What is a Community Foundation?
When people hear the term community foundation, they often assume it’s simply another nonprofit organization. However, unlike most nonprofits, community foundations do not focus on a single program, service, or cause. Instead, they work to improve the quality of life in a specific geographic region across a range of community needs, supporting everything from education and the arts to health, housing, environmental stewardship, and economic opportunity.
Community foundations connect donors and charitable resources with community needs. They also raise and invest their own funds to support local nonprofits and community projects.
What Does a Community Foundation Actually Do?
At their core, community foundations build local charitable resources, invest in the communities they serve, and help people turn generosity into meaningful community action.
Community foundations raise and manage charitable funds, provide philanthropic expertise, invest assets for long-term impact, and distribute resources where they can make the greatest difference.
Through this model, donors can support the causes they care about while working with a trusted local partner that understands the community and its evolving needs.
How does TCF put this Model into Practice?
As a community foundation serving a specific geographic area, TCF focuses its resources, relationships, and expertise on Delaware County.
As of June 30th, 2026, TCF manages more than $5.3 million across 65 charitable funds and facilitates more than $1 million annually in charitable giving throughout Delaware County.
Through these funds and other giving vehicles, TCF supports donor directed giving, scholarships, nonprofit endowments, community initiatives, and emerging community needs.
What Support Does TCF Provide?
Working with TCF allows donors, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders to focus on the difference they want to make while TCF manages many of the financial, administrative, and compliance responsibilities behind the work.
Depending on the type of fund, giving vehicle, project, or partnership, TCF may:
- Help donors choose a giving approach that reflects their goals and values
- Receive charitable contributions and maintain financial records
- Invest and steward charitable assets for long term impact
- Process grants, distributions, and approved charitable expenses
- Administer scholarship and grant application processes
- Provide financial, administrative, and compliance oversight
- Help donors explore gifts of appreciated stock, planned gifts, and other assets
- Connect donors, nonprofits, and community partners with local needs and opportunities
- Provide guidance and technical assistance in fundraising
- Provide ‘fiscal sponsorship’ for eligible community projects
What is Fiscal Sponsorship?
Fiscal sponsorship allows an eligible charitable project to operate under TCF’s nonprofit umbrella without forming its own separate nonprofit organization.
As the fiscal sponsor, TCF may receive charitable contributions on behalf of the project, maintain financial records, process approved expenses, provide compliance and nonprofit oversight, and help ensure that resources are used for the project’s established charitable purpose.
Together, these services provide the infrastructure, expertise, and local knowledge needed to turn charitable resources into community impact.
Which Charitable Fund or Giving Vehicle Best Fits Each Giving Goal?
Every donor’s charitable goals are different. Some want to support a favorite nonprofit, others want to provide scholarships, create a family legacy, or address the community’s greatest needs.
TCF offers several types of charitable funds and giving-vehicles to help donors, nonprofits, and community groups put those goals into action. A giving vehicle is simply a structured way to organize and direct charitable giving.
1. What is a donor-advised fund (DAF)
A donor-advised fund is one of the most flexible ways to give. Donors contribute assets to the fund, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants to nonprofit organizations over time.
A donor-advised fund allows donors to give now and decide how to distribute their charitable dollars over time.
Best for: Donors who want flexibility and ongoing involvement in their charitable giving.
2. What is a community-advised fund (CAF)?
Some CAFs are established to manage the charitable funds of community projects operating under TCF‘s fiscal sponsorship.
Some CAFs are established to manage the charitable funds of community projects operating under TCF‘s fiscal sponsorship.
Some examples are Eddystone Youth Fund, Chester Partnership for Safer Neighborhoods, and Edgewood Playground Fund
TCF administers these resources to support the issues, organizations, and opportunities where they can make the greatest impact.
Best for: Individuals and groups who want to raise money to support a defined community need, and community groups seeking a charitable home for a local initiative.
TCF has both DAFs and CAFs that are scholarship funds
Scholarship funds help students pursue educational opportunities. Donors establish the eligibility criteria, and in most cases, TCF administers the scholarship application and award process. In other instances, specific school districts choose the scholarship recipients, and TCF manages the funds and executes the scholarship distribution.
TCF Scholars
3. What is a field of interest fund?
A field of interest fund allows donors to focus their giving on a cause they care about, such as education, healthcare, the arts, or environmental stewardship. TCF identifies organizations and programs that align with those interests.
Donors make a tax-deductible contribution, choose the cause, and TCF identifies opportunities that advance it.
Best for: Donors who care deeply about a specific issue, want flexibility as community needs evolve, and want TCF to manage all aspects of selecting and awarding the grant or scholarship.
4. What is a designated fund?
A designated fund supports one or more nonprofit organizations selected by the donor. The fund provides ongoing support while ensuring the donor’s charitable intentions are carried forward.
A designated fund creates lasting support for the nonprofits a donor value most.
Best for: Donors who have a strong connection to a particular nonprofit or group of nonprofits.
5. What is an agency endowment fund?
An agency endowment fund is established by a nonprofit organization to support its long-term sustainability. The fund is invested and managed by TCF, with annual distributions supporting the organization’s mission.
An agency endowment provides nonprofits with a permanent source of future support.
Best for: Nonprofit organizations seeking long-term financial stability who do not have the expertise or staffing to manage long-term investment vehicles.
6. What is a giving circle?
Giving circles bring people together to pool their charitable contributions and make grantmaking decisions as a group.
Giving circles amplify individual generosity through collective action.
Best for: Individuals who want a collaborative approach to charitable giving.
How Do These Charitable Funds and Giving Vehicles Create Impact?
While each serves a different purpose, they all share a common goal: helping people make a difference in the community.
Some charitable funds address immediate needs. Others are designed to create a legacy for future generations. Some allow donors to guide their giving, while others provide flexible resources to support the community’s most pressing opportunities.
For donors, these philanthropic tools provide meaningful ways to turn their values into action.
At TCF, we have the privilege of helping donors, nonprofits, and community partners bring those philanthropic goals to life.
Some TCF Board Members
Every fund has a story, and every gift has the power to make a difference. Through Stories of Impact, we’ll share how generosity is helping strengthen Delaware County.
Make an Impact
Learn more about The Community’s Foundation and how you can support the Jones Scholarship and our other work through giving, volunteering, or creating a charitable fund.
Discover More
Read more stories about the people, partnerships, and philanthropy shaping our community.
