What are Community Foundations?
Community Foundations are the UK experts in strengthening local communities through effective charitable giving. Using their local knowledge, they are able to connect donors with dynamic local organisations whose ability to change lives for the better is only inhibited by a lack of funds and resources. The 55 Community Foundations that cover 94% of the UK population are all independent registered charities.
All charitable organisations on Localgiving are independently vetted by the local Community Foundation, in a process approved by the Charity Commission. This means you can give with confidence that your money will be spent effectively.
Find out how your donation supports a growing community! Click here.
Our current Community Foundation partners:
Coming Soon!
- Community Foundation for Merseyside
- Essex Community Foundation
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation
- East London Community Foundation
- South Yorkshire Community Foundation
Why are Community Foundations partnering with Localgiving?
The purpose of Community Foundations is to empower and support local charitable organisations.
Most of these organisations currently rely on cash and cheque donations, or grants. But all these sources of income are under threat. Grants are being cut, and online giving is taking a significantly greater share of donations. Small local charities often do not have the resources to build websites and take donations online.
So it has become a key objective of the Community Foundations to provide a sustainable source of income for local charitable institutions. By partnering with Localgiving.com, the Community Foundations can provide a sophisticated web site as well as online donation facilities to the local organisations, which they know to be operating to high standards and using good practice. Localgiving also provides the Community Foundations, and the local charities, with a means to promote themselves to potential donors who are currently seeking to make a difference in their community.
What else do Community Foundations do?
1. Empower local community groups to achieve their goal
Community Foundations enable local people to tackle the issues of disadvantage that effect society. With their local resources and their knowledge they are able to address these issues directly at their source.
2. Tackle important social issues
Community Foundations create a powerful community spirit that brings together all types of people to tackle important social issues in their area. See: Tackling social issues
3. Build capacity in local voluntary and community organisations
Good intentions need more than money to become a reality. Community Foundations provide a wide range of support to small community groups to help them become more efficient, effective and better equipped to face the challenges in their local area. See: Building capacity in local voluntary and community organisations
4. Promote volunteering and active citizenship
Volunteers and active citizens are the heart and soul of strong communities. They are also an essential and valued part of every strong Community Foundation. See: Promoting volunteering and active citizenship
5. Develop and research local knowledge
Community Foundations have strong connections within their local communities. Contact with local people and organisations creates essential 'grassroots' knowledge. This sets community foundations apart from other grant-makers and ensures donations are accurately targeted to achieve the greatest impact. See: Developing and researching local knowledge
6. Provide customised services for repeat donations
Community Foundations exist to encourage and support local philanthropy. They offer customised services to donors where required and provide support for strategic long term giving. Giving through a Community Foundation is simple and straightforward. It offers individual and corporate donors the immensely satisfying experience of making a lasting difference in their local community. See: Encouraging local philanthropy
The Community Foundation Network
The Community Foundation Network (CFN) represents 55 Community Foundations across the UK. The network is one of the largest independent funders of community organisations in the UK and one of the fastest growing movements committed to supporting effective charitable giving. CFN is a 50% shareholder of Localgiving.com Ltd.
