03: Annual Report (or Equivalent) and Other Communication Materials

1. Annual Report (or equivalent) includes:
• description of the foundation’s mission, activities, and financial condition
• evidence of wide distribution and/or availability of annual report or equivalent
• language of document does not contradict the foundation’s intent to reflect the community it serves
2. Evidence that the foundation reflects the community’s breadth and diversity. For this key element, community foundations should submit materials demonstrating how the foundation, broadly speaking, reflects the community’s diversity through, for example, its staff, volunteers, grantees, donors, partners, vendors, etc. Sample characteristics/qualities that might be demonstrated include age, gender, race, ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic background, skill sets, profession/occupation and political affiliation.
3. Focus on a defined geographical region such as a municipality, county, state, metropolitan area or closely related aggregation of such areas that are considered for some purposes as a community. An organization serving a single greater metropolitan area would satisfy this criterion even if that greater metropolitan area included parts of several states. This criterion excludes national and multinational organizations. (Cross-check with communication materials and mission statement for consistency; can be in any one or all documents.)
4. Intent to attract support from a variety of separate, unrelated donors
5. Intent to address a variety of fields/issues
6. Intent to attract a variety of fund/gift types
7. Evidence of availability (upon request) of:
• names of investment managers
• fees charged
• body or individuals responsible for investment and oversight
8. Long-term goal of securing discretionary resources to meet changing community needs (Cross-check with communication materials and mission statement for consistency; can be in any one or all documents)
9. Evidence of wide dissemination of grant guidelines (Cross-check with grants guidelines; can be in either or both documents.)
10. Press clippings and news releases
• Announcements of grantmaking priorities, procedures, and deadlines
• Announcements of major donations and grants
• Announcements of new funds, activities, or staff or board members

Material Changes

Foundations will be submitting their annual report (or equivalent) as a threshold document. No additional documentation is required. If you have had material changes, you will need to resubmit any documentation related to material changes. Review all key elements for this requirement by clicking the "confirming" toggle in the upper left corner of this page.