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. 

Philanthropy's Response to the Morocco Earthquake

Overview More than 2,600 people have been killed and thousands more injured after a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco, resulting in the deadliest earthquake to hit the region in more than century.  Its epicenter was not far from the popular tourist and economic hub…

To Stand Against Hate, Get Your Board Involved

It’s a call no one in philanthropy wants to receive: An organization you funded for its soup kitchen is also running an anti-LGBTQ “conversion therapy” program. Your climate-justice grant may have gone to a group that promotes bombings and arson to disrupt state and federal environmental agencies.…

Career Pathways 2024 Application Office Hours

Career Pathways is a leadership development cohort program designed to accelerate the careers of diverse professionals in the philanthropic sector. Graduates of the program will deepen their expertise, expand their networks, and hone their leadership skills to advance the field. To date, over 200…

Career Pathways 2024 Application Office Hours

Career Pathways is a leadership development cohort program designed to accelerate the careers of diverse professionals in the philanthropic sector. Graduates of the program will deepen their expertise, expand their networks, and hone their leadership skills to advance the field. To date, over 200…

Career Pathways 2024 Program Information Session

  Career Pathways is a leadership development cohort program designed to accelerate the careers of diverse professionals in the philanthropic sector. Graduates of the program will deepen their expertise, expand their networks, and hone their leadership skills to advance the field. To date…

Values-Aligned Philanthropy Board Discussion Guide

Toolkit
Foundation leaders committing to values-aligned philanthropy to ensure their grantmaking efforts do not fund hate and extremism may encounter hesitancy from unexpected sources: their own boards. In our new Values-Aligned Philanthropy Board Discussion Guide, we lay out tips for communicating the…

CF Insights Activity-Based Costing Toolkit

Toolkit
Updated June 2024 The Activity-Based Costing (ABC) toolkit helps your community foundation assess the performance of your community foundation’s products and services to make informed decisions and improve sustainability. Match economics to mission, gauge your investment in community leadership,…

2022 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF)

Publication, Research
The CCSF Study is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2022 CCSF studies 277 private and community foundations that represent $206.8 billion in assets. Topics covered include: Returns and Investment Objectives Asset…

A Scan of Community Foundations Accepting Cryptocurrency Gifts

Publication
With the proliferation of bitcoin and other forms of digital (or "crypto") currencies around the world, a growing number of charitable donations are being given via these transaction vehicles. To what extent have community foundations entered this space? Which cryptocurrencies are the most popular…

CF Insights Interactive Strategy Model Toolkit

Toolkit
Building on the Activity-Based Costing methodology, the Interactive Strategy Model (ISM) helps community foundations model the impact of strategic changes on their economics. Consulting services are available for any of our CF Insights operating model analysis tools. Email cfinsights@cof.org to…

CF Insights Economic Scenario Planning Toolkit

Toolkit
The Economic Scenario Planning (ESP) Model, or “Stress Test,” allows community foundations to create five-year forecasts to answer questions about the potential effects of investment market performance and donor behavior. Consulting services are available for any of our CF Insights operating model…

Assessing Community Foundation Needs and Envisioning the Future

Publication, Research
Community foundations have several attributes that, taken together, distinguish them from many of their philanthropic brethren, including a local orientation, relationships with many living donors, and a public charity tax status. This affects everything from their approach to solving problems to…

Council & CEONet | Community Foundation CEO Roundtable - September 2023

Innovative Donor and Community Engagement Strategies Community foundations are positioned to offer a variety of engagement strategies to effectively educate, connect, cultivate, and deepen relationships among the community and its donors. Listen to this roundtable discussion on creative and…

September Public Policy Update: What’s Happening in Congress?

Congress is back in session this month and facing several decisions and deadlines that could impact your work—and bring the government to a standstill. With federal funding set to expire at the end of September, plus must-pass defense and agriculture legislation that’s causing fights across the…

CF Insights

Explore the Data See the results from the FY23 Survey, and join our webinar on April 30 todiscuss the findings. Submit your foundation's data at any time. Explore the benchmarking tool. The idea behind CF Insights is simple: What if each community foundation could know what all…

Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times: Helping Community Foundations during Economic Volatility

Publication, Research
To help community foundations address twin challenges of fewer resources and greater need, CF Insights conducted research by interviewing and collecting survey responses from a cross section of 73 community foundations during the month of October 2008.
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