Community foundations have long played a critical role in investing in efforts to address local issues and in bringing people together to solve problems. Let’s keep it that way.

With its "Impact Areas" initiative, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta aims to alter the course of Atlanta's future for generations to come, tracking and tackling its residents’ greatest challenges across five key areas:

• Arts

• Community Development

• Education

• Nonprofit Effectiveness

• Well-being

In a new video, Cleveland Foundation CEO Ronn Richard explores his foundation’s approach to economic development — with an eye toward improving neighborhoods in and around the city’s downtown.

When Henry E. Haegg, Jr., 93, passed away in February 2017, he left his stepchildren a significant donor-advised fund in each of their names at the Community Foundation of Collier County, in addition to a $1-million-plus unrestricted donation to meet emerging needs.

The leaders of two prominent Minnesota community foundations discuss how their foundations — and many others — are listening to and working with their communities to make a difference.

While Austin has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past decade, data shows that not all Central Texans have the same access to opportunity. As the region balances on an inflection point of growth and change, Austin Community Foundation is focused on closing the opportunity gap through research, pooled resources and data-driven grantmaking.

A massive bequest to the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region reminds us that effective philanthropy can take many forms.

As the leaders of philanthropic organizations that are working to improve lives in communities large and small — and in regions that vote both red and blue — the Census isn’t about politics. It’s about making sure we have accurate data that will guide decisions about nearly every dollar we spend.