Thus far, we’ve highlighted some of the national corporate foundations in our previous articles.

Another funding option available to 501c3 and nonprofit organizations are community foundations. Community foundations are public charities set up to provide funds to other charitable organizations, generally 501c3 organizations. There are approximately 800 community foundations in the US.

Community Foundations:

Serve a specific geographic region, which may be a city, state, zip code, etc.

Get their funds from public and private donors.

Are managed by a local board from the community.

Have a specific mission to support a certain charitable cause or causes

Charitable foundations are set up by individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The individuals who set up the foundations can make recommendations on how the grants are given out.

In terms of size, many of the community foundations are small in size. However, there are also many larger size community foundations, with assets of more than a $1 billion. Several of the larger community foundations give grants totaling more than $100 million annually.

With approximately 800 community foundations in the US, there is likely to be several of these foundations that serve your geographic region and that support charitable activities similar to the ones offered by your organization. It will serve most 501c3 organizations very well to network with these individuals and seek out the foundation leaders who have an interest in supporting causes in common with your organization’s activities.

Over the next several weeks, we will be provide specific information on many community foundations throughout the US. We will provide information on geographic regions served, charitable causes supported, contact and the process of applying for these community foundation grants.