Community Foundations, Organizational Strategy, and Public Policy

This empirical study of the strategic direction of California community foundations explores how this choice is affected by organizational and community characteristics and by external forces. The authors develop a model of the determinants of organizational strategy in community foundations and analyze it based on interviews and on data collected on community foundations and their communities. They then consider the implications for public policy. Strategic choice was found to be affected by organization age, community stability, the professionalization of the field, and the growth in national competitors. They also consider the implications of these results for recent changes in local governance. Community foundations that have been established for some time and those located in communities that are stable are the ones that appear best positioned to enhance the problem-solving capacity of communities.