Happy birthday! 2024 marks the League’s 30th year of bringing place-based community foundations together to grow local giving, strengthen nonprofits, support students, steward community assets, invest in places, lead on local issues, and advocate for community across California.
Explore the League
Origin Story
When a group of local philanthropy leaders first came together in 1994, one in five Californians lived in a place with no community foundation. Over the past 30 years a growing network of California’s community foundations have joined forces to learn, share, and build stronger communities, together. Today 99% of Californians live in a county served by at least one community foundation!
Timeline
1900
1914
The Cleveland Foundation - First in the U.S.
1915
California Community Foundation - First in California
1928
East Bay Community Foundation and Santa Barbara Foundation
1941
Inland Empire Community Foundation
1945
Community Foundation for Monterey County
1948
San Francisco Foundation
1950
1953
Pasadena Community Foundation
1954
Community Trust of Santa Clara County, later Community Foundation Silicon Valley
1956
Community Foundation of the Verdugos
1964
San Mateo Foundation - later the Peninsula Community Foundation
1966
Central Valley Community Foundation
1972
Humboldt Area Foundation / Wild Rivers Community Foundation
1975
San Diego Foundation
1981
Rancho Santa Fe Foundation
1982
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
1983
Sacramento Region Community Foundation
1986
Marin Community Foundation
1987
Ventura County Community Foundation
1989
North Valley Community Foundation and Orange County Community Foundation
1991
Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation
1992
Community Foundation for San Benito County and High Desert Community Foundation
1993
Community Foundation of Mendocino County
1994
League of California Community Foundations
1994
Napa Valley Community Foundation and El Dorado Community Foundation
1996
Solano Community Foundation
1998
Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County
1999
Kern Community Foundation
2000
2000
Community Foundation of the North State and Amador Community Foundation
2002
Stanislaus Community Foundation
2004
Placer Community Foundation
2006
Community Foundation Merced County
2007
San Joaquin Community Foundation
2007
Peninsula Community Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley merge and become Silicon Valley Community Foundation
2011
West Marin Fund
2021
Three Valleys Community Foundation
2022
The League launches the Growing Community Foundation Circle
2023
Community Foundation of Nevada County and Lake County Community Foundation
2024
The League turns 30! 🎉
Collective Impact
Grants to Nonprofits, FY23
$
0
Scholarships to CA Students, FY23
$
0
Grants + Scholarships, All Time
$
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Community Leadership
Explore what California's community foundations are doing on housing, climate, civic engagement, nonprofit capacity building and more
