# Community foundation *Concept: a grant-making philanthropic institution serving a geographically defined community, pooling donor funds into an endowment.* A **community foundation** collects gifts from many donors into one pooled vehicle for investment and grant-making. That vehicle is devoted chiefly to the social betterment of a particular place.[^1] Such foundations are independent and registered. Each serves a bounded territory, usually a city or an administrative area such as a county or region.[^2] A private foundation, by contrast, is typically endowed by a single individual or family.[^1] Wikipedia's article counts some 1,700 community foundations worldwide, more than 700 of them in the United States.[^1] The form dates to 1914 in Cleveland, where [[Frederick Goff]] established the first one.[^3] The project's validated master places that founding at the [[Cleveland Trust Company]] on January 2, 1914.[^4] In [[Minnesota]], the two largest community foundations are the [[Minneapolis Foundation]] and the [[Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation]]. The validated master reports that together they hold roughly $3.1 billion on a stewardship basis and grant $230 million a year.[^4] ## Operation Community foundations operate as independent, registered philanthropic bodies, each tied to a defined geographic area.[^2] Wikipedia's article identifies six core traits:[^2] - they make grants; - their mission is broad, for example improving a community's quality of life; - they serve a defined geography, such as a city, state, region, district or province; - they draw on a wide mix of private and public donors, and they seek gifts mainly from within the community; - multi-sectoral local boards that reflect the community govern them; - they build a capital endowment, which supports their sustainability. The article treats the combination of all six as the mark of a true community foundation. It notes that many other community organizations share only some of these traits.[^2] Donors may open funds inside a community foundation and place a range of assets in them for charitable use. Donors can be families, individuals, businesses or nonprofit groups. A fund's founders may then advise that grants go to qualified nonprofits and schools, either under the fund's name or without attribution.[^2] American donors may deduct a gift as a charitable contribution in the year it is placed into their fund. Not every country with community foundations offers a comparable incentive.[^2] The foundation invests the pooled assets, and donors usually choose among several investment products. A growing number of community foundations also host giving circles.[^2] ## History Goff's 1914 Cleveland foundation continues today as the [[Cleveland Foundation]]. The California Community Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust were among those that followed. Canada's first, The Winnipeg Foundation, dates from 1921 in Winnipeg.[^3] Beginning in the 1980s, several American private foundations launched programs to seed community foundations across particular states. Michigan's initiative was among the earliest.[^3] In Indiana, the Lilly Endowment funded a program that encouraged a community foundation in each of the state's 92 counties. The Grand Victoria Foundation supports Illinois community foundations on a smaller scale. The Kansas Health Foundation runs a similar program in Kansas.[^3] ## Notable examples ### Canada As of 2026, Canada had more than 200 community foundations, reaching more than 90% of Canadian communities. This growth produced the Community Foundations of Canada network.[^5] ### United States Wikipedia's article relies on Foundation Center data from October 2014 to rank the five largest American community foundations by assets.[^5] The same Foundation Center statistics show that, in the United States, community foundations generally exceed corporate foundations in both assets and grantmaking.[^5] ### United Kingdom The United Kingdom has 46 community foundations. Some of them belong to UK Community Foundations, an umbrella body formerly called the Community Foundation Network.[^5] ## In the Minnesota record The Minneapolis Foundation (EIN 41-6029402) was founded in 1915. The Saint Paul Foundation was founded in 1940. It merged with the [[Minnesota Community Foundation]] on January 1, 2020, forming the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation (EIN 41-6031510).[^4] The project's claim rows list the Minnesota Community Foundation's website.[^6] The validated master puts the two foundations' combined holdings at roughly $3.1 billion on the stewardship basis and their grants at $230 million a year. The 990s filed under the two EINs show about $2.8 billion. The master attributes the difference to partner-foundation assets under management and reports that validation confirmed this as a basis distinction.[^4] The master also adds the McKnight, Bush, Northwest Area and Otto Bremer foundations to the two community foundations. On the latest filings, it computes this Minnesota apex layer at $9 billion. Its line items are:[^4] - McKnight: about $2.71 billion; - Bush: about $1.45 billion; - Northwest Area: about $0.55 billion; - Bremer: about $1.42 billion; - the two community foundations. Validation confirmed the founding dates and an aggregate of about $8.9–9.6 billion. The spread depends on whether assets are measured at book or fair-market value.[^4] The master identifies the form as the [[Cleveland Foundation Model]]. It states that the model reached Minnesota as a trust-department product line. As evidence, it records two facts, both confirmed in validation:[^4] - twelve community foundations were founded in 1915; - the [[American Bankers Association]]'s Trust Company Section created a permanent Committee on Community Trusts in 1920. ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Community foundation* (revision 1378099094, retrieved 2026-10-26), lead section — definition, worldwide and U.S. counts, contrast with private foundations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_foundation [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Community foundation* (revision 1378099094, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Operation" section — independence, territory, six characteristics, donor funds, U.S. tax deduction, pooled investment, giving circles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_foundation [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Community foundation* (revision 1378099094, retrieved 2026-10-26), "History" section — Goff's 1914 Cleveland founding, early successors, Winnipeg 1921, state development initiatives since the 1980s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_foundation [^4]: How Minnesota Got Here (project merged master, footnoted; its notes 27–28), validated passage — Minnesota founding dates, EINs, 2020 merger, asset and grant figures, apex-layer line items and aggregate, Cleveland Foundation Model and January 2, 1914 date, 1915 and 1920 facts. No URL for this passage is carried in the pack. [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Community foundation* (revision 1378099094, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Notable examples" section — Canada, United States (Foundation Center, October 2014) and United Kingdom figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_foundation [^6]: Minnesota Community Foundation, *Minnesota Community Foundation* (website; project claim row S-7413, *Minnesota 12 A — 4010 new URLs*) — the organization's site. https://www.communityfoundation.org/