One of the fastest growing forms of community philanthropy (including all forms of generosity, giving and personal gifting) worldwide is the community foundation.
Community foundations are committed to improving communities in a specific geographic region. They do this by pooling the charitable gifts of donors to create permanent endowment funds and using the income from these funds to make grants that support a wide range of community needs.
Some community foundations support a city, others a wider region, and are found in around 140 countries throughout the world.
They are much more than a mechanism for allocating funds. They are about working with and for the community. They connect people with similar interests.
Community foundations play a powerful role as a neutral convener around important community issues and have the ability to bring diverse interests to the table for constructive problem solving.
Since they are local organisations with local board members at their helm, Community foundations can be flexible and responsive to both community and donor needs.
Community foundations hold donors' gifts in a variety of different types of endowment funds that are invested by the foundation. The capital is held permanently and the income is used to make grants to community organisations, thus ensuring support to the community year after year.
Types of endowment funds include:
In summary, donors can:
Community foundations enable people to be involved in the growth and development of their community either as donors or as volunteers. On an institutional level, Community Foundations can build permanent assets and resources that will benefit a community for generations.
The idea originated in the United States. There, community foundations have been around for more than 75 years and now constitute one of the fastest growing sectors for charitable contributions in the country.
The 500-plus community foundations in the USA now have at least $20 billion in permanent endowment assets. Community foundations now exist all around the world.
All kinds of people make donations to community foundations. Some people set up a named charitable fund because of the death of a family member, an interest in combating a particular social problem, or a desire to help members of the community they live, work or grew up in.
There are seven community foundations operating in New Zealand. Each of them can be accessed at their own site below.
If there is not an existing community foundation that supports your local community, and you are interested in starting one, please contact one of the existing Community Foundations for further information and contacts. They will be only too happy to help.
| Community Foundation | Primary Area of Coverage |
|---|---|
| Acorn Foundation | Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty |
| Advance Ashburton Community Foundation | The same areas as the Ashburton District Council |
| Northland Community Foundation | Wellsford north, including Kaipara, Whangarei District, Mid North and Far North districts. |
| The Community Foundation (HB) | Cover Community and Health in Napier, Hastings, Central Hawkes Bay. Health only in Wairoa. |
| Wellington Region Foundation | Wellington, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa |
| Whanganui Community Foundation | Whanganui |
| Manukau Community Foundation | Manukau City |
This list features publications on community foundations held in Philanthropy New Zealand's Resource Centre. The vast majority of these publications are from overseas, reflecting the lack of New Zealand research and writing in this field.
Building Philanthropic and Social Capital: The work of Community Foundations $45.00 + GST
The Community Foundation Kit - building stronger Australian communities $117.00. To order a copy contact Philanthropy New Zealand
www.nzcommunityfoundations.org.nz
This is the window to all the New Zealand community foundations. It
details their news and highlights what New Zealand community
foundations do.
Philanthropy New Zealand has information and resources on community foundations. Judith Timpany, Board Member of Philanthropy New Zealand and Executive Director of the Whanganui Community Foundation has much expertise in the area of community foundations and can be contacted by email: whanganuifoundation@xtra.co.nz
The Council on Foundations is a non-profit member association of grantmaking foundations and corporations. This site is packed with community foundation news, research and information.
Community Foundations of Canada is a membership organisation for Canadian community foundations has some general information and resources on starting community foundations, as well as interesting publications and links.
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) aims to take a leadership role in assisting regional, rural and remote communities to respond to social, cultural and economic change. The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal is a member of Philanthropy Australia.
Community Foundations Institute Housed within the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, the Community Foundations Institute is intended to develop as a comprehensive resource for research, training, and education in the community foundation field. The website includes the full text of the 'Community Foundation Competency Guide' which is based on the US Standards for Community Foundations and intended as an orientation guide for new community foundation staff members, as well as a refresher for experienced staff in the field. Although still under development as the institute has only just been implemented, the website is expected to eventually contain a resource database and library for community foundation staff and board members around the world.
Community Foundation Network is a membership organisation for UK community foundations. The website contains news from the UK of interest to community foundations, as well as links to CFN's members.
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation One of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation's aims is to strengthen civil society. The foundation has been heavily involved in the worldwide community foundation movement for more than two decades.
Association of Small Foundations This American membership organisation is aimed at foundations with few or no staff. Most of their resources are members-only but the free resources do include a 'Primer on Grantmaking' as well as some interesting links.
Carman, Joanne, "Community Foundations: a Growing Resource for Community Development", Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Vol. 12, No. 1, Fall 2001
Cullen, Dr M et al., Tax and Charities: a government discussion document on taxation issues relating to charities and non-profit bodies http://www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/publications/files/html/ddcharities/index.
Etchart, Nicole and Lee Davis, "Profits for non-profits?", Alliance, Building Resources for the Community Worldwide, Vol. 7, No. 2, June 2002
Gaberman, Barry, "Associations of grantmakers: Why should we care about them?", Alliance, Building Resources for the Community Worldwide, Vol. 6, No. 1, March 2001
Hartnell, Caroling, "US Foundations explore futures for philanthropy", Alliance, Building Resources for the Community Worldwide, Vol. 7, No. 2, June 2002
McCurry, Patrick, "Making giving Pay", Voluntary, April 2001 (UK)
McCurry, "Capital Gains", Voluntary, October 2001
McKinley, Peter, Public Ownership and the Community, Institute of Policy Studies, VUW, 1999
McLay, David, "Tax issues and Problems for the Charitable Sector", NZ Law Journal, 2002
Ministry of Social Policy, Communities and Government: Potential for Partnership, Whakatopu Whakaaro, April 2001
O'Dea, Des, The changes in New Zealand's Income Distribution, Treasury working paper 00/13 www.treasury.govt.nz/workingpapers/2000/00-13.asp in working papers 2000 section.
O'Keefe & Partners, Giving Trends in Australia Report, 2000 http://www.okeefe.com.au
Orosz, Joel, The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund, and Manage Effective Programmes, Kellog Foundation, 2001
Philanthropy, Spring 2000 (43)
Robinson, David, unpublished report for PNZ on funding of non-government sector
Sievers, Bruce, "Non-Profits in Ventureland", Alliance, Building Resources for the Community Worldwide, Vol. 7, No. 2, June 2002
Scott, Graham, Community Trusts in New Zealand: Looking Back and Looking Forward, a report for the 12 community Trusts, 2002
Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Census
Toepler, Stefan, "Foundations and their Institutional Context: Cross-Evaluating Evidence from Germany and the United States", Voluntas, Vol. 9, No. 2, June 1998
The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc, What's a Donor to Do?, The State of Donor Resources in America Today, Boston 2000
http://www.tpi.org
Van Gendt, Rien, "A more Global Role for European Foundations?" Alliance, Building Resources for the Community Worldwide, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2002
Voluntary Sector, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Issues, July 2001
Wright, Karen, "Generosity vs.. Altruism: Philanthropy and Charity in the United States and United Kingdom", Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit organizations, Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2001