The Power of Collective Community Philanthropy: Lessons from Leveraging Local Leadership for Greater Equity and Opportunity 2022

Through a five-year initiative with College Futures Foundation, seven California community foundations refined their approach to scholarships and elevated
their regional leadership toward greater equity in college attainment. Here we share our takeaways from the experience, offering insights to others invested in the success of students and a more equitable future.

Launched in 2015, the Community Philanthropy Initiative (CPI) was the first major initiative of College Futures Foundation. This $20 million investment marked the beginning of the Foundation’s pivot from directly providing student scholarships to effecting systems change to advance its mission of ensuring that more students who reflect California’s diversity complete a B.A. and access opportunities for a better life.

By intention, CPI partnered with community foundations, which are well positioned to improve college completion in the locales they serve because of their experience with scholarship giving, their knowledge of local organizations and civic leaders, their relationships with area donors, and their ability to establish lasting endowments.

From the start, CPI sought to increase the availability of strategic need-based scholarships in recognition that traditional scholarships, which are often donor-directed and premised on prior achievement without regard for financial need, often benefit well-networked students who may already have the means to attend college. As the initiative took shape, this aim further developed into a set of goals for even greater impact.