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National Community Foundation Week

Codi Morton

It is National Community Foundation Week, and you may be saying, “what is a community foundation?” A community foundation is a grantmaking public charity dedicated to improving the lives of people in a defined local geographic area. There are about 800 community foundations in the U.S. Just in Memphis, there’s the Jewish Foundation, the Christian Community Foundation and, of course, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.

This year, Community Foundation Week runs November 12-18. It was created in 1989 by former president George H.W. Bush to recognize the work of community foundations throughout America. We’re proud to be part of the local effort to drive change and solutions through charitable giving.

We serve West Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, and northern Mississippi. In addition to carrying out our own community grantmaking, we also manage charitable funds for about 1,200 donors. They set aside charitable dollars with us and grant them to the organizations of their choice. The collective giving by our donors meant $138 million out the door to nonprofits last year – with 86% of those dollars staying local.

People give through a community foundation because we offer maximum tax benefits and customized advice on connecting donors’ giving to creating real impact in their communities.

Click here to learn more about what we do in our community.