Donors Ourselves

by Martin Lehfeldt, Southeastern Council of Foundations

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This essay is an unapologetic critique of the directions in which American community foundations may be moving, so let me open with a disclaimer. I have loved the community foundation concept since I first discovered it more than two decades ago. The idea of a wide variety of charitably motivated people pooling their resources for the common good is a marvelous demonstration of citizenship. I am also a great admirer of the entrepreneurial spirit required of those who direct the affairs of community foundations. Unlike their private foundation counterparts, they must both raise and disburse philanthropic funds. All that noted, though, in their heady and successful drive to build assets, growing numbers of American community foundations may be losing sight of what I believe are also their responsibilities: to respond to the needs of the entire community and to encourage new generosity.

Different versions of mutual aid societies are centuries old, and exist across the entire sweep of
world societies and cultures. Nonetheless, Frederick Goff clearly came up with a unique spin on the concept when he created The
Cleveland Foundation, the first community foundation in the United States. Today, nearly a century later, there are some 1,200 of these institutions around the globe, and the movement’s growth shows no signs of abating.