Public Foundations
Public foundations are grantmaking public charities that gain their funds from a variety of sources, which may include foundations, individuals, corporations, or public entities. Public foundations may engage in fundraising, and may seek broad public financial support. They may or may not have endowments. There is no legal definition of a public foundation, but most dedicate a significant portion of their annual budgets to grantmaking. Most community foundations are also grantmaking public charities.
Since public foundations may be defined in different ways, and there is no official IRS or legal definition of public foundations, it is difficult to arrive at statistics that are fully representative of the field.
Below is everything on our site for public foundations. We strongly 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/programs-services/public-grantmaking-charities for curated public foundation content.
The California Wellness Foundation, Violence Prevention Initiative: Accomplishments, Challenges and Lessons Learned
This report highlights the accomplishments, challenges and lessons learned from TCWF's Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI or Initiative) during the period 1992-2003.
Harvard Injury Control Research Center Firearms Research
Research publications on firearm violence from the Harvard Injury Control Research Center.
National League of Cities Violence Prevention Tools & Resources
A collection of case studies, strategies and reports from the National League of Cities.
Foundation Center Issue Lab on Gun Violence
A collection of publications, news articles, and issue papers on gun violence from the Foundation Center.
The California Wellness Foundation Resource Center on Violence Prevention
This collection of resources provides ideas, best practices and lessons learned about what works in violence prevention — for those who would like to be part of the solution
National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention: Strategic Planning Toolkit for Communities
This Toolkit was developed to support cities in developing youth violence prevention plans by building partnerships, taking an inventory of local resources and assets, and designing strategies, based on local data, that address the nature of youth violence and its causes. The goal is to create a…
The History of Violence
This publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explores the history of violence and the reasons why it has become a greater focus for public health in recent decades.
What if we treated violence like a contagious disease?
In this video from TEDMED 2013, epidemiologist Gary Slutkin of Cure Violence says the issue has been misdiagnosed, and instead created science-based strategies that aim to stop violence before it erupts.
Global Philanthropy
The focus of the Council's global program is to support U.S. philanthropy’s international engagement – including through cross-border grantmaking – but also by applying a global perspective to domestic philanthropy within the United States. We make it our mission to play a key role in facilitating…
Catalytic First Loss Capital
External Resource
This issue brief from the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) details the motivations, benefits, considerations, and suitable scenarios behind the use of catalytic first-loss capital in impact investing transactions. Catalytic first-loss capital refers to socially- and environmentally-driven…
Impact Investing 2.0: The Way Forward: Insight from 12 Outstanding Funds
External Resource
The Impact Investor Project was established in 2012 as a two-year research partnership between InSight at Pacific Community Ventures, CASE at Duke University, and ImpactAssets. The goal was simple: supplant the guesswork and conjecture in impact investing with solid evidence of high performance and…
From the Margins to the Mainstream: Assessment of the Impact Investment Sector and Opportunities to Engage Mainstream Investors
External Resource
In this report, the World Economic Forum Investors Industries consulted the senior decision-makers and portfolio managers of the largest and most innovative investors in the world to facilitate a more realistic vantage point on the challenges in scaling the sector.
Limits to the Charitable Deduction: Bad Timing & Faulty Logic
Council on Foundations president and CEO Vikki Spruill and several Council members met with Congressional leaders today to deliver the important message that changes to the charitable tax deduction would diminish its value and have an undeniably negative impact on communities across the United…
Council on Foundations Announces Key Appointments for Network Team
The Council on Foundations today announced the first members of its network team, which will facilitate the flow of information and ideas across the philanthropic sector. The network team will connect members around common issues of concern, connect our members to outside resources across…
FEMA National Disaster Recovery Program Database
External Resource
With the development of the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), FEMA worked to create systems that can supplement, and not replace, current and ongoing community planning and recovery efforts. To support this effort, FEMA developed a web-based tool, the National Disaster Recovery Program…
IRS: Disaster Relief Resources for Charities and Contributors
External Resource
In the aftermath of a disaster or in other emergency hardship situations, individuals, employers, and corporations are often interested in providing assistance to victims through a charitable organization. The IRS provides a number of resources to help those involved in providing disaster relief…