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. 

Community Foundation Membership

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. Need more…

What Does Accountability Mean in Philanthropy?

At our Chicago learning session, I was inspired by the approaches of colleagues from the MacArthur, Kellogg, Joyce, Grand Victoria, and California Wellness foundations, alongside friends from BoardSource and the Council on Foundations. Over the course of three days, these brilliant women (yes, they…

Health Outside the Clinic: Community Health Workers and the Future of Healthcare

During the United Nations General Assembly in late September, Heads of State, government officials, civil society, and the philanthropic and commercial private sector will convene in New York with a focus on Universal Health Coverage (UHC). UHC is a key part of Sustainable Development Goal 3…

Reimagining the Council on Foundations: Visioning Session with Kathleen Enright - Philanthropy New York

What is the highest and best role for philanthropy? And how can the Council on Foundations support its members and the field to be a strong and trusted partner in advancing the common good? Kathleen Enright, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, will hold an interactive visioning session…

Previewing the UN General Assembly: A Global Community of Actors

Previewing the UN General Assembly: A global community of actors The world faces pressing challenges that require global responses – the climate crisis, entrenched inequality, migration, and more. But with international cooperation increasingly at risk, actions taken at the local level are ever…

Preparing to Lead: Be Your Authentic Self

After working in the philanthropic field for the past 10 years, the Council on Foundations Career Pathways Program gave me the opportunity—and frankly the time—to seriously consider being an executive leader in the sector. It’s not something I could always see for myself. I am happy to say I can…

Hurricane Dorian

Disaster Overview Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas on Sunday, September 1 and was the strongest storm to ever make landfall in the Atlantic. Although it decreased in strength as it made its way toward the U.S. Atlantic Coast, it made a total of five landfalls -- three in Bahamas, a U.…

India Giving 2019

An overview of charitable giving in India by Charities Aid Foundation.

Our Membership Model: Why It's Time for Change

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2019 Endowments & Finance Summit - Attendees

Who's Attending

FAOG and CF Insights Growing Pains Survey Results

Publication
Community foundation growth impacts all aspects of the operating model. Whether growth happens steadily or is the result of a large, one-time contribution, it is likely to create the need for additional capacity. Through a survey created and disseminated by the Fiscal and Administrative Officers…

Reimagining the Council on Foundations: Visioning Session with Kathleen Enright - Growing Community Foundation Conference

What is the highest and best role for philanthropy? And how can the Council on Foundations support its members and the field to be a strong and trusted partner in advancing the common good? How are community foundations evolving within a changing charitable landscape? Kathleen Enright, president…

Global Philanthropy Update - August 2019

We’re only a month away from the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA) – and the world still has significant work to do if we are to meet the development thresholds set in the SDGs. This slow progress combined with a new wave of gun violence and hate crimes in the United States, alongside civil…

Community Philanthropy Update - August 2019

Like many of you, I am deeply saddened by the mass shootings that have gripped our nation. The gun violence and misguided hate is heartbreaking. But those shootings, which rocked the nation, were not the only incidents of gun violence last weekend. Individuals were killed in Chicago; a child was…

Advice from the Field: Responding to Mass Casualty Events

Fundamentals
It is an unfortunate reality of our times that foundations must respond all too often to mass casualty events in their communities. There are immediate questions that need to be addressed and an ongoing crisis to manage if your foundation is going to raise and deploy philanthropic capital in…

More Than Just Disasters: How Natural Hazards Exacerbate Racial, Gender, and Wealth Inequalities

Philanthropy has responded generously to a range of extreme natural events over the past few years, from wildfires to earthquakes to floods to hurricanes and to heatwaves. Recent extreme natural events have exposed the vulnerability of marginalized communities – especially low-income communities…
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