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.
Community Foundations as Civic Homes
In 2020, a cohort of five California community foundations partnered with Justice Funders to imagine new possibilities for the future of community philanthropy. We explored concepts of civic identities and political journeys, questioned our notions of what makes a home and co-created a vision of…
The Family Giving Lifecycle: Orienting Toward Effective Outcomes
While every philanthropic family is unique, there are common points of inflection. The NCFP Family Giving Lifecycle names those inflection points and provides questions for donors to ask at each stage, recognizing that philanthropy is iterative and ever-evolving. This session will share the…
Centering Black Community Voices in Pandemic Response – Regional and National Approaches
Join a conversation about how two community foundations stepped up to respond to the Pandemic. Early in the Pandemic, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint convened the Greater Flint Coronavirus Taskforce on Racial Inequities building on the lessons of the Flint water crisis. The East Bay…
Crisis, Connection, & Collaboration: Learning and Growing Impact in a Challenging Year
2020 forced everyone to think differently. For many communities in East Texas and Louisiana, the crisis of the pandemic was an additional blow to families already struggling due to devastating storms and chronic systemic disparities. However, new opportunities have emerged spurred by the…
Introducing Ethos: A Way to Address Dilemmas with Empathy and Integrity
To make progress on the urgent challenges faced today, we need to stop funding just the “usual suspects” and bravely invest in movements and traditionally under-funded changemakers. Choosing equity isn’t without risks. Philanthropists and those who support them face many ethical…
Strategies for Shifting Power
Do your foundation’s policies and procedures reflect a changing philanthropy that raises the bar on diversity, inclusion, and equity? Learn about one global foundation’s journey to ensure that grassroots partners have a place at the table and that their voices are heard. During this…
Bridging Across Toxic Political Division
The violent breach of the U.S. Capitol represents only the beginning of the destructive effects toxic polarization will bring to America if left unchecked. Researchers see America’s polarization crisis as closer to political sectarianism -- and they point to how so many of us perceive those…
Committing to Equity and Inclusivity: Moving from Words to Action
Sponsored by Knight Foundation
How can philanthropy advance equity and inclusivity in every aspect of our work? The compounding crises of the last year prompted many foundations to commit to embedding equity across their organizations and in their funding, but many remain unsure where to start.…
Transformational Leadership
During this inspiring Fireside Chat, New York Times bestseller and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, Wes Moore, will share his inspiring life story and perspective on how philanthropy can help address poverty.
Wes led the Robin Hood Foundation to one of its strongest years in the anti-…
Disrupting the Narrative: The Power of the Story
How do you change the narrative of a continent that has been entrenched in people’s minds for hundreds of years? The story of Africa is one that is often told by outsiders through frames that no longer serve this dynamic and evolving continent. Storytelling is a powerful way to shift…
The Power of Relationships to Build Equity and Change Systems
In response to severe racial disparities in COVID-19 impacts, Maine’s philanthropic sector has used its social capital to help facilitate access to emergency resources from the public sector for grassroots, immigrant-led organizations. Three Maine funders will explore philanthropy’s…
Emergence and Evolution: Pivoting Internal Culture Amidst Crisis
In a year of massive change and rupture, our internal cultures and practices had to radically pivot to adapt. From creating fully virtual workplaces to holding space for processing anti-Black racism, to accommodating the needs of working families, the internal workings of philanthropy look about as…
Democracy, Healing Divides, and Civic Life
With heightened polarization and divisiveness, growing mistrust of public institutions, protests against racial injustice, and uncertainty over the electoral infrastructure, recent events have revealed the remarkable fragility of our institutions and the norms supporting them. At the very least,…
Please Forgive Our Mess. We’re Building Trust Here.
Building relationships and trust is messy. Where do you start? And how do you keep moving forward, when sometimes it seems impossible to find common ground? York County Community Foundation embarked on a journey starting in 2018 to intentionally build bridges and work together with people of color…
A Blueprint for Transformation and DEI: The Ashley Stewart Story
The remarkable transformation of Ashley Stewart, one of the country’s largest brands serving Black women, is a story about how trusting relationships make us all better. Under the leadership of then chairman and CEO, James Rhee, Ashley Stewart overcame impossible odds to bring the company out…
Solidarity Philanthropy in Action: Walking the Talk
Amidst the interrelated crises of ecological collapse, systemic racism and social injustices, there is a call to action for solidarity philanthropy. This sounds good but what does it mean in practice?
To show true solidarity as a foundation requires trust-based funding, alignment between grant…