I just read an article about the Silicon Valley Community Foundation establishing the "Strengthen the Safety Net" fund to assist non profits that provide food and shelter in the San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. These organizations are seeing a dramatic rise in families needing their services due to the economic crisis. As a result the foundation is using this fund to challenge individuals and corporations to donate money; the foundation will match dollar for dollar up to $1 million through the end of this year. Now that's creative philanthropy in a time of crisis.

New Voices Of Philanthropy: Desperate times call for creative measures.

An anonymous donor has made a gift of historic proportions to the Erie community. The Erie Community Foundation has received a $100M gift that the donor designated to benefit 46 local and 5 out of town nonprofit organizations. This is the largest anonymous contribution to a community foundation in the nation.

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The Philanthropy 400 list is typically dominated by national charities, major universities, and big-name cultural institutions.

This year’s rankings, however, include a new group that doesn’t fall into any of these categories.

For the first time, the Erie Community Foundation has made the list — hitting the charts at No. 190.

Erie Community Foundation Hits Big Stage – Outside Erie.

The Nebraska Community Foundation, headquartered in Lincoln, Neb., serves communities, organizations and donors throughout the state. NCF provides financial management, strategic development, education and training to its network of more than 1,800 leaders of 199 local affiliated funds.

NCF has reinvested $76 million in Nebraska and its hometowns since its founding in 1993. NCF is heralded as a national model for rural development philanthropy, which uses charitable giving as a tool for revitalizing rural economies.

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Poudre School District Foundation Board is moving its charitable funds to the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado.

The move allows the foundation to decrease operating costs and increase its efforts on building relationships with donors.

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The CoastHills Community Foundation raised $33,000 at the Rancho Vino food, wine and entertainment event last month, the second annual event to help local food banks feed hungry children.

The BackPack Program, which began in 2006, provides backpacks full of nutritious food for children who are homeless or living in transient housing to eat on weekends. (more…)