Advancing Community Development Philanthropy
energizing place-based institutions to do the best their regions
A story from CREATE Community Foundation (MS). In Northeast Mississippi, the state’s oldest community foundation, the Create Foundation, saw the connection between a lack of educational attainment and low incomes for families in its 17-county region. It was evident in how the region lagged behind both the state and the nation. Given its focus on regional […]
A story from Barry Community Foundation (MI). When no one else in their region could do it, this foundation took on setting up and running a program to help local low-income workers file for and receive their Earned Income Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits – and then successfully spun the program off once the […]
A story from the Napa Valley Community Foundation (CA). In this region of extreme income disparity, the community foundation organized the One Napa Valley Initiative, which is helping scores of Legal Permanent Resident immigrants who already have green cards to become citizens – a transition that correlates with higher family income, higher educational attainment for their […]
A story from the Barry Community Foundation (MI). This small-but-bold community foundation has established a Children’s Savings Account for every kindergarten child in the county, has built an endowment to do the same for every child in the future, and is organizing financial education and savings incentives around it that will help children, their families and […]
A story from United Way of Chittenden County (VT). This Vermont United Way sparked a local small business collaborative that is providing shared services and staff who “circuit-ride” to help low-income employees stabilize during financial and family emergencies, and then begin to build assets – even as it significantly reduces turnover and costs for the participating firms. Presented by Lisa Falcone, […]
A story from West Central Initiative. Ten years ago, West Central Initiative (MN) used the FES framework to assemble a network of key social service, economic development, business and civic organizations across its region to examine what was hindering poor families from getting ahead, set action priorities together, and then craft program responses that are building family […]
A story from the Arizona Community Foundation. The Arizona Community Foundation’s 2009 statewide convening of potential business, government and nonprofit partners around the FES framework has led to a wider deployment of programs that help Arizona’s low-income working families get ahead – including Individual Development Account matched-savings programs, free tax-filing assistance for the Earned Income Tax […]
A story from The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County Working with Latino parents, this foundation created El Paso (Engaged Latino Parents Advancing School Outcomes), a new grassroots movement that is engaging a critical mass of well-informed and skilled Latino parents who will help ensure that more Latino children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn. Presented […]
A story from the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (WV). With local youth not seeing their future in the area, this community foundation helped create short-term job opportunities for local college-age students with local businesses – building their networks, and helping them envision a future that might include staying in the region. Presented by […]
A story from the Rochester Area Foundation (MN). Over the past 15 years, the Rochester Area Foundation has generated hundreds of affordable housing options for workers on the lower career (and income) rungs in the region’s growing health care and hospitality industries by creating a dispersed Community Land Trust, assembling lending partners and down payment […]
Advancing Community Development Philanthropy 