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. 

Washington Snapshot: Congress Juggles Government Funding and Presidential Priorities

What You Need to Know About Public Policy This Week... News From the Council Congress Juggles Government Funding and Presidential Priorities Operation Allies Welcome: Assisting Afghanistan Nationals' Resettlement in the U.S.  Child Tax Credit Sign-Up Deadline: October 15 Senate Confirms…

Legal Matters for Community Foundations - Virtual - November 2021

Virtual Format of Legal Matters for Community Foundations! Limited Size ensures peer interaction and direct question sessions.   Led by the Council on Foundations Staff Counsel, Ben McDearmon, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering…

The Backstop: An Underused Tool for Overcoming the Chicken and Egg Challenge

Nonprofits and their funders know this challenge all too well—an organization has a great idea, so they begin to seek capital from funders or foundations. They hear the same answer regularly – “It sounds like a great idea. Come back to us after you’re further along.” This presents a chicken and egg…

Council on Foundations Launches Values-Aligned Philanthropy Initiative

In response to a rise in anti-democratic extremism and hate groups in the U.S., the Council on Foundations (Council) today released Values-Aligned Philanthropy: Foundations Resisting Hate and Extremism. The report and accompanying online resource hub are part of the Council’s efforts to prevent…

Opinion: Nonprofits Have a Role to Play in Building Bridges in a Polarized World

America finds itself in a moment of political polarization. At times, nonprofits can reflect or even magnify that polarization. But at our best, we can serve as a bridge across the cultural chasms of our time. Americans across the political spectrum want to live in thriving communities — and every…

Organizational Resources on Values-Aligned Philanthropy

External Resource
Amalgamated Foundation 'Hate is Not Charitable' Campaign: Sign-On Campaign for Foundations and Organizations to Pledge to End Hate Funding Anti-Defamation League and Charles Koch Institute Report: Communities Overcoming Extremism — the After Charlottesville Project Horizon Forum: What Do the…

2021 Annual Member Meeting

Thank you to all who joined us for the Council's Annual Member Meeting. The virtual Member Meeting included: Keynote remarks from Tara McKenzie Sandercock of the Greensboro Community Foundation, winner of the Distinguished Service Award Remarks and updates from the Board regarding our…

Council on Foundations: Guidance for U.S. Community Foundations on Hate Screening as an Institution and Sponsoring Entity of Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)

There is a mounting shift in the environment and climate in which we find ourselves operating as  grantmakers of broad-based donors and divergent community values. The critique is more poignant  with vocal opposition that blurs the lines between supporting opposing viewpoints in the…

Minnesota and St. Paul Foundation Model for Community Change

Minnesota and St. Paul Foundation Model for Community Change

Opinion: How Philanthropy Can Curb the Rise of Hate: Count It, Condemn it, Confront It

For those monitoring the impact of extremism, hate and political polarization on societies around the world, the United States is now just another case study in conflict and fragility.  The massacre of 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, shook the small nation to its core — as…

Tax Policy Center: Balancing Hate, The First Amendment, And Tax-Exempt Status

Is hate speech constitutionally protected? Do groups that express hate in their words and deeds deserve tax-exempt status? Is the IRS equipped to judge what is hate and what is merely odious? Does it even matter? The House Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing on this…

'Hate Groups' Received Millions From 351 Charities and Foundations, Chronicle Review Finds

At least 351 donor organizations have made millions of dollars in grants over the past seven years to nonprofits designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups. Most of the money came from a small number of larger donor-advised funds managed by community foundations or commercially…

Philanthropists Across the Political Divide Must Work Together to Cure Extremism

The U.S. Capitol insurrection and the deeply politicized impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump put into sharp focus that America’s body politic is seriously ill. We are, in fact, contending with parallel pandemics. While our political malady may be less immediately deadly than the…

501(c)(3)s and Public Policy Violation: A Fresh Look at Doctrine

Bob Jones University recently announced that it will regain its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status on March 1, 2017. The University lost its tax exemption more than 30 years ago in a landmark Supreme Court case, Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U.S. 574 (1983), due…

Horizon Forum: What Do the Experts Say: The Free Speech, Hate Speech Debate

As current levels of social and political polarization reach new heights, so do discussions about extremism, disinformation, and hate speech. But what do these terms mean for institutions such as philanthropy, technology, and media which …

GlobalGiving: Trump Is Right-And Wrong-About Section 230

Dive into Section 230 of the United States Communications Decency Act with GlobalGiving CEO Alix Guerrier, and discover why it matters to a nonprofit on a mission to accelerate community-led change—and you.
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