A community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, non-sectarian philanthropic institution with a long term goal of building permanent, named component funds established by many separate donors for the broad-based charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area, typically no larger than a state.

A community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, non-sectarian philanthropic institution with a long term goal of building permanent, named component funds established by many separate donors for the broad-based charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area, typically no larger than a state.
Definition of a U.S. Community Foundation - Standard I. Part A.

Examples of Effective Practices

The practices listed below have been selected by the Community Foundation Standards Best Practices Committee as examples of Effective Practices.

Each example contains the name of the community foundation and link to its web site, the relevant methodology employed in this practice, the applicability of the practice to different community foundations, and a link to the Effective Practices Online Database that contains a description of the practice (as submitted) and any relevant documents and materials.

The above materials are for educational purposes only. They are not standard or model forms and should only be used as a reference in developing your own documents with advice from legal counsel where appropriate. Please read the full Terms of Use for more information.

Please note that these materials were collected prior to the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 so do not necessarily reflect the recent changes in the law. As always, these documents should only be used as a reference in developing your own documents with advice from legal counsel where appropriate. For more information on the Pension Protection Act of 2006, see www.cof.org/hr4.