Why Community Foundations Are Growing
I have always believed philanthropy becomes more powerful when people can connect the gift to something they understand. Sometimes that connection comes through a personal experience. Sometimes it comes through a relationship. And sometimes it is simply because the impact is happening close enough to see.
That may be part of what is happening with community foundations.
The NonProfit Times recently reported strong growth among community foundations. Endowments at 114 community foundations grew 14.7 percent in 2025, following 11 percent growth in 2024. More than half of the foundations surveyed reported increased gifts, and among those organizations, the median increase was 79 percent. Those are substantial numbers.
Some of that growth is clearly tied to investment performance. But I think there is another part of the story----people want to make a difference where they live.
There is something very different about supporting an issue somewhere across the country and helping improve the community you drive through every day. You know the hospital. You know the schools. You recognize the neighborhoods. You understand the challenges facing families in your community because you see them, hear about them, or experience them through people you know.
The impact is closer. And because it is closer, it often feels more real.
That matters in philanthropy. Donors do not simply want to know that their gift was received and properly used. They want to understand what happened because they gave. They want to see progress. They want to feel some connection between their generosity and a changed life, stronger organization, better opportunity, or healthier community.
Community foundations are built around that connection. They give donors a way to support the place they call home while addressing a range of needs. The growth of donor advised funds within community foundations also gives people flexibility to be thoughtful about where and how they give over time.
For nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, I think there is a larger lesson in this trend. We spend a great deal of time talking about what our organizations need. We need a new program. We need more scholarships. We need a renovated facility. We need additional staff. Those may all be legitimate needs, but they are still organizational needs.
The more compelling conversation may be about the community.
What kind of community do we want this to be?
What do we want children growing up here to experience?
What institutions must remain strong?
What would happen if we solved this problem locally?
Those are different questions, and they create a different kind of philanthropic conversation. They move the donor from funding an organization to helping shape a community.
That is an important distinction. The continued growth of community foundations may be telling us something about what donors are looking for. They want proximity. They want relevance. They want to see the result of their generosity and understand how it changed something they care about.
There is a lesson in that for every nonprofit, whether it is connected to a community foundation or not. Make the impact visible. Make it local whenever possible. Help donors understand what their generosity changes in the places and among the people they already care about.
Sometimes philanthropy feels most meaningful when the evidence of the gift is not somewhere far away.
Sometimes you can see it on the drive home.
