Advancing Community Development Philanthropy
energizing place-based institutions to do the best their regions
New stories of Foundations in Action are added regularly. Check back for updates.
Popular Themes: Anchor Institutions | Asset Building | Children, Youth, Next Generation | Education | Entrepreneurship and Business Development | Housing | Immigrant Populations | Nonprofit Capacity Building | Preservation and Revitalization | Sector Strategies | Workforce and Career Pathways
A story from the Vermont Community Foundation. Fresh, local food is all the rage – and rightly so. Farmers markets are on the rise – up 180 percent between 2006 and 2014 – as are food hubs, enterprises that aggregate locally sourced food to meet wholesale, retail, and institutional demand. Despite these trends, affordable, healthy food […]
A story from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (WV). Situated in the mountains of West Virginia, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF) serves a six-county region that includes Charleston, the state’s capital. Like much of Appalachia, the region’s economy was built primarily on coal-mining and manufacturing—industries that, in recent decades, have seen a significant decline. But […]
When you think of New Orleans’s economy, you might think of tourism, oil and gas, logistics. But like many places in the United States, there is a large and growing healthcare industry that is in desperate need of trained employees. The Greater New Orleans Foundation sees the growth of healthcare as an important opportunity for […]
A story from Marin Community Foundation. Most place-rooted foundations use only their grantmaking to help local nonprofit programs and organizations do their critical work in the community. Not the Marin Community Foundation. Recognizing that short-term grants may not be the best tool to help bring about change on a long-term issue, MCF is now also providing loans and […]
A story from Incourage Community Foundation. In a region coming back from staggering job loss, this innovative foundation is using its purchase and redevelopment of the town’s former newspaper building to engage of hundreds of citizens and catalyze a turnaround in the local thinking about what “development” really is – and how to do it. […]
A story from the Telluride Community Foundation (CO). The Telluride Foundation, started in 2000, is not your “grandmother’s community foundation” as Paul Major, President and CEO, will tell you. Located in the majestic San Juan Mountains, the foundation believes that the best way to improve the quality of life in the region, now and in the […]
A story from the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. After identifying a market opportunity with significant demand in the DC region – green stormwater management – this foundation is fostering private-public partnerships that are now establishing a business that will soon employ low-income residents in a transitioning neighborhood. Presented by Angela Jones Hackley, Interim President, […]
A story from the Southwest Initiative Foundation (MN). This innovative foundation developed the Keep It Growing farmland-giving program to keep land locally owned and in production and to offer young farm families a start – while offering charitable benefits to the donors and producing rental income the foundation uses to do even more good. Presented by Diana […]
A story from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (GA). After learning that area hospitals and colleges were buying 90% of their lettuce out of state, CFGA initiated Atlanta Lettuce Works – a greenhouse co-op in downtown Atlanta that will grow hydroponic lettuce and employ 40 resident-owners from poor neighborhoods in sustainable living wage jobs. Presented […]
A story from Communities Unlimited (AR). Communities Unlimited is helping owners who are selling their small businesses “Keep It Local” by securing gap financing and technical assistance to help transition the firm to people in the region – many of them low-resourced – who become successful new local owners. Talk about a potential impact investment! Presented […]
Advancing Community Development Philanthropy 