Family philanthropy has been at the heart of the community foundation field since its inception. In 1914, Frederick H. Goff and his family created the first community foundation in Cleveland, Ohio.  Since then, tens of thousands of families, individual donors and corporations—many of them family businesses—have helped to launch, sustain, and grow the more than 700 community foundations that exist across the United States.

Throughout 2013, the National Center for Family Philanthropy is looking at the special relationships that families have with their communities. In this issue of Family Giving News, we share examples of innovative partnerships between giving families and their local community foundations.  The Council on Foundations estimates that the community foundation sector manages approximately $58 billion of charitable assets and serves an estimated 86% of the U.S. population. Between 2011 and 2012, donor advisors at community foundations increased the assets held in these funds by 22%, on average.

Family giving through community foundations is fueling much of this growth and the benefits for all parties are clear: leverage, community knowledge, opportunities for collaboration, efficiency and—most importantly—greater impact.

Read the full article about community foundations at the National Center for Family Philanthropy.