The Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations: A Recap of 2024 and What’s Next in 2025

As we end our terms as co-chairs of the Council’s Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations, we wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on our experience.  

In early 2023, the Council responded to community foundation feedback to reconvene an advisory group of leaders from across the country, representing diverse perspectives, organizations, and communities. Together, we hoped to reflect on the shared issues community foundations are grappling with, while also directly shaping how the Council serves our needs. We were honored when the Council approached us to serve as inaugural co-chairs. But what we accomplished over the last two years was possible thanks to contributions from the Group’s members, who were thoughtful partners in this work. 

In 2024, we discussed topics like the ongoing donor-advised fund policy debate, what to keep on our radars following the presidential administration transition, how community foundations respond to climate and other disasters, the unique challenges rural communities across the country face, and how the Council could continue to best serve its members. Over the past two years, we also appreciated the opportunity to inform some of the Council’s major efforts related to community foundations, including:

• Leading Locally 2023, the Council’s inaugural, biennial place-based conference, which welcomed over 800 leaders to Denver. We also provided input to shape planning for Leading Locally 2025 in Minneapolis later this year.
• The acquisition of CF Insights, the only peer benchmarking platform of its kind for community foundations, which went live at the Council on September 1, 2023.
• The launch of the Center for Community Foundations, the Council’s new home for the tools, training, and knowledge we need to inform our work, the critical policy guidance we find most helpful to navigate an evolving regulatory environment, and the key updates we seek to stay connected with what’s new and relevant in the field.

Serving on this group has given us the unique opportunity to directly influence the Council’s work with community foundations. As our field looks ahead to 2025 and beyond, and determines the most effective ways we can serve our communities during this critical moment for the country more broadly, we hope you’ll consider applying to join the Advisory Group.  The deadline to do so is by February 28.

It's been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as the Advisory Group's founding co-chairs, and we look forward to seeing how the Group continues to inform the Council’s work in the years ahead.

Heather & Kristi
Co-Chairs 2023-2024, Council's Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations