Greetings Friend,

Community foundations across the country are critical partners in supporting, incubating, and creating impactful solutions to pressing local issues. None of this would be possible without bringing people together across industries, populations, and lines of difference to work towards a future where everyone belongs.

And people across the country recognize how important it is for philanthropy to be involved in the work of building common ground. A new study from the Council and Hattaway Communications found that 80% of Americans believe charitable foundations should play an important role in modeling collaboration. 89% of folks across the political spectrum support the idea of working across difference to make that happen.

Despite how sticky some of our country’s most deep-seated divisions might feel, 75% of Americans said they felt optimistic about the future, while 93% believe people should collaborate across differences to solve hard problems. We invite you to dig into the full survey findings, now available on our website.

We know that community foundations across the country are taking up this work. In a new op-ed for The Fulcrum, the Council’s President and CEO Kathleen Enright highlights the Park City Community Foundation, which created the Early Childhood Alliance to address the rising cost of childcare in its region. And in Colorado, a new Council blog shows how Belonging Colorado, an initiative of the Denver Foundation, is creating opportunities for people to move from conflict to connection.

If you’re looking to get involved in this work, we invite you to apply for our Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort and register for Building Together 2026 — spaces where you can build your skills with peers.

As many of us prepare to pause for the holiday season, our team is eager to continue serving as your partner, doing what we can to elevate and advance the critical work you do every day in communities across America. We look forward to reconnecting in 2026.

Happy holidays,

Natalie Ross
Vice President, Membership, Development and Finance

Updates and Resources

Building Together 2026 Early Registration Closes Jan. 15!

Building Together is a sector-wide gathering for people working in philanthropy who are eager to connect and collaborate across differences. This isn’t your typical conference. It's a dynamic experience to help you build the relationships and skills you need for the world we’re in.

Join us May 4–7 at the Hyatt Regency Seattle for an inspiring, immersive conference designed to help you build connections in your community, your organization, and your personal life.

Register by January 15, 2026, to lock in your early member registration rate! Our new tiered registration rates for Council members help make Building Together more accessible to foundations of all sizes. Thanks to generous sponsor support, every member can register at a rate below the actual per-person cost of producing the event.

Legal Corner

At the end of the year you have tax questions and our Legal Resources Team has answers. Our End of Year Legal FAQs provide resources and answers to your questions about Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) gifts and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), as well as end of year gift acknowledgements.

Council members are able to send their questions to our legal team for expert advice and analysis. You can take advantage of this member benefit by becoming a member today.

CF Insights Highlight

Coming Soon: FY24 CF Insights Annual Survey Results

Thank you to the over 200 community foundations that contributed to our latest CF Insights Annual Survey, focused on fiscal year 2024 (FY24). Our latest snapshot of the field, informed by your responses, is expected to publish in early 2026.

Are you a community foundation with the Plus Membership add-on? Access the latest data today by logging into data.cfinsights.org to create a peer group and see peer asset composition by product, revenue mix, staffing allocations, community leadership activities, and much more.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Plus Membership add-on, considering upgrading, or would like a live, 1:1 demo of how it all works, email us at cfinsights@cof.org or visit cof.org/cfinsights.

Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort

Applications for the 2026 Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort are open! Hosted in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley (GGSC), this eight-month virtual learning experience offers science-backed skills and research-based strategies for bridging differences with colleagues, peers, and grantees.

Join our Application Q&A on Feb. 4 for more info on the cohort

Council members are encouraged to send any legal inquiries to legal@cof.org.

NEW Blog: Fostering Belonging Across Colorado

In a new guest blog by Erika Montes at The Denver Foundation, learn about how a new initiative called Belonging Colorado is building a culture of belonging across lines of difference and funding community-based solutions and local leadership networks.

Read the blog for examples of how your community foundation can support initiatives that build common ground.

Philanthropy Exchange Conversations for You

• Community Foundation employee handbook and Code of Conduct Policy for employees 
• Community Foundation managing fund for a giving circle
• Gift Acceptance Policy - Seeking Examples 

News Articles

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Will Larger Payouts Be the New Norm? This Pledge Offers a Test
• The NonProfit Times: Little Things Can Mean A Lot For Staff Health, Productivity
• NPR: Head Start centers told to avoid 'disability,' 'women' and more in funding requests 
• The NonProfit Times: Americans Still Trust Charities, But …

Opinions expressed in articles belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Council.

New Member Spotlight

Welcome to the community foundations that have joined as new Council members since our last newsletter! We're excited to have Evergreen Legacy Foundation and Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta as new members.

Upcoming Events

Member Communications Briefings

January 21 | Virtual | Peer Event

Public Policy Action Network

February 2 | Virtual | Peer Event

Legal Matters for Community Foundations

February 3-5 | Virtual | Training

National Standards Monthly Meet-Up

February 11 | Virtual | Peer Event

Values-Aligned Philanthropy Peer Learning Circle

February 11 | Virtual | Peer Event

Community Foundation Excellence (CFE) Fundamentals Course

February 17-26 | Virtual | Training

Leading Across Differences Peer Learning Circle

February 17 | Virtual | Peer Event

Building Together 2026

May 4-7 | In-person in Seattle | Conference

Keep in Touch!

Share your organization’s impact story with us at
communications@cof.org.

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