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. 

International Grantmaking from Donor Advised Funds

Legal Compliance Guidance
In existence since the 1930s, donor advised funds have been one of the fastest growing charitable giving vehicles of the past decade.[1] Capitalizing on this growth and on the increasing interest in international philanthropy among donors in the United States, a number of public charities have…

Legal Framework for Global Philanthropy: Barriers and Opportunities

Legal Compliance Guidance
Prepared by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, this report provides a summary of the legal constraints in global grantmaking and draws on illustrative examples from the U.S., Europe, and other regions. It also outlines potential options to address these barriers.

Election Year Politics: What Foundations Need to Know

Legal Compliance Guidance
The election season, particularly in presidential election years, brings with it both opportunities and challenges for private foundations and public charities. Grantmakers can use this opportunity to increase civic involvement, provide nonpartisan information about candidates and educate…

Rules of Advocacy & Lobbying: Community & Public Foundations

Legal Compliance Guidance
The rules of advocacy and lobbying for community and public foundations differ somewhat from private foundations. As a community or public foundation, the law allows the following: Advocacy Lobbying Funding Lobbying Advocacy Yes, community and public foundations may engage in advocacy…

Foundations for Civic Impact: Advocacy and Civic Engagement Toolkit for Community Foundations

Toolkit
This toolkit is designed for community and public foundations that want to support grantee involvement in civic and policy activities to increase organizational capacity and impact. While its primary focus is on the grantmaking activity of these foundations, the toolkit also addresses rules and…

Board Member Sabbaticals: A Good Idea?

Fundamentals
Sabbaticals are not too uncommon in the nonprofit world for foundation executives or senior management. It can be a useful time to reflect on past accomplishments, revitalize, and gain renewed inspiration for future work. Sabbaticals for board members likewise can have similar positive effects but…

Sample Conflict of Interest Policies from Council Members

Sample Document
Sample conflict of interest policies from the Community Foundation of Switzerland County and Triangle Community Foundation.

Conflicts of Interest: Dealing with Foundation Investments

Legal Compliance Guidance
This article focuses on conflicts of interest around foundation investments. May foundation board members (or other closely affiliated individuals or businesses) manage foundation investments? May they be paid for this service? What factors should foundation managers consider before they select an…

Can a Foundation Lawyer Serve as a Foundation Trustee?

Legal Compliance Guidance
This article explores one of the more common questions about conflicts of interest: May the foundation's lawyer serve as a trustee? Foundation Lawyer/Trustee Often, the lawyer who drafted a foundation's organizing documents stays on as counsel to the organization. He or she may be asked to serve…

Council-Endorsed D&O Insurance Program

Legal Compliance Guidance
Directors & Officers liability insurance provides financial protection for a foundation and its directors, officers, employees, and volunteers in the event of a lawsuit. Does your foundation need D&O insurance? A foundation doesn't have to be in the wrong to be sued. D&O insurance…

Guide to Directors and Officers Liability Insurance

Fundamentals
For boards of directors, trustees, and foundation managers, there are few areas of operation that cause more confusion and uncertainty than indemnification and the purchase of directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance. And it is no wonder. Mixing the often impenetrable statutory language…

Nonprofit Mergers

Legal Compliance Guidance
A look at some of the legal and non-legal aspects of merging one charitable program or organization with another. Ray S. Munney, executive director of the Zenith County Community Foundation, had three meetings scheduled Tuesday morning. The first was with the new manager of a local corporation's…

Creating an Inactive Funds Policy

Legal Compliance Guidance
Imagine the following scenarios: A donor advisor has not made a recommendation from a donor advised fund for two years. An agency has requested that your community foundation not make a distribution from an agency endowment until the agency requests a distribution at some point in the future.…

Developing a Travel Policy

Fundamentals
Under the rules applicable to private foundations, directors or trustees and staff members may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the foundation's charitable activities. Such expenditures fall under the heading of administrative costs and will generally…

U.S. Foundation Employment and Payment of Foreign Nationals and Students

Legal Compliance Guidance
Over the past decade or so, economies have become more global and the tools for communicating news from around the world have become more effective and timely in reporting global events via the internet, video and text messaging, Twitter, and Facebook, to name but a few of these tools. Foundations…

Component Funds: The Absence of Material Restrictions

Legal Compliance Guidance
This document outlines the basics of component funds, field of interest funds, donor-advised funds, and restrictions around these funds.
Subscribe to Community Foundations