Personal Stories

Belinda Juran and Evan Schapiro: Helping to Maintain and Grow the Merrimack Valley’s Rich Cultural Tradition

As residents of the Merrimack Valley for the past 25 years, Belinda and Evan often took advantage of the rich and diverse cultural opportunities that the region offered. Unlike Boston, where the scene is dominated by large cultural institutions with a large donor base, the Merrimack Valley's arts scene typically consists of a more diverse group of smaller and less well-known organizations. So, Evan and Belinda were especially surprised to learn that the Merrimack Valley did not have a permanently endowed Arts Fund dedicated to the support of local cultural organizations. MORE

Peter S. Stamas: Dedicated to Education in Lowell for 17 Years

Peter’s Passion: Education and civic involvement.
As headmaster of Lowell High School for 17 years, Peter shaped the minds of Lowell’s future leaders and led by example. He believed community services was the way to better our region’s quality of life. More...

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people in a local area. It enables people with philanthropic interests to easily and effectively support the issues they care about — immediately, or through their will. Donors can establish a charitable fund at the foundation by contributing a variety of assets and may also recommend grants — in their name, if they choose — to nonprofit groups they want to support.

Key value statements

Personalized service

Community foundations help individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit agencies achieve their charitable and financial goals by providing tools and resources that make giving easy, flexible, and effective.

Donors can create a charitable fund and recommend grants that support the issues and groups they care about — such as the arts, education, the environment, and healthcare — even if these groups are located outside of their local community. Or donors can rely on the foundation to make grants that reflect their particular interests.
We are an attractive alternative to starting a private foundation, since we handle all record keeping, reporting to the IRS, accounting, and investment management.
Donors who establish a fund at a community foundation benefit from the highest available tax deductions for charitable contributions.
Donors can establish a variety of funds, depending on their financial and charitable goals. Some approaches focus on giving in the near-term, while others enable donors to make giving a part of their estate planning strategy.
Donors have opportunities to be involved in the grantmaking process, including recommending grant recipients.
Donors can create an individual or family legacy by establishing a named fund at a community foundation — which can help ensure that future generations learn the value of giving back.
We can accept a variety of assets and facilitate complicated giving strategies.
We pool the assets of individual funds, giving us economies of scale to hire top investment managers.
Donors can choose to be anonymous in their giving.

Local expertise

Community foundations have an in-depth understanding of the community’s challenges and the groups and individuals addressing them.

We closely monitor community issues, opportunities, and resources.
Our knowledge of the community enables us to make a difference by funding high-impact initiatives addressing a broad range of local needs.
Our expertise helps donors learn more about local issues in order to make their giving as effective as possible.

Community leadership

Community foundations play a key role in addressing community needs, now and in the future.

We serve as community catalysts, convening diverse voices and groups to work on solutions to local issues.
We build endowments to ensure that grants are always available to support the community.
We foster greater giving and volunteering in our community.
We are governed by leaders with strong ties to their communities.