What is a Community Foundation?

Conceived in 1914 as a vehicle for managing charitable bequests and remainder trusts dedicated to the betterment of a particular community, the community foundation concept has expanded and matured.  Today, community foundations offer opportunities for donors to invest in the present and future needs of their communities and accomplish philanthropic objectives that are difficult to achieve acting alone.

There are nearly 700 such foundations in the United States established to increase the private charitable resources of the areas they serve.  Community foundations build and strengthen communities by making it possible for a wide range of donors to create permanent, named component funds to meet critical needs.   In addition, one of a community foundation’s special functions is to evaluate and help coordinate the needs and services in its communities, so that charitable gifts are used effectively to fulfill a community’s most critical needs.

Community Foundations are designated "public charities" rather than "private foundations" by the Internal Revenue Service because they raise a significant portion of their resources from a broad cross-section of the public each year.   Community foundations in the United States hold approximately $44.8 billion in assets. In 2005, community foundations gave $3.2 billion to a wide variety of nonprofit activities, including urban affairs, the arts, education, environmental projects, health and disaster relief.

All share the common goal of serving donors, nonprofit organizations and the community as a whole.

For further information on the community foundations, please visit the Council on Foundations website, www.cof.org.