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why people

GIVE

Community foundations are fueled by individual, family and corporate donors who join forces to improve their quality of life in their own towns.

The word philanthropist can summon images of a bewhiskered gentleman somberly cutting a ribbon for a building with his name on it. But modern philanthropists have ditched the “stuffy old guy” model and are more likely to be young professionals, successful start-up founders or multigenerational families. Many are embracing the “give it now, don’t endow” credo and are seeking hands-on involvement in local causes to which they’re passionately committed.

Community foundations all over the country are responding, serving as collaborative catalysts for donors, nonprofits, governments and even private businesses. Here’s a snapshot of three organizations making a difference close to home.

ATLANTAIf you’re passionate about improving the quality of life in Atlanta—and you want to be actively engaged in seeing the impact your philanthro-py can have—then you’ll want to learn more about The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, says Alicia Philipp, foundation president. “Sometimes we fly a little bit below the radar, but when people find out about us, they say, ‘Where have you been?’ ” she says. “We make it easy for people to create a legacy of giving, instead of just a one-time gift, so that they can experience a deeper level of philanthropy.”

The foundation often connects neighborhood institutions with fresh thinking and innovative ideas. Noting that “entrepreneurship is in our Atlanta DNA,” Philipp points to a new pub-

lic-private initiative, BetterLife Growers. The for- profit business concept is a hydroponic lettuce greenhouse and packing facility, located in the Mechanicsville community, which will eventual-ly be owned by its employees. The concept came to life when, after extensive research and 110 interviews with local leaders, the foundation pin-pointed an opportunity to provide neighboring universities and hospitals with fresh lettuce and herbs, since 90 percent of all lettuce consumed in Georgia currently comes from California. The greenhouse will create 25 jobs, which will be open to people who might be otherwise difficult to hire, including those with criminal records.

“We want to create a new generation of what we call ‘raging philanthropists’ who are highly engaged in experiencing the impact of their giving,” Philipp says.

AT A GLANCE

The Community Foundation for Greater AtlantaLeader: Alicia Philipp, presidentFounded: 1951Assets: $950 million2014 giving: $106 millionActive funds: 700Areas of work: High school graduation, post-secondary education opportunities, arts organizations, HIV/AIDS prevention, environmental initiatives Learn more: cfgreateratlanta.org

HOMETOWN HEROESby JULIE KENDRICK

“WE MAKE ITEASY for people

to create a legacy of

giving, instead of just

a one-time gift, so that

they can experience

a deeper level of

philanthropy.”

—Alicia Philipp, president of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Above, left to right: Alison Lucacsko, who has a donor-advised fund at The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, volunteers with family members at the annual Family Volunteer Day; The Ideas Challenge is a region-wide, social media-based competition that asks residents of greater Atlanta to submit an idea to a broad community question.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

SEATTLERebooting the old-school model of “donors,” Seattle’s active, tech-savvy philanthropists want to be “investors” instead. “They’re inter-ested in putting their capital to work in ways that generate positive community change,” says Mary Grace Roske, Seattle Foundation vice president of marketing and communications. “They want to roll up their sleeves, not just write a check.”

The foundation’s framework, “A Healthy Com-munity,” supports a complex fabric of issues to improve the region’s overall quality of life. One successful initiative it has supported is The Roadmap Project, a collective impact effort of community groups, school districts and philanthropists to increase academic achieve-ment from cradle to career. By 2020, it aims to double the number of students in South King County and South Seattle on track to graduate from college or earn a career credential. The project has already been recognized with a federal Race to the Top grant and has succeed-ed in installing full-day kindergarten in all targeted schools, enrolling 25,000 low-income students for the Washington State College Bound Scholarship program and

cutting ninth-grade suspensions and expul-sions nearly in half.

“One trend we’re noting at Seattle Foundation is the involvement of entire families in philan-thropy,” Roske says. “We provide a ‘Giving with Goals’ curriculum that helps them identi-fy collective values and areas of philanthropic interests, allowing them to combine the heart and science of philanthropy.”

AT A GLANCE

Seattle FoundationLeader: Tony Mestres, president & CEOFounded: 1946Assets: Nearly $1 billion2014 giving: $100 millionActive funds: 1,200Areas of work: Arts and culture, basic needs, economy, education, environment, health/wellness and neighborhoods/communities, global developmentLearn more: seattlefoundation.org

Left to right: Seattle Foundation president and CEO Tony Mestres with Seattle Sounders FC midfielder/forward and GiveBIG 2015 Spokesperson Lamar Neagle at an event for GiveBIG, an annual online giving day; a young student participates in an educational program through Seattle Foundation.

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why people

GIVECOMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

“THEY WANTTO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES,not just write a check.”

—Mary Grace Roske, Seattle Foundation vice president of marketing and communications

UTAHUtah is the last state to form a community foundation in the United States, capitalizing on opportunities to learn from other foundations while keeping a fresh outlook on innovative ideas. “Through smart philanthropy, we want to harness our state’s well-known entrepre-neurial spirit in service to the common good,” says Alexandra Eaton, executive director of the Community Foundation of Utah. “People come to us with ideas they think are important for our state, and we work as a central hub and con-nector. We partner with others, collaborate and convene the stakeholders in our community.”

Utah was one of the first states to become in-volved in “social impact bonds” and public-pri-vate partnerships to address pressing social issues with metrics illustrating outcomes. This innovative funding model of performance-based philanthropy, called Pay for Success, includes mission-driven investors who finance the up-front costs of delivering high-impact programs. If the predetermined goals are achieved, inves-tors have the potential to earn a return on their investment.

In an effort to demonstrate that everyone can be a philanthropist, the foundation launched Love Utah Give Utah, a 24-hour day of charitable giving to nonprofits statewide. The initiative has raised $2.8 million for nearly 500 participating Utah nonprofits since its inception three years ago.

“One thing that people sometimes forget is that the person doing the giving also receives signif-icant benefits,” Eaton says. “I recently met with a very active philanthropist who’s in his early 70s. He told me, ‘It’s a lot more fun to be giving when you’re alive than when you’re dead!’ ” •

AT A GLANCE

The Community Foundation of UtahLeader: Alexandra Eaton, executive directorFounded: 2008Historical assets: $55 million2014 giving: $7.8 millionActive funds: 203Areas of work: Social enterprise, education, homelessness, recidivism, early maternal health and the LGBT communityLearn more: utahcf.org

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why people

GIVECOMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITYAccording to the Community Foundations National Standards Board, there are more than 750 community foundations in the United States. The first was founded in 1914 when Frederick Harris Goff started the Cleveland Foundation, saying: “How fine it would be, [if an individual who was] about to make a will could go to a permanently established organization … and say, ‘Here is a large sum of money. I want to leave it to be used for the good of the community, but I have no way of knowing what will be the greatest need 50 years from now. Therefore, I place it in your hands to determine what should be done.’ ”

Top to Bottom: Lavine Shapiro (Utah Food Bank funds director), Alex Eaton (Community Foundation of Utah executive director) and Ginette Bott (Utah Food Bank chief development officer) at the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City; A gathering at the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, which empowers people of all abilities by building self-esteem, confidence and skills through sports, recreation and educational programs.