Community Foundations

Community Foundations are a different kind of charitable trust, locally managed, independent charities. The majority work within their county boundaries as endowment builders, grant-makers and community leaders.

Key Statistics about Community Foundations in 2013

Organisation: 54 Community Foundations cover 94% of the UK population

Grants made: Totalled more than £52 million in 2011/12. Grants range from £250 - £250,000. The average grant is £2,500 and 20,577 community groups benefited.

Donations: The UK Community Foundations look after endowment funds of £309 million. 23,400 significant donors are supported with their investments from a few hundred pounds to a million pounds per annum.

Every Community Foundation operates within its county or city boundary and responds to the different issues within their area; but they all have the same aim of helping to improve lives lived in local communities.

There are two broad purposes of a Community Foundation:

To work with the community supporting local voluntary and community activity through a programme of locally based, constructive grant making and capacity building.
To work with local donors by pooling the donations of philanthropically minded individuals and community-minded companies into a high interest Endowment Fund. This provides a permanent and growing fund for activities that strengthen community today and in perpetuity.

Alongside their work in developing endowment, Community Foundations administer flow through funding attached to local, regional and national initiatives.

Click here if you would like to know more about UK Community Foundations in the UK