May 2026
WHERE GIVING MEETS COMMUNITY
Insights on local generosity, nonprofit work, and the needs shaping our region.
By Mike Goorhouse, Inspiring Impact, LLC founder and leading community foundation expert
A community is like a puzzle. For it to thrive, all the pieces must be in place and functioning at a high level. Key institutions must be strong: schools, hospitals, chambers, economic development organizations, nonprofits, and a vibrant local community foundation.
There are more than 1,000 community foundations across the United States serving as vehicles to help make local charitable giving happen. They exist to inspire donors to use their resources for the collective good and connect those resources to organizations providing impactful programs, services, and initiatives.
I’ve spent my entire career in philanthropy, working with many foundations and youth grantmakers and serving as President/CEO of my hometown community foundation in Michigan. Now, I work with organizations like your Community Giving Foundation to grow local philanthropy that makes a lasting difference. I have been honored to work with the Foundation over the last year and met many of you in March when I spoke at the Foundation’s Annual Meeting.
In your region, the Community Giving Foundation is working day in and day out to deliver on three core functions.
1. YOUR COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT:
Community foundations build and manage a region’s permanent philanthropic endowment. The purpose of this work is to ensure that charitable resources will always be available to meet changing needs and respond to new opportunities in the region. This is philanthropic capital committed to your community, forever. It’s also flexible, allowing the Foundation to look at emerging needs, shifts in public resources, and changes within the nonprofit sector, and then deploy the resources in the best way possible to make the greatest impact.
At the end of the day, building Your Community Endowment is about providing a vehicle for individuals across the region to give together—both during their lifetime and beyond—for the long-term success of the community. It also provides a place for local nonprofits to receive critical resources that can change lives.
2. YOUR GIVING SERVICES:
Community foundations offer a variety of tools and services to help donors achieve their unique charitable goals. Every individual, family, and company has their own passions and interests. Community foundations offer several fund types to help facilitate the giving process in efficient and tax effective ways—all while helping donors experience the full joy and impact of their giving.
At its core, Your Giving Services is about making giving easy and more impactful. Funds include:
- Donor advised funds, which offer tax advantages and allow donors to leverage the Foundation’s administrative resources and community connections to help create the impact they desire.
- Designated funds, for donors who want to support specific nonprofits over the long term.
- Scholarship funds, where the Foundation manages the application and awards process.
- And more!
3. YOUR FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP:
Beyond receiving charitable gifts and making grants, community foundations also provide leadership on key community issues by convening and connecting people, resources, and ideas. In order for communities to tackle their toughest challenges, they often need multiple organizations and sectors all pulling in the same direction. The Foundation is here to help facilitate that type of collaboration and problem-solving.
Community foundations also support the health and vitality of the local nonprofit sector in general by leading workshops, trainings, and networking to help nonprofits thrive.
Communities are at their best when they have a robust and growing Community Endowment, local donors have Giving Services to ensure their giving is smooth and impactful, and there is someone waking up every morning facilitating coordinated action on complex community-wide challenges.
You are fortunate to have the Community Giving Foundation doing those things on your behalf—today, tomorrow, and forever.
