What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people in a local area.

Community foundations encourage individuals, organizations and companies to fund community activities in areas where donors live and work. Community foundations can also help donors in supporting charitiable causes throughout the United States and around the world.

Community foundations have been active in the U.S. since the early 1900s and are part of the fastest growing field in philanthropy, numbering more than 650 nationwide.

Donors to the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County benefit from the Foundation's expertise and knowledge of local needs and the organizations serving our community.

Community foundations, like ours, make it possible for a wide range of donors to create flexible, yet permanent funds to meet local needs. 

Through philanthropy that is visionary, diverse, and inclusive, we work to be a catalyst for improvement within the region.           
                                                          
                                                                                       		               
Devastating floods in January of 1982 prompting local leaders to establish a community foundation to rebuild the region through charitable giving.  They were told a county of this size could never support a community foundation, but they persevered.

We bring community leaders together to address emerging issues and to help develop strategies for change.

Our community foundation is governed by volunteers, knowledgeable of the community and recognized for their personal involvement in civic affairs.

The region we serve is greater Santa Cruz County, from Davenport and the San Lorenzo Valley in the north to Watsonville in the south, and including “the Summit” and Pajaro Valley.

Through our mission and principles and working values, and as members of the Council on Foundations and the League of California Community Foundations, we adhere to national standards of excellence.

Since first responding to the devastation caused by the floods of 1982, the Foundation has grown in assets over $41 million, with $4.3 million distributed in grants in 2006. 

Over the past twenty-five years, we have become a resource for building community in Santa Cruz County.

What is a Community Foundation?