Taking a Community-Based Stand on Climate Justice

The Seattle Foundation is launching a new Climate Justice Impact Strategy to support the communities most impacted by climate change.

In this first-of-its-kind strategy among community foundations, the foundation is putting justice and equity at the center of its approach to climate change.

Seattle Foundation President and CEO Tony Mestres explains the foundation’s strategy for investing in community-based research, building strong, diverse coalitions, and strengthening the capacity of nonprofits working to advance local solutions to this global challenge.

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Peter Panepento
A Philanthropic Leader's Parting Advice to Congress

Rob Collier, the retiring president of the Council of Michigan Foundations, says the rapid growth of donor-advised funds is helping to get more money into communities — and cautions against creating new rules that would curtail giving.

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Peter Panepento
50 Years Later, a Community Foundation Carries MLK's Legacy Forward

Fifty years after he was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., Martin Luther King Jr.’s presence remains strong in this Southern city.

A special series of grants by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis aims to make sure Dr. King’s vision continues to positively shape his former hometown for years to come.

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How Giving Days Connect New Donors With Community-Based Nonprofits

Community foundations often get headlines for their work leading large-scale efforts that aim to tackle major problems in their communities.

But what’s often overlooked is the work community foundations do to connect smaller nonprofits with new donors — and the steps these foundations take to help community-based nonprofits to build their capacity and donor pipeline.

One way community foundations do this is through their coordination of giving days. Giving days are organized, community-wide events in which donors are asked to pledge money or time to charities. In many communities across the country, community foundations take the leading role in staging these events — providing everything from a centralized website that collects donations, to the marketing and publicity, to enlisting corporate sponsors and donors who provide matching gifts.

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Peter Panepento
Racing Toward a Cure

After Richard Lavine lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, family members created funds at Communities Foundation of Texas to support research. Today, their donor-advised funds are helping researchers at Baylor University test a promising new drug combination that might help save future lives.

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Peter Panepento
Study: Community Foundation Grantmaking Reaches Record Total in 2017

Grants by the nation’s 100 largest community foundations reached a record total in 2017, according to the Columbus Survey. The annual survey also shows that community foundations are well positioned to continue to ramp up their grantmaking, even as economic conditions change.

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Peter Panepento