Defining Philanthropy
Community Foundations Provide Critical Infrastructure
PAUL DAUGHERTY
When you think of critical infrastructure for thriving communities , your first thoughts may be of roads , flourishing downtowns , access to quality water and sewer , sufficient power , great schools and high-speed internet . While these are all critical pieces of infrastructure , one item that is often left off the list is a strong community foundation .
What are community foundations , and why would they be considered critical infrastructure ? According to the Council on Foundations , a community foundation is a “ tax-exempt , nonprofit , autonomous , publicly supported , philanthropic institution composed primarily of permanent funds established by many separate donors of the long-term , diverse , charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area . Typically , a community foundation serves an area no larger than a state . Community foundations provide an array of services to donors who wish to establish endowed funds without incurring the administrative and legal costs of starting independent foundations .”
Defining Community Foundations
West Virginia is home to a robust and growing network of community foundations that either serve single counties or multi-county regions . There are 27 independent and / or affiliate community foundations serving 52 of West Virginia ’ s 55 counties . These foundations are collectively holding more than $ 500 million in assets . There are three counties that do not have a community foundation directly serving them : Braxton , Pendleton and Upshur . According to Philanthropy West Virginia , the state association for organized philanthropy , the state ’ s community foundations have seen explosive growth since 1999 when there were 10 community foundations serving only 30 of the 55 counties with a collective $ 120 million in assets . It is important to recognize that this tremendous growth can be attributed to significant leadership and partnerships established in the early 2000s , with major support by community foundation leaders . Generous investments were also made from
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