What do Community Foundations do?
- Pool the charitable gifts of many donors into permanent, income-earning endowment funds that benefit local communities.
- Make grants from the earnings of these funds to support a wide range of local initiatives – from health, education and social services to arts and culture and the environment.
- Provide leadership to their communities by bringing people together from all sectors to identify and address local issues.
- Canada’s 191 community foundations hold combined assets of over $2.3 billion.
What are the Benefits to the Community?
Campbell River Community Foundation provides a means of keeping charitable donations within the community and increasing the amount of money available to all types of non-profit organizations. It offers a permanent source of funding because only the investment income of the pool of funds is dispersed.
Campbell River foundation strives to use the income from the funds entrusted to it to serve the interests of Campbell River in the areas of education, health and welfare, culture, environment and parks, youth and seniors. The foundation is governed by a board of respected and dedicated volunteers.
How are Community Foundations Structured?
Winnipeg established the first community foundation in Canada in 1921…
Today, community foundations span the country from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland, serving large and small urban centers and rural communities. Their endowment funds are professionally invested in diverse portfolios to ensure that they are managed wisely and profitably.
Each community foundation is autonomous and governed by a volunteer board of local leaders. Yet they are linked and supported by Community Foundations of Canada’s strong national network.
The first community foundation started in Cleveland Ohio, and today there are over 600 community foundations in the United States. This terrific idea has spread to Australia, Costa Rica, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovakia and South Africa.
