBTQ stories that have not gained a similar level…

Conference Call: China's Draft Law on Management of NGOs and Foundations: Impact on U.S. Funders

Check out the news release summarizing this call and listen to the full recording. Over the past week, the Council has received many inquiries from foundations concerned about how a new draft Chinese law would impact grantmaking in China. In response to this feedback, the Council, in partnership…

Impact Investing Flow Chart - Community Foundation of Louisville

External Resource
This flow chart was designed by the Community Foundation of Louisville to describe the procedures for evaluating, processing, and making impact investments in their community. It follows a similar model developed by the Greater Cincinnati Community Foundation, which is discussed in the Community…

Why we joined the Philanthropy Joining Forces Impact Pledge?

In 2009, Blue Shield of California Foundation learned of the increasingly high rates and devastating impacts of domestic violence among military families. Given the incredible stress these families had endured after more than a decade at war, the findings were difficult to hear, but not surprising…

PHILANTHROPY-JOINING FORCES IMPACT PLEDGE MARKS FIRST YEAR WITH NEW COMMITMENTS

The Philanthropy-Joining Forces Impact Pledge today announced more than $106 million in new commitments to strengthen services and support for millions of veterans and military families throughout America. Six new grantmakers joined more than 30 philanthropic organizations and corporations that…

Philanthropy-Joining Forces Impact Pledge Reaches Important Milestone

This Memorial Day takes on new significance for the philanthropic sector as we take our commitment to veterans and their families to another level. Building on last April’s historic Philanthropy-Joining Forces Impact Pledge convening, next week on May 12, the Council will host an event in…

A Chance to Focus on the Philanthropy

The Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) is a small but mighty foundation. In 2011, with assets of $4 million spread across 70+ funds, we had outgrown our ‘off the shelf’ bookkeeping software, spending over half of our precious staff time on accounting. We struggled with finding right sized…

Council on Foundations Applauds Introduction of The Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2015

The Council on Foundations applauds Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for introducing The Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2015 (S.1159). This measure would make permanent and expand the IRA charitable rollover, a valuable incentive for Americans to contribute to charitable organizations across the…

Council Comments on Treasury/IRS Priorities

The Council on Foundations wrote to the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week to urge them to prioritize several regulations and guidance documents that impact our members. Each year, the Priority Guidance Plan identifies and prioritizes those tax issues that the…

Nepal Earthquake: How Can Donors Help?

On April 25, 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Nepal, in an area between the capitol city of Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Tremors and aftershocks were felt across the region in India, Bangladesh, Tibet and on Mount Everest. As the world has…

Telling a Fair and Balanced Story

Civil Society in America faces the challenge of storytelling. Democracy thrives on the free availability of information and viewpoints. We must guard against hegemony that stifles innovation and protect voices of the marginalized. To do so, we should ensure that everyone's story is told. Making…

2016 Annual Conference

A Common Vision for Improving the Future of Community The Future of Community Highlights   Innovative Leaders at the Annual Conference Learn More about Plenary Sessions Learn More about Leadership in Action Series   Annual Experiences…

Philanthropy and the Health of the Internet

On Feb. 11, the Ford, Knight, Open Society, MacArthur, and Mozilla, Foundations together launched NetGain:  Working Together for a Stronger Digital Society as a major shared initiative.  The NetGain initiative advocates that building the Internet as…
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