Community foundations are instruments of civil society designed to pool donations into a coordinated investment and grant making facility dedicated primarily to the social improvement of a given place.

Families, individuals, businesses, and nonprofit groups establish funds within community foundations into which they can contribute a variety of assets to be used for charitable purposes. The people or organizations that establish the funds can then recommend that grants be distributed, in the name of the fund or anonymously, to qualified nonprofit groups and schools. The donor receives a charitable deduction in the year that gifts are made into their funds.

The assets of community foundations are pooled and invested, with donors typically having a choice of investment products.

The funds established at community foundations can be expendable funds (i.e., grants can be made in any amount at any time) or they can be endowments, which limit distributions to the interest earned on the assets. Endowments last in perpetuity.

The first community foundation was set up in Cleveland in 1914 by Frederick Goff and operating now as the Cleveland Foundation. Others soon followed including the California Community Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust.

Community foundations are now a global phenomenon. There are at least 700 in the United States and perhaps 1000 more around the world with numbers
growing rapidly.

The above definition is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_foundation

The following is a list of community foundations in Arizona:

Arizona Community Foundation
Contact: Robert L. King, CEO & President
2201 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 202
Phoenix, AZ 85016-3431
Phone: (602)381-1400     Fax: (602)381-1575
Website: http://www.azfoundation.org/

Old Pueblo Community Foundation
8230 East Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85710
Phone: (520)546-0101

Scottsdale Charro Community Foundation
4251 North Brown Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: (760)744-1050

Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Contact: Steve Alley, President and CEO
2250 E. Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85719-6014
Phone: (520)770-0800     Fax: (520)770-1500
Website: http://www.cfsoaz.org/

Sun Lakes Community Foundation, Inc.
26632 S. Carrera Court
Sun Lakes, AZ 85248
Phone: (480)802-2679

Yuma Community Foundation
c/o Arizona Community Foundation
P.O. Box 6835
Yuma, AZ 85366