Community Giving Foundation

Our work is only possible in a community where philanthropy is part of our culture. When we all come together, we can achieve bigger and better things to help our communities thrive. Join us as we look forward to our next 25 years!

Community Giving Foundation supports nonprofits and initiatives across a 5 1/2 county service area: Columbia, Lower-Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union.

Community Giving Foundation partners with several affiliate foundations designated to support a particular geographic area. Each affiliate is overseen by a board of directors - local leaders charged with educating their neighbors about creating a charitable legacy to benefit the community and making decisions about grant distributions based on the affiliate's priorities. Affiliates benefit from the administrative support, guidance, and philanthropic expertise provided by the Foundation.

• Community Giving Foundation: Berwick
• Community Giving Foundation: Bloomsburg
• Community Giving Foundation: Danville
• Community Giving Foundation: Selinsgrove
• Community Giving Foundation: Sunbury

The Foundation also partners with several programs tasked with encouraging philanthropy in certain areas. Current Foundation programs include the Nonprofit Leadership Series, Women's Giving Circle, and Youth in Philanthropy.

A community foundation is an engine for local philanthropy. It is an umbrella organization that is made up of a collection of individual funds or foundations that were started by local community-minded individuals, families, businesses, or other nonprofit organizations. The community foundation manages the funds under one charitable corporation. It can then make the greatest impact on current community needs, and create charitable reousrces for the future. Strengths of the community foundation model include:

• IRS tax-free charitable status
• Local governance
• Operational efficiencies
• Pooled investment strategies
• Professional grantmaking
• Knowledge and identification of charitable needs
• Communication with local nonprofit organizations

Community foundations offer great value through leadership and grantmaking, ensuring charitable gifts are used effectively to meet the community's most critical needs.

Community Giving Foundation maintains a deep understanding of local needs through strong relationships with nonprofit partners across the Central Susquehanna region and by monitoring needs assessments for ever-changing conditions and community goals. Through this model, the Foundation is in a unique position to connect the needs of nonprofits with the passions of donors who dispaly an ongoing commitment to community development and growth.

Each year, the Foundation awards over $3 million in grants across the region to impact programs around health and wellness, the arts, education, youth activities, recreation, and much more. In addition to the 235 grantmaking funds administered by the Foundation, over 130 scholarship funds support local students annually. In 2024, $450,000 in scholarship awards was distributed.