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Community Foundations in General
What is a Community Foundation?
How do Community Foundations differ from United Ways?

Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia
What is the mission of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia?
What counties doe the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia serve?
When was the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia established?
Where is the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia's office?

Grants
What are the deadlines for submitting grant requests?
What is the typical amount range for a grant from the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia?
How can my organization apply for a grant?
How does the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia select grant recipients?

Financial
How much money has the Community Foundation granted in the last few years?
What is an endowment?
What are the tax advantages of donating to a Community Foundation?

Community Foundations in General

What is a Community Foundation? A community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly-supported, philanthropic entity composed primarily of permanent funds established by many separate donors for the long-term diverse, charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area.

Community Foundations not only invest and manage funds, both designated and unrestricted, in perpetuity, but also disperse income in grants to organizations that serve a given community.

How do Community Foundations differ from United Ways? We are similar in that, while most nonprofit organizations have specific missions, both community foundations and local chapters of the United Way aim to serve a broad range of charities in a given area. The Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia and United Ways in our region both serve the same geographic area, and the types of charities we aim to support often overlap.

However, we are different in three ways. First, United Ways tend to focus on essential human needs and charities which provide social services, community foundations serve all needs in a given area. We support most organizations the United Way supports, but we also support recreation, arts and culture, education, community and economic development, scholarships, and special projects.

Secondly, United Ways focus their work on an annual workplace fundraising campaign. Funds raised during a given year are generally used that same year. Community foundations, by contrast, do not mount annual campaigns, seeking instead to attract large, long-term gifts. A community foundation’s grantmaking and operations are supported primarily by the annual income generated by the foundation’s endowment.

Finally, community foundations focus on attracting and managing permanent endowments. Most chapters of United Way do not attempt to manage long-term funds or permanent endowments. It is sometimes said that the United Way is a community's "checking account," while its local community foundation is its "savings account."

Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia

What is the mission of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia? Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in this region for both present and future generations. To accomplish our mission, we will:

Promote philanthropy

Build and maintain permanent endowment funds to be used for the broad charitable needs of the region

Serve as a leader in identifying and prioritizing needs in our community

Serve as a catalyst in developing effective responses to community issues

Encourage collaboration between organizations and agencies to shape solutions

Serve as a steward of the funds in the endowment

What counties does the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia service? The Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia awards grants to qualified organizations in Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray, Pickens, Walker, and Whitfield counties.

When was the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia established? The Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia was established in 1998.

Where is the Community Foundation’s office? Our office is located at 714 Thornton Ave, Dalton, Georgia. From I-75, take the Walnut Avenue exit and travel east for two miles to the intersection of Thornton Ave and Walnut Ave. Our office is on the second floor of Building F.

Grants

When are the deadlines for grant application submissions? The deadlines for grant submissions are 31 March 2008 and 01 October 2008.

What is the typical range of a Community Foundation grant? Grants are typically in the range of $1,000 to $3,500.

How can my organization apply for a grant? It's easy to apply for a grant. Simply go to the GRANTS page and apply online. Of course, you have to complete the submission process before the deadlines. If you have a problem, call the office.

How does the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia select grant recipients? Each community affiliate has a grant committee responsible for reviewing grant applications and recommending grant recipients to each affiliate's board of directors. Our full board of directors must give final approval to the committee's recommendations.

The Community Foundation awards grants to qualified, tax-exempt nonprofit organizations for work directly benefiting residents of Northwest Georgia. We favor applicants who show the greatest promise of leveraging additional support from the community and/or projects that meet specific community needs and benefit a broad segment of the local population.

Our Community Foundation is less likely to award grants exceding $5,000 or projects requiring more than one year to accomplish.

Financial

How much money has the Community Foundation distributed through the years?

What is an endowment? An endowment is a fund in which the principal is never disturbed. Disbursements are made from the earnings (interest) of the principal. Endowments are typically set up to serve long-term goals of a charitable cause.

What are the tax advantages of donating to a Community Foundation? We offer the best tax advantages for charitable donations available under law. We are a publicly-supported non-profit organization, qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code. By avoiding classification as a private foundation, we are able to offer greater tax advantages than does a private foundation.