Community Philanthropy: A Paradigm Shift

The words “community philanthropy” are often associated with community foundations. These foundations are typically charged with awarding nonprofit organizations within communities  grant money. These organizations are then charged with being fiscally responsible and using the money for community improvement.The work of community foundations is very noble, however, what’s often left out of the strategy to improve communities through philanthropy are the citizens within the community.

Community philanthropy should not be limited to community foundations (these foundations aren’t in every community). Community is collective and philanthropy is all about love, so the concept of community philanthropy is a holistic way to improve a place and it is rooted in love. The power to strengthen the communities comes from the people in the community, and the paradigm of what community philanthropy is has to really shift from an institutional strategy to a real grassroots movement of citizens who want to make their community better.

This is the first post in a series of weekly post devoted to community philanthropy.