
Transforming Communities
News and opinion about community foundations and philanthropy
How a N.C. Community Foundation Is Marshaling Support to Create Affordable Housing
The Foundation for the Carolinas is taking the lead in addressing Charlotte’s shortage of affordable housing.
The foundation recently announced it has secured more than $30 million in matching funds for the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund it started to help support a government-led effort to address the region’s housing shortage.
The funds support a combination of new affordable housing construction, support for existing affordable housing infrastructure, and lowered interest rates, according to the foundation.
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Leads Nationally Recognized Work on Early Childhood Development in Rural Areas
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund has long supported efforts to improve coordination for early childhood development in the state’s rural areas. Now, their work is receiving national recognition.
Community Foundations Lead Charge for an Accurate 2020 Census
As the 2020 U.S. Census approaches, community foundations across the country are stepping forward to make sure everyone gets counted.
Study: Donor-Advised Funds Give Lifeline to Nonprofits During Recessions
When the next recession hits, donor-advised funds are expected to help cushion the blow for nonprofits, even as other revenue sources decline, a new study finds.
The study — conducted by Dan Heist, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Danielle Vance-McMullen, an assistant professor at the University of Memphis — used Internal Revenue Service data from 2007 to 2016 to analyze the grant making activity of donors who have funds at 996 donor-advised-fund sponsors.
Inside Wichita Community Foundation's Innovative Effort to Attract Talent to its City
The Wichita Foundation’s Talent Ecosystem Fund, has already helped draw 49 people to relocate to Wichita to get trained for high-skilled careers.
Rather than simply paying for tuition, the fund is investing in helping students with relocation and living costs while they go back to school.
St. Paul and Minnesota Foundations Mark $1 Billion in Giving
The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations were founded in 1940 with a modest, $5,000 gift from a Jewish immigrant named Annie Paper.
This week, the Foundations reached a milestone that likely seemed impossible at the time — more than $1 billion in giving to communities across Minnesota.
Community Foundations Lead Push for Census Outreach in New York State
New Yorkers have a lot to lose if its population is undercounted in the 2020 Census.
But a group of foundations led by the New York Community Trust is calling on the state to join them in funding an outreach effort targeted at helping ensure traditionally undercounted communities are fully counted.
Community Foundations Help Workers Displaced by Federal Shutdown
As the partial shutdown of the federal government enters its second month, a growing number of U.S. community foundations are stepping up to provide funding and other support to impacted workers and nonprofits.
In Washington, D.C., the shutdown is affecting an estimated 285,000 federal government and contract workers. In turn, it is wreaking havoc on the region’s economy and putting a huge strain on nonprofits that provide help with food and shelter, utilities, and social services.
As the need has grown, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has started setting aside and raising money to help nonprofits address the most critical needs.
First We Bind the Wounds, Then We ...
A Pittsburgh Foundation leader reflects on the changing role of community foundations in an era of mass killings, bigotry, and hatred.
Raising money to bind the wounds is only the first step. What happens after that?
'It's Sort of Like Being Santa Claus All Year Long': Why Donors are Choosing DAFs
Why are donor-advised funds growing in popularity?
For many donors, the answer to that question centers not on tax benefits, but on convenience and flexibility.
“It’s sort of like being Santa Claus all year long,” Marie Stapinski, a DAF account holder at the Pittsburgh Foundation, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.