This book examines the experience of community foundations in the United States in historical context. It begins by setting community foundations in the context of current critiques of philanthropy and explores whether criticisms of private foundations are valid for community foundations. It examines the formation, spread, and growth of community foundations in the U.S. from 1914, when the Cleveland Foundation was established, to the present day. It examines the logics of why community foundations were started. It explores issues community foundations faced during the different periods of their development, how they responded, and how they influenced the philanthropic environment in which they operated, including the formation of community foundations outside the U.S. Filling a major gap in the history of philanthropy, this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of philanthropy, non-profit organizations, foundations and other non-profit organizations wishing to know more about community foundations, as well as policymakers, financial advisors, and estate planners.

Eleanor W. Sacks is a historian whose academic training focused on late nineteenth-century U.S. business history. She has been active in the community foundation field for over 20 years as a practitioner, consultant, and researcher, working at the local, national, and international levels. Previously, she was a visiting scholar at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Laurie Paarlberg holds the Charles Stewart Mott Chair on Community Foundations at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and is an affiliate faculty in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (IU Indianapolis). Her nonprofit research focuses on the changing nature of community philanthropy, with a particular focus on strategic shifts in grant making by local United Ways and community foundations. With changing demographics in local communities, she is also interested in issues of equity and diversity in grant making and the rural/urban divide. Dr. Paarlberg’s publications include numerous articles in refereed journals, including Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Voluntas, Voluntary Sector Review, Public Administration Review, International Public Management Journal, and American Review of Public Administration. Dr. Paarlberg’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, AmeriCorps, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.