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. 

Legal Matters for Community Foundations - Hartford, CT

This event is part of the Legal Matters for Community Foundations series, which the Council is offering in 2018. See Other Dates & Locations Led by Suzanne Friday, Counsel for the Council on Foundations and Brad Ward, Director of Community Philanthropy, this workshop is…

Legal Matters for Community Foundations - Raleigh, NC

This event is sold out! There is still space available in other Legal Matters for Community Foundations series events. See Other Dates & Locations Led by Suzanne Friday, Counsel for the Council on Foundations and Brad Ward, Director of Community Philanthropy, this workshop…

Legal Matters for Community Foundations - Milwaukee, WI

This event is part of the Legal Matters for Community Foundations series, which the Council is offering in 2018. See Other Dates & Locations Led by Suzanne Friday, Counsel for the Council on Foundations and Brad Ward, Director of Community Philanthropy, this workshop is…

Sponsors

The Council would like to thank all of the sponsors for their support of the 2018 Public Policy Summit. Summit Partners The Heinz Endowments www.heinz.org The Heinz Endowments seeks to help our region thrive as a whole and just community, and through that work to model solutions…

Washington Snapshot: New IRS Chief, Government Reopens After Brief Shutdown

In This Week's Edition of Snapshot: After three-day shutdown, government reopens; Congress continues to grapple with immigration Chuck Rettig tapped to be new IRS Commissioner Senate confirms Jerome Powell as new Federal Reserve Chair In the States: States consider Medicaid work requirement…

Webinar Recording: Data: Not Another Four Letter Word

Recording
This is the first part of a webinar series on digitalization and its impact on community foundations — Digitalization and the Community Foundation Business Model: Data and Transperancy. Data can be overwhelming. But is it possible to harness your foundation’s data and turn it from a challenge…

Global Philanthropy Newsletter—January 2018

Happy New Year! As you start 2018, I’m excited to continue working with you to support your international grantmaking. I’m kicking off the new year with a new job here at the Council—while continuing to lead our international program, I’m now also overseeing the work of our corporate, community,…

Washington Snapshot: Government Shutdown Deadline Nears, Immigration Deal is Key

In This Week's Edition of Snapshot: With no agreement on DACA, Congress pursues another short-term funding deal to avoid a government shutdown Senate races with potential Finance Committee implications Administration continues push to expand broadband access House committee marks up bill…

Evolving Technologies: Improving or Expanding Donor Services?

Members, View the Recording Personalized donor service and deep relationships dominate the approach utilized by community foundations in development and grantmaking, but exactly how much has the digital revolution and other philanthropic innovations disrupted our work? What is on the horizon? It’s…

The Council is Dedicated to DEI. That's Why We've Joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion.

As I reflected on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this week, I spent some time honing in on the words of a little song by the legendary James Taylor. “Shed A Little Light” is an homage to Dr. King and in it, the lyrics say, “We are bound together by the task that stands before us.” Those…

Legal Matters for Community Foundations—Dallas, Texas

This event is part of the Legal Matters for Community Foundations series, which the Council is offering in 2018. See Other Dates & Locations Led by Suzanne Friday, Counsel for the Council on Foundations and Brad Ward, Director of Community Philanthropy, this workshop was…

Community Philanthropy Update—January 2018

For some parts of the country, 2018 arrived in full force—with an arctic blast of frigid temperatures in the east and torrential mudslides in the west—all while tax reform brings new unknowns to our work. While in some respects, the impact of this tax legislation on charitable giving seems mightily…

Washington Snapshot: New Members of Tax-Writing Committees

In This Week's Edition of Snapshot… Democrats Throw Cold Water on Immediate Fixes to Tax Reform Tax-Writing Committees Add New Members, New Budget Chair Announced The Intersection of SALT and Charitable Contributions Immigration Agreement Could Unlock Funding Compromise IRS Estimates What it…

Community Foundation Excellence (CFE) Finance Course—Cedar Rapids, IA

For community foundation CEOs, managers, or board members/trustees with fiscal responsibilities and those new to finance and fiscal administration, this course provided an understanding of the complicated aspects unique to community foundation finances. The interactive two-day course curriculum was…

From Global Goals to Local Impact

Publication
How Philanthropy Can Help Achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals in the U.S. As implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals becomes a priority of the world, philanthropy has an opportunity to make an impact. This report from the Council on Foundations examines how U.S. funders…

Hacking the Sustainable Development Goals: Can US Cities Measure Up?

External Resource
The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to address the world’s most pressing challenges, from poverty to climate change, by aligning priorities and developing shared metrics to measure progress. While the SDG framework is designed for nations, all levels of government will need data to track…
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