Private Foundations
Private foundations make grants based on charitable endowments. The endowment funds come from one or a small handful of sources -- an individual, a family or a corporation. Because of their endowments, they are focused primarily on grantmaking and generally do not raise funds or seek public financial support the way public charities (like community foundations) must.
“Private foundation” is the umbrella term that includes corporate, independent, family, and operating foundations. As of 2011, there were 73,764 private foundations in the United States (Foundation Center, 2011).
In 2011, private foundations held more than $604 billion in assets and gave away more than $45 billion (Foundation Center, 2011).
Below is everything on our site for private foundations. Due to the large number of resources on our website, we highly recommend you use the site navigation or the search feature to find what you are looking for.
Our Shared Future: Integrating Approaches to Social Change
During the Council’s recent Building Together conference, the Horizons Project was pleased to present two workshops on our Block, Bridge, Build (BBB) framework. The unseasonally warm sun we enjoyed in Seattle that first week in May was in stark contrast with the stormy skies and tumult felt around…
A Healthy Start for Mom and Baby in Dallas, TX
Healthier moms mean healthier babies. In Texas, The Dallas Foundation is investing $2 million toward that goal so that every child in Dallas County has the strong start they need to thrive.After the infant death rate in Dallas County rose more than 6 percent between 2013 and 2023, the Dallas…
A Running Start for Kids in Battle Creek, MI
Battle Creek, Michigan is a working American city that has always invested in its children. Its public schools carry that commitment. Battle Creek Public Schools had real strengths, real potential, and real gaps to close. By 2017, the district was serving the city's highest-need students with…
Changing How the World Feeds Itself
For most of his life, John van Hengel had never given much thought to where his next meal was coming from. A successful salesman in California, he'd built a good life. Then, in 1967, circumstances brought him to Phoenix, where he found himself eating at the same soup kitchen where he volunteered.…
Council Conferences
At the Council, we approach conferences a little bit differently. Rather than hosting a traditional annual conference, we convene our community through two distinctly different events, each designed with a specific intention and focus. Together, they reflect how the Council shows up for the…
Proposed Rule: Regulation on Federal Financial Assistance
Last Updated: June 3, 2026OverviewOn May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued proposed regulations to revise the Uniform Guidance, which governs federal financial assistance across all federal agencies. OMB states that the proposal is intended to improve transparency,…
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort Alumni Office Hours - September
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort office hours offer cohort members a space to reflect on their learnings and ask questions about program content. This year, we're excited to open these sessions to cohort alumni. These sessions are an opportunity to reconnect with the program's themes and…
Generosity Builds
Generosity Builds is a storytelling campaign from the Council on Foundations highlighting the ways charitable foundations show up as a nonpartisan force for good in our communities — from scientific breakthroughs to community childcare, veterans support, and disaster relief.
On a Minnesota Farm, Generosity Comes First
Every fall, before the harvest is sold, Pat and Kristin Duncanson keep a promise: the first load goes to the community, not to market.The Duncansons own Highland Family Farms in Mapleton, Minnesota—a 5th-generation family farm that Pat and Kristin now run alongside two of their four children. Each…
Called to Build in Chattanooga, TN
For years, Pastor Gary Hathaway and the Greater Tucker Baptist Missionary Church wanted to use the vacant land on the church’s property to provide affordable housing for its senior community. After unsuccessful attempts to secure federal tax credits to make the units truly affordable, Pastor…
A Homegrown Solution for Rural Food Access
In the small farming and ranching communities of northeastern North Dakota, high school sports bring the whole town out. Teachers know every student by name. And when a grocery store closes, the whole community feels it.That's what happened in Fordville when its grocery store shut down. It wasn't…
The Schools That Generosity Built and Communities Owned
In 1912, Black children across the rural South were learning in churches, homes and open fields. States and municipalities funded school buildings for white students—utilities, cleaning, transportation—and provided almost nothing for Black students. The gap wasn't accidental; it was policy. Julius…
What Scouts Gave on the Home Front
Long before most of them were old enough to serve, America's young people found their own way to contribute. In the early 1940s, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts across the country threw themselves into the home front effort—going door to door, organizing drives, and rallying their communities around a…
Washington Snapshot: Congressional Hearings with Treasury Secretary
Next week, both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee will hold hearings with Secretary Bessent to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget for Treasury and Treasury’s priorities. Plus, updates on Southern Poverty Law Center, OMB proposed regulations on federal…
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort Alumni Office Hours - July
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort office hours offer cohort members a space to reflect on their learnings and ask questions about program content. This year, we're excited to open these sessions to cohort alumni. These sessions are an opportunity to reconnect with the program's themes and…
Washington Snapshot: DOJ Report on Anti-Christian Bias
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) sent letters to the legal counsels at three nonprofit organizations accused of accepting money from allies of the Chinese Communist Party. Plus, Ways and Means letters to nonprofits, Legal Basics for Community Foundations, GSB Survey…