The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation

Community Foundation FAQ

What is a community foundation?

Community foundations (CFs) provide convenient bridges between donors and nonprofit organizations. In addition to fundraising, money management, and grantmaking, CFs act as catalysts for community improvement by collaborating with a wide variety of partners. They serve as: conveners of individuals, institutions, and resources to solve community problems; researchers to study community issues; and community builders to unite, strengthen, and promote their respective communities.
2010 CF Statistics:

• 737 CFs in the United States
• CFs account for 1% of all U.S. grantmaking foundations and 9.1% of all giving
• $4 billion distributed by CFs in 2010
• CFs serve 86% of the U.S. population
  

What is Pierce County’s Community Foundation doing?

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation (GTCF) is committed to building a vibrant, compassionate and engaged Pierce County community. We work with individuals, nonprofits, businesses and community partners to promote effective philanthropy and connect people who care with causes that matter.
We do this through:

How is the community foundation impacting our community?

In our 30 year period of serving as Pierce County’s community foundation, we have:

• Distributed $84 million in grants
• Supported 1,189 nonprofits (since 1996)
• Managed over 450 varied funds that provide donors with flexibility needed to meet individual philanthropic goals
• Granted 2,520 scholarships to youth totaling over $2.5 million
• Helped exciting new initiatives take root by lending them our nonprofit status as fiscal sponsors, including Go Local Tacoma and Emergency Food Network
• Convened nonprofit agency leaders, funders, policy makers, young people and concerned citizens for in-depth discussions on key community issues and trends, including youth violence prevention
• Hosted donor and professional advisor education and participation opportunities to enhance knowledge on complex issues facing the region
• Participated in a number of diverse working groups and task forces throughout the community
• Provided capacity-building support to nonprofits in order to improve efficiency in operations
  

What are the advantages of working with a community foundation?

By giving through a community foundation, you are supporting local philanthropy in a long-term sustainable manner.

• Pooling community funds allows for maximized investment returns as well as a greater impact of philanthropy directed at your local community level.
• We have the resources and expertise for understanding the ever-evolving needs of our community and we have a thorough understanding of the nonprofit organizations serving those needs.
• We have the resources available to assist you in learning about philanthropy in our area, as well as to provide you consulting on the variety of funds and donor options.
• CFs offers a variety of customized giving options that allow you flexibility in your giving.
• CFs are public charities. As classified under Section 501 (c)(3) of the IRS code, all contributions to a community foundation are fully tax-deductible.
  

What’s the difference between a private foundation and a community foundation?

A community foundation is supported by a broad and ever-widening group of unrelated individuals, families, corporations, and institutions. The only thing that connects all of its donors is a desire to improve local communities.

Because of their broad base of support, community foundations are classified by the IRS as publicly-supported charities. This gives community foundations tax advantages not enjoyed by private foundations.
Private foundations, by contrast, are generally supported by a single individual, family, or business. Rarely does it make sense to establish a private foundation if the principal endowment is not large.

Then how is GTCF different than nonprofit organizations?

Most nonprofit organizations have a specific mission. The mission of our Community Foundation is very broad: to connect people who care with causes that matter. This flexibility and breadth in the mission allows us to serve a wider group of potential donors and a wider group of nonprofit organizations.
Area nonprofits benefit from having a local community foundation because it helps money stay in the respective community. As the CF grows, it gradually becomes the center for all charitable giving in a community. We help make connections between the people who want to give and the people who need their support.

So, your like United Way?

Not exactly. Both organizations have a broad mission and serve similar geographic areas. However, we are different in several key ways:

1. The United Way tends to focus on essential human needs and social service organizations, community foundations serve all needs. The Community Foundation supports arts and culture, basic needs, education, environment, scholarships, neighborhoods and communities, and special initiatives (including The Fund for Women & Girls and Youth Against Violence).
   
   
2. The United Way focuses its work on an annual fundraising campaign. Community foundations seek to attract large, long-term gifts. A community foundation's grantmaking and operations are supported primarily by the annual income generated by the foundation’s endowment.
   
   
3. Community foundations focus on attracting and managing permanent endowments. Most chapters of the United Way do not attempt to manage long-term funds or permanent endowments.