Community Foundation Resource Collection (Archived)

Special collection

This collection, formerly the CF Insights Knowledge Center, was actively curated from 2015 until 2023 when Candid transferred CF Insights to the Council on Foundations. The resources continue to be accessible, but this collection is no longer actively curated.

Looking for new and updated CF Insights resources? Please visit cof.org/cfinsights.


Archived date: August 30, 2023

Collection title: CF Insights Knowledge Center (former); Community Foundation Resource Collection (current)

Collection URL: https://cfinsights.issuelab.org

Availability: 2015-2023 (Candid)

Title Count: 552 Titles

Description: This collection asks a very simple but important question: "What if each community foundation could know what all community foundations collectively know?" This collection features research produced and funded by community foundations, and other resources relevant to the field.

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Philanthropy and COVID-19: Examining two years of giving

May 25, 2022

Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) released a new report, Philanthropy and COVID-19: Examining giving in 2021, that details COVID-19-related philanthropic funding in 2021. Candid and CDP's third assessment of COVID-19 philanthropic data emphasizes that it will take decades for many communities to recover from the compounding effects of the pandemic. It highlights the role funders will play in long-term recovery from the pandemic, and CDP provides actionable steps funders can take to invigorate their COVID-19 giving strategy.

Wellness and Recovery Fund Insights Report

March 23, 2022

Brooklyn Community Foundation established the Wellness and Recovery Fund from charitable assets that remained after the New York State Office of the Attorney General dissolved Canarsie A.W.A.R.E., Inc. for its participation in a scheme that exploited some of New York's most vulnerable residents and defrauded Medicaid. The Fund supports organizations working to ensure that those who navigate the difficult road of substance abuse and addiction do so with reliable support that honors their agency and dignity.In November 2021, Brooklyn Community Foundation conducted its Insights community engagement process to learn from and partner with community leaders and residents to design the Wellness and Recovery Fund's strategy. The process involved co-creating a space for radical listening—acknowledging that people are the experts of their own experience—and fostered an environment of curiosity, openness, and empathy. 

Analysis of Donor Advised Funds from a Community Foundation Perspective

June 21, 2021

The Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) commissioned four studies between 2000 and 2016 to evaluate the required private foundation payout rate as well as hypothetical model portfolios and actual investment returns.In December 2020, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy (Johnson Center) at Grand Valley State University, in collaboration with Plante Moran Financial Advisors (PMFA), updated and expanded this research by using a comprehensive database of IRS Form 990-PF (private foundation) returns, adding international investments to the model portfolios, presenting actual payout rates of all private foundations in the dataset, and showing projections of how changes to the payout rate may affect future foundation assets. In March 2021, staff from the Johnson Center turned their focus to community foundations and completed a similar analysis — the first of its kind in the CMF foundation study series.Similar to its earlier private and community foundation report counterparts, this report provides new information to the field. To study donor advised funds (DAFs), the project team leveraged the Johnson Center's comprehensive database of IRS Form 990 filings for summary statistics. The team supplemented that dataset by partnering with CMF to obtain account-level information about the more than 2,600 DAFs housed at Michigan's community foundations. That account-level detail was used to calculate individual DAF investment returns, contribution and distribution flows, and payout rates for the years 2017–2020.

The Color of the Capital Gap: Increasing Capital Access for Entrepreneurs of Color in Massachusetts

May 20, 2021

This report lays bare the wide disparities in capital access and their root causes. The report also provides a foundation to advance bold and timely actions, policies and investments for the state, foundations, corporations, and individuals to help narrow the gap. With national attention focused on the struggle of entrepreneurs and the oppression of people of color in our society, and with large amounts of federal funding for small businesses on the way, we have a unique opportunity to implement transformative solutions that set up our entrepreneurs of color for success. 

Producing, Protecting and Preserving Housing Affordability in Central Texas: Philanthropic Opportunities

May 1, 2021

Having a place to call home is essential not only for the wellbeing of individual families and community members, but also to ensure Central Texas' continued economic growth and success. The effectiveness of Austin's response to its housing affordability crisis will determine its future — and there is still time to prevent it from experiencing the woes of other regions and provide the platform for vibrant, diverse, and economically healthy communities. In recognition of this, the Austin Community Foundation commissioned this report with funding from JPMorgan Chase, National Instruments, and St. David's Foundation to increase funders' understanding of housingrelated issues and present ideas for consideration.

Philanthropy and COVID-19 in 2020: Measuring One Year of Giving

March 3, 2021

It has been a year since the global outbreak of COVID-19, and the world is still recovering and operating in what we have come to accept as the "new normal." In 2020, we saw funders react swiftly, not only directing emergency funds to organizations on the ground but also committing to changes in their grantmaking practices and priorities to better help nonprofits face the myriad challenges brought on by the pandemic. In this report, Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy look at the global philanthropic response to COVID-19 in 2020.

NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund Report: Resilience & Resolve

January 7, 2021

The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund was created to aid nonprofit service providers struggling with the initial health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. It raised more than $110 million from more than 1,300 donations and gave financial assistance to NYC-based organizations through 764 grants and 45 loans. It distributed more than $73 million in grants through The Trust and more than $37 million in no-interest loans through the Nonprofit Finance Fund.This report provides a closer look at the fund's grant program, the nonprofits it supported, and the road ahead.

