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. 

SDG Learning Community for Community Foundations - Climate Change Communication

Join us for the August meeting of our new Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically for community foundations who are working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work. Meeting Topic: Climate Change…

About the Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations

Meet the Current Advisory Group Members Established in 2022, the Council on Foundations' Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations provides an opportunity for community foundation leaders to influence and advise the programs, resources, and services the Council provides for this key…

2020 UN General Assembly Philanthropic Side-Events

This page is an archived schedule of philanthropic side-events from the 2020 United Nations General Assembly. See the most recent UNGA schedule instead. This page highlights events that may be of interest to foundations and other philanthropic actors and includes links to register for each event…

Community Philanthropy Update - July 2022

body { margin: 0; padding: 0; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: 'Azo Sans', Arial, sans-serif; } table, td { border-collapse: collapse; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; } img…

Accepting Charitable Contributions from Cannabis Businesses

Legal Compliance Guidance
With the sale and use of cannabis still federally prohibited while more states legalize it to varying degrees, the industry is creating far-reaching financial implications for the philanthropic sector. “Accepting Charitable Contributions from Cannabis Businesses” will help community foundations…

Community Foundation CEO Virtual Roundtable - August 2022

Values-Aligned Philanthropy and Your Community Foundation   Community foundation executives are invited to join a peer roundtable conversation to learn more about values-aligned philanthropy. In the wake of horrific acts of violence across the nation, philanthropic leaders are stepping…

Alliances in Disaster Recovery: FEMA and Foundations Collaborate for Resilience

  In this webinar, we learned how your foundation can complement FEMA's disaster recovery efforts in your community. To recover successfully from major natural disasters, coordination of public, private, and philanthropic resources is important to avoid duplication of effort and to deepen…

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services - July 2022

Partners in Philanthropy: Engaging with Professional Advisors Join this interactive and informal virtual-meet up for all community foundation staff who are philanthropic advisors or involved in donor stewardship. This peer-led conversation will be a time to connect with peers across the…

Increasing Equitable Infrastructure Investments in Underserved Communities

  In this webinar, the Council hosted Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, Christopher Coes and Department of Transportation (DOT) officials responsible for community outreach for a conversation about how foundations can collaborate with community partners to support the…

Philanthropy's Response to the 2022 Afghanistan Earthquake

Overview A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on June 22, 2022, resulting in the deadliest earthquake to hit the region in over two decades, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring 1,500. Before the devastating impact of this earthquake, Afghanistan was already…

Community Philanthropy Update - June 2022

In this edition of the Community Philanthropy Update we celebrated Member Week with our nearly 850 members, and highlight the launch of our new Council brand and website.

Member Stories of Impact

A blog series highlighting Council members' impact during our 2022 Member Week.

Shared purpose. Collective voice. Greater impact.

You may notice something different about our website and social media presence. That’s right: Your 73-year-old Council on Foundations has a new look! We’re particularly excited to share this during the Council’s Member Week – a time when we celebrate and connect with our nearly 850 member…

Essentials of Policy Advocacy for Grantmakers

Registration now open! The Essentials of Policy Advocacy for Grantmakers course will help foundation staff use their resources effectively to advance public policies that support the greater good. Rather than focusing on what policies foundations should address, this training will focus on how to…

Practice and Purpose of Policy: A Training for Community Foundation Leaders

Register Now! As organizations committed to strengthening community foundations, CFLeads and the Council on Foundations are partnering to offer a new public policy and advocacy training course for community foundations. This updated training will provide community foundation leaders and staff with…

Rules of Advocacy and Lobbying for Grantmakers

It is easy to get hung up on what you think you cannot do when engaging with policymakers. The good news is, you can do more than you may think! Though the law varies among different types of foundations, all foundation types can engage in advocacy! The Council on Foundations Legal Team explained…
Subscribe to Community Foundations