PARSA University: What are Community Foundations?
Many folks have asked us, “So what is a community foundation, anyway?”
Community foundations are gatherings of assets and ideas that serve a defined community. Conceived in 1914 as a vehicle for managing charitable bequests and remainder trusts dedicated to the betterment of a particular community, the community foundation concept has expanded and matured. Today, community foundations offer opportunities for donors to invest in the present and future needs of their communities and accomplish philanthropic objectives that are difficult to achieve acting alone. There are more than 650 such foundations in the United States.
Originally, community foundations were established to serve specific geographic areas, but today community foundations also serve the needs of a variety of ethnic, cultural and religious communities as well. Community Foundations are designated "public charities" rather than "private foundations" by the Internal Revenue Service because they raise a significant portion of their resources from a broad cross-section of the public each year.