Essential Equity: Women, Covid-19 and Rebuilding CT

January 1, 2021

Covid-19 has revealed the inequities and injustice that perpetuate the systems in our state and in our larger society. As advocates for women and girls, we knew that systems of sexism and racism already disadvantaged women and girls and we braced ourselves for how the economic and health crisis would further harm them. This report documents the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women and girls, and particularly on women and girls of color. We intend this vital information to inform decisions in the future that can direct resources to women and girls. We urge policymakers, government officials, philanthropists, nonprofit service providers, corporations and our fellow community members to use this information to create equity through relief and recovery efforts.

Our Commitment to Anti-Racism: Beyond Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: An introduction to CFC's commitment to supporting and progressing anti-racism

January 1, 2021

As an organization, CFC's purpose is "Relentlessly pursuing a future where everyone belongs." Without anti-racism, and confronting the inherent inequalities and discrimination in our society, it is not possible to create the true space of belonging that is needed and necessary for a just and equitable future.CFC has been a historically white-led organization. While this remains the case, ongoing programming has worked to engage and include input from Black, Indigenous and people of colour, on intersectionality and intersectional feminism, Indigenous resilience, and equity principles in emergency grantmaking. These have been starting points that have helped us further reflect on systemic racism in Canada, however we know we need to do more, and we need to help local community foundations do the same. During recent years, the organization has been privileged to grow and be able to support additional staff members, including Black, Indigenous and people of colour staff and board members who were welcomed to the team full-time, but the organization acknowledges that up until recent years, there has been limited Black, Indigenous or people of colour representation on our staff, board and in our program design.Given that we are still at the start of an anti-racism journey, we did not feel it was appropriate to share or market this package as a guidebook. Until we do more of our own inner work to address inherent systems of racism and white supremacy in our systems, we are not in a position to designate ourselves as leaders in this space.This invitation is not meant to be an exclusive guide, toolkit, or one-stop-shop for anti-racism materials for community foundations. Rather, this is a space to begin a conversation on the community foundation movement's shortcomings, and to take pause to reflect on where we need to go.

State of the Community Foundation Field in Europe 2020

January 1, 2021

Building an understanding of the shape and work of the community foundation field is important not only in raising awareness of its scale and scope, for those operating within it and those with an interest in local development, but also to inform further development of the field.In an exceptional year for all societies worldwide, ECFI has conducted its biennial assessment of the community foundation (CF) field in Europe. This report has been informed by a survey of community foundations support organisations (CFSOs) and intelligence gathered through our ongoing engagement with the field.This report provides a snapshot of the field, highlights changes and trends, and identifies some key issues relevant to its further development. There are reflections on the role that community foundations played in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also on how this impacted on the community foundations themselves, and how this has altered their thinking and strategies.The analysis of community foundations support organisations (CFSOs) differentiates them by type and shows how this essential part of the field has developed. The work of community foundations support organisations is described and there is a focus on two important areas – what they did differently following the outbreak of Covid-19, and how they are supporting the field in respect of embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the field which will inform ECFI's work which aims to strengthen and promote the community foundation movement in Europe.

TOP (Tracking Oregon's Progress) Report 2020: Cornerstones: Economic Mobility and Belonging in Oregon

November 30, 2020

Cascading crises in Oregon in 2020 have compounded existing inequities, resulting in disproportionate impacts on Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), low-income Oregonians and rural communities. Every sector of society that OCF supports is grappling with the need for systems change: education, arts and culture, housing, business infrastructure, health care and more. How we are working to address these disproportionate impacts is informed by the findings in our newly released report, "Cornerstones: Economic Mobility and Belonging in Oregon." Working with Harvard-based research group Opportunity Insights, the report combines Census tract level data of economic opportunity with qualitative examinations of what helps kids in high opportunity neighborhoods succeed. OCF has identified key areas of investment and policy change needed to create more high opportunity neighborhoods in Oregon: economically integrated neighborhoods, high-quality schools, living wage jobs and increased social capital.

Moving Toward Equitable Funding Practices: Findings from Research on Community Foundation Practices

November 1, 2020

Community foundations can play a powerful role in connecting high-net-worth donors with local organizations working to advance community needs—especially organizations led by people of color. Connecting donors to organizations that are providing leadership and meeting critical needs in the community is one way community foundations can help donors ensure their giving is having local impact and can help strengthen the value proposition for donors to work with community foundations. Recognizing that many community foundations are already playing this role, we wanted to learn more about how they are doing so.We interviewed staff members from 13 community foundations, representing a range of geographies and asset sizes. We prioritized reaching out to community foundations who already had a point of view on racial equity because we thought other community foundations might be able to learn from their practices to connect donors and nonprofits. The staff members we spoke to primarily led donor services for their foundation, and we spoke to a few CEOs as well. In addition, we reached out to four philanthropic intermediary organizations that are structured differently from community foundations and have an emphasis on funding social justice organizations, grassroots organizations, and/or organizations led by people of color. These interviews yielded insight into how community foundations might think differently about their role and practices they could consider to deepen engagement with communities and donors.This report distills highlights and themes from our interviews with community foundations and other funding intermediaries. The findings are organized around three big questions:WHY Does This Matter? Forming a point of view on racial equityHOW Do We Direct Resources to Meet Critical Community Needs? Ways communityfoundations are connecting donors and nonprofitsWHAT Difference Are We Making? Evolving thinking about assessing impact