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Tamarack is sharing this collection of resources,
how-to manuals, and neat stories in the hopes of inspiring
others to build on these ideas and make their local community
foundation the most effective it can be.
Community Foundations can be important leaders
of community engagement. They have a unique position in most
communities: they have close ties with both non-profit community
organizations and businesses; they have the ability to guide
and influence community initiatives, and they can provide
a coherent, collaborative problem-solving process through
their policies. Community Foundations have the potential to
make broad, positive changes to their communities.
We suggest you take a look at the two introductory
pieces below, which will give you a good handle on the subject.
Enjoy exploring the other resources too, and if you know of
something that we could include here in the future, please
let us know by emailing Louise at tamarack@tamarackcommunity.ca.
Community
Foundations of Canada: What is a Community Foundation? - Community Foundations of Canada is an umbrella group representing
foundations all across the country. Their mission is to support
existing foundations and encourage the development of new
ones. Their website
is a helpful introduction to the community foundation movement,
and they offer expertise for those who want to start
a foundation in their community.
The
Mott Foundation Mission - A leader in philanthropy for more
than 75 years, The Mott Foundation has been involved in the
community foundation movement since 1979. Mott’s mission
statement exemplifies community-engagement principles:
they invest for the long term in nonprofit projects which
engage community, with clear and explicit goals—they
aim to attack the root problems which lead to poverty and
disenfranchisement, not just their symptoms.
Community Foundation: a
charitable organization which builds a collection of endowments
and donors with the mission of funding—and often leading—community
engagement activities in its local community. A community
foundation is a catalyst for charitable giving, bringing donors
and charitable projects together in one place.
Granting Strategies: the
criteria that determine which community building activities
a foundation will fund. Foundations may give priority to short
or long-term projects, projects focused on specific types
of development (poverty reduction, education etc.), or projects
in a particular geographic location. These strategies are
flexible depending on the goals of the foundation and the
community it works in.
Community Engagement: people
working collaboratively, through inspired action and learning,
to create and realize bold visions for their common future.
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