It’s Community Foundation Week (November 12-18)! This annual celebration was created in 1989 by former president George H.W. Bush to recognize the important work of community foundations and their collaborative and innovative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sector.
In honor of Community Foundation Week, here are some facts about our sector:
• Community foundations are grantmaking public charities that are dedicated to improving the lives of people in a defined local geographic area.
• Nearly half of the community foundations in the U.S. are located in the Midwest and 36% serve rural areas, like ours!
• We got our start as a private foundation in 1951, but in 1972 we reorganized to become a public charity and community foundation.
• Our Community Foundation is one of more than 500 US community foundations that has achieved accreditation through the Community Foundations National Standards program. Accreditation is a voluntary and rigorous evaluation process that ensures an organization meets high levels of accountability, transparency, and excellence.
• Education, children, and human and social services are the three most common program priorities among community foundations.
• Giving by foundations has tripled over the past 15 years.
