Community Philanthropy in Appalachia The current and potential development role and impact of community foundations in Appalachia Prepared for Consultation on Community Philanthropy in Appalachia Appalachian Regional Commission Community Strategies Group March 13, 2012 What exactly is the… Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group? We help community leaders and organizations address (cid:132) hefty challenges and capitalize on opportunities. Our Community Foundation work – since 1993: (cid:132) Defined Rural Development Philanthropy and helped (cid:137) develop its practice Pioneered research on building and sustaining Affiliates (cid:137) First to explore small-market CF Business Models (cid:137) Helped lead the field’s Community Leadership work (cid:137) Worked with scores of CFs over the last 19 years (cid:137) Going DEEP with small-market community foundations! (cid:137) Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group March 13, 2012 Six Things to Talk About Today 1. What are community foundations and where did they come from? 2. What tools do community foundations use? 3. How can geographic affiliates expand the coverage of community philanthropy? 4. Why should development organizations care about community foundations? 5. What’s the status of community foundations in Appalachia? 6. What are the primary barriers and opportunities for community philanthropy in Appalachia? Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 1. What are community foundations? A primary form of community philanthropy in the United States …and Canada…and, more recently, the world Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 What is a community foundation? Generally stated… A nonprofit organization that promotes giving and acts as a leader to enhance the quality of life in the particular geographic region that it defines as its “community.” Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 The Official Definition of a United States Community Foundation A community foundation is: a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly (cid:122) supported, nonsectarian philanthropic institution… with a long term goal of building permanent, named (cid:122) component funds established by many separate donors… for the broad-based charitable benefit of the residents (cid:122) of a defined geographic area, typically no larger than a state. Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 What is a community foundation? Defining Characteristics Operates within and for a specific geographic area (cid:122) Governed by a board widely representative of that area (cid:122) Acts on a wide range of issues and ideas in that area (cid:122) Exercises leadership on critical community issues (cid:122) Both receives gifts and makes gifts (cid:122) Many donors – Each donor chooses the focus for their gift (cid:122) Many kinds of funds – some endowed, some not (cid:122) Focus on The Power of Endowment (cid:122) Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 A little history… First CF founded in Cleveland in 1914 (98 years ago) (cid:122) Focused on assembling financial assets to address (cid:122) critical community issues Idea quickly expanded to most larger metro areas (cid:122) Tax advantages drove them from a community- (cid:122) centric focus to a donor-centric focus In the 1990’s, other cheaper vehicles emerged to (cid:122) serve donors just interested in tax advantages Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 By the 1990’s Many CFs again put community first More and more CFs turn back to – or start with – (cid:122) a community-centric focus Some focus primarily on community development (cid:122) These CFs redefine services to donors as an important (cid:122) supporting function – a means to other ends – not the driving force behind their activities Many of these CFs serve rural areas (cid:122) Major foundations invest heavily in the creation of (cid:122) community foundations across smaller urban and rural American markets – and abroad Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012 Community Foundations Today About 750 U.S. community foundations (cid:122) Growing movement abroad – 1,175 in 46 (cid:122) countries outside the U.S. (this is new) Over $45 billion in assets under management in (cid:122) the U.S. A fast-growing segment of philanthropy – (cid:122) especially in rural areas here and abroad More and more CFs are taking leadership roles (cid:122) on tough community development issues Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group 2012