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. 

COVID-19 Resource Hub

As COVID-19 continues throughout the world and in the United States, the Council remains committed to helping our members and the philanthropic sector respond to this global health pandemic. We continue to update this Hub with resources from our team and partners across philanthropy and the…

Washington Snapshot: Senate passed $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus funding package

The Coronavirus - THE MORE YOU KNOW For Global Updates: World Health Organization How Philanthropy Can Respond: Center for Disaster Philanthropy In This Week's Edition of Snapshot... The White House House Ways and Means Committee Department of the Interior Department of Commerce…

Council News & Announcements Regarding COVID-19

Council Commitments during COVID-19 Updated February 24, 2021 This is an important time to leverage our leadership voice on behalf of our sector. Alongside partner philanthropy networks, we’ve lifted our voice throughout the pandemic in calls to action around policy and philanthropic practice,…

External Resources for Responding to COVID-19

Updated November 9, 2021 Access Council legal, FAQs, public policy resources and more on the Council Resources for Responding to COVID-19 page. Reopening the Workplace Cushman & Wakefield – Recovery Readiness: A How-To Guide for Reopening Your Workplace Organizational Operations…

Connecting Community Foundations with the SDGs (Europe)

External Resource
The European Community Foundation Initiative report provides in-depth examples of community foundations throughout Europe adopting the SDGs and how they can work towards achieving the goals. 

SDG Partnerships Agenda 2030: Accelerating Progress

External Resource
Philanthropy University, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and GSVlabs published a new report on the SDGs and how the various sectors, including philanthropy, can drive progress towards achieving the SDGs.

Strategic Use of IT for Community Foundation Success

  Designed to inform foundation executives as well as IT leaders on the strategic role technology can play in your organization's roadmap. Learn how a strategic IT roadmap from technology selection and implementation to internal governance and process design can play a strategic part in…

FOTH Congressional Reception

The FOTH Congressional Reception is being hosted by the Council on Foundations for friends of the philanthropic sector in Congress, FOTH attendees and philanthropic colleagues in Washington. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and Rep. George Holding (R-NC) will be recognized for their legislative leadership…

Webinar Recording: Mo Data Mo Problems

  When the credit reporting agency Equifax announced in 2017 that it was breached, the personal data of 143 million people was exposed. The company subsequently agreed to a global settlement worth up to $425 million. Cyber attacks do not only occur in the private sector. Cybercriminals…

Growing Giving in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

This report from Charities Aid Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and the UK Lottery Fund provides detailed data about the culture of giving in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Washington Snapshot: 2020 State of the Union; 2020 Budget; House Committees’ Infrastructure Principles Unveiled

In This Week's Edition of Snapshot... The White House House Committees’ Infrastructure Principles Unveiled House Ways and Means Committee House Energy and Commerce Committee Department of Treasury Department of Health and Human Services Department of Agriculture Department of Homeland…

A Global Society At Home: The Role of the Modern Community Foundation - CANCELLED

The CFUnited 2020 Conference is cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For more information, please see the official conference statement. Learn More   Tapping into the vibrant yet often invisible transnational communities and recognizing local solutions are borrowed and replicated by…

The PayPal Charitable Giving Fund Settlement and Variance Power

Legal Compliance Guidance
A multi-state settlement agreement between PayPal Charitable Giving Fund (PPGF) and almost two-dozen states was announced to address issues of transparency and PPGF’s website disclosures. One notable area about which state regulators raised concerns was disclosure by PPGF of the fact…

Gifts of Cryptocurrency and Charitable Acknowledgments: IRS FAQs Provide Guidance

Legal Compliance Guidance
The IRS published 45 FAQs related to virtual currency (Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency), and foundations should note two of these questions address charitable acknowledgment of such gifts as well as IRS reporting requirements.  Briefly, a contemporaneous written acknowledgment is required…

Washington Snapshot: Earmarks Making a Return to the House; Congressional Budget Office

In This Week's Edition of Snapshot... Earmarks Making a Return to the House? Congressional Budget Office The White House Department of Health and Human Services Department of Commerce Department of Education Department of Energy Happening in the States News from the Hill The Senate was…

Foundations in the News

Philanthropy in the News Chronicle of Philanthropy Coverage Inside Philanthropy Coverage United Philanthropy Forum: "Joint PSO Statement: Keep Equity at the Forefront in Philanthropy's Response to Coronavirus" DAFNE: "Italian Foundations Emergency Response" Grant Oliphant: "COVID-19: A test of…
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