Community Foundations

Community foundations are grantmaking public charities that are dedicated to improving the lives of people in a defined local geographic area. They bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support nonprofit organizations in their communities. Community foundations vary widely in asset size, ranging from less than $100,000 to more than $1.7 billion. There are almost 200 community foundations in Canada and just over 750 community foundations in the U.S.

We recommend that you consider applying to your local or regional community foundation after you have approached local businesses. Securing support from local businesses will add credibility to your request, as well as help you hone your proposal writing skills.

In general, giving from community foundations represents about 1/10th of total foundation and corporate giving in the U.S. Using this data, consider establishing a grants-portfolio objective to secure a minimum of 8% to 10% of grant revenue from your community foundation.

Grantmaking by community foundations rose 5.6% from 2018 to 2019, according to Giving USA. Consider setting an objective for your grants portfolio that increases the funds you currently request from your community foundation by around 5%.

Community foundations play a key role in identifying and addressing community problems. If you are wrestling with a significant community problem—whether it is well known or not—consider applying to your community foundation.

Eighty-two percent of the respondents to the 2020 State of Grantseeking Report applied to a community foundation, and 72% indicated they received an award. Watch for your local community foundation’s application cycle and regularly submit requests. Consistency is key here.

According to the 2020 State of Grantseeking Report, the median award received from community foundations was $10,800. Check the average grant amount before you apply, but use the $10,800 as a touchstone if that information is not available.

As social problems grow in scope and size, community foundations are increasingly reaching across the sector to engage in conversations about the social problems affecting their communities. To keep your organization at the top of their funding list, consider forming a collaborative effort with other nonprofits to tackle a problem or issue facing your community, and bring the community foundation into the discussion.

Always ask your community foundation if they cover administrative fees for managing the grant award.

Go to our Charitable Giving database for the U.S. or Canada and use the Type of Grantmaker filter to select “Community Foundation.”

Many donor-advised funds are located within a community foundation. Always ask if there are any DAFs that you should be aware of at your local community foundation.

To identify your closest community foundation, review the interactive map of community foundations in the U.S. using the Community Foundation Locator provided by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

To identify community foundations in Canada, you can go to Find a Community Foundation provided by Community Foundations of Canada.

Community foundations are increasingly using community data to make funding decisions and recommendations. Your proposal should reflect current studies and reports in order to draw their attention (and hopefully their support). If you have unique data to share with them, that can help push your proposal to the front of the line.

Community foundations can be understaffed, so make sure your reporting carefully adheres to their guidelines so you are not creating additional work for them. A clarifying conversation up front with the foundation officer can be helpful for you and a great relief for them.