Community Foundation Week Sample Press Release
Replace all bracketed and highlighted text with your foundation’s information before distributing.
[FOUNDATION LETTERHEAD]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[INSERT DATE]
Contact: [INSERT NAME]
[INSERT PHONE]
[INSERT EMAIL]
[YOUR ORGANIZATION’S NAME] Joins Nationwide Celebration of the Impact of Community Foundations
[DATELINE] — [ORGANIZATION NAME] will join community foundations across the country from November 12 to 18, 2026, to celebrate Community Foundation Week. Established in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush, the week recognizes how community foundations bring neighbors, donors, and local institutions together to strengthen the places they call home.
Throughout our nation’s 250-year history, generosity has been part of what it means to be American. In good times and hard ones, neighbors have shown up for one another, and community foundations carry that tradition forward. The Council on Foundations’ Community Foundation Locator lists more than 980 nationwide, each serving a defined area. They pool gifts from many donors into funds and endowments that support residents and lead on community issues. This week, [ORGANIZATION NAME] celebrates the generosity behind that work in [CITY/REGION].
[FOUNDATION NAME] will [INSERT DETAILS ON SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR THE WEEK: SITE VISITS, POLICY FORUMS, RECOGNITION CEREMONY, NEWS CONFERENCES, ETC.]
“Community foundations are built by the people who live here, and we answer to them,” said [FOUNDATION PRESIDENT/CEO]. "This week we want our neighbors to see what that support does in [CITY/REGION] — the programs that strengthen our neighborhoods, the organizations that meet local needs, the families who found help close to home. [INSERT ONE SPECIFIC EXAMPLE IN PLAIN LANGUAGE.]”
Every one of those stories starts with someone who chooses to give. [PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S WORK THIS YEAR. INCLUDE PARTNERS, DESCRIBE HOW THE DECISION WAS MADE, AND NAME THE IMPACT OF THE FUNDING. INCLUDE A GRANTEE OR RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE WHERE YOU CAN AND AVOID SECTOR JARGON.]
Residents can join the celebration by [GIVING, VOLUNTEERING, OR ATTENDING AN EVENT] and by sharing stories of local generosity using #GenerosityBuilds. To learn more about the impact of community foundations across the country, visit the Council on Foundations Center for Community Foundations.
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[INSERT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION BOILERPLATE]
Optional — Council on Foundations boilerplate
The Council on Foundations is a nonprofit membership association that serves as a guide for philanthropies as they advance the greater good. Building on our 75-year history, the Council supports over 1,000 member organizations in the United States and around the world to build trust in philanthropy, expand pathways to giving, engage broader perspectives, and co-create solutions that will lead to a better future for all.
For more on Community Foundation Week, visit cof.org/cfweek.
