The Community Foundation of Frederick County Maryland, Inc.

The Community Foundation of Frederick County’s ultimate goal is to enhance Frederick County, Maryland now and for future generations. It has a focus on both the current and long-term needs of the community. Through its leadership and synergy in addressing community issues, it helps eliminate barriers to success.

The Community Foundation creates permanent funds that benefit Frederick County, Maryland now and in the future. Generous donors create endowed or quasi-endowed funds with a minimum $25,000 gift and determine the fund’s purpose based on the current and future needs of the community, as well as the causes that are important to them.

The Community Foundation has a 34-year proven track record of administering funds and addressing community needs. More than $71 million has been given back to the community since its inception in 1986 in the form of grants to nonprofits and scholarships to deserving students. Its 24-member volunteer board of trustees represents a broad cross-section of the community and acts as the governing body. Its professional staff are experts in current planned giving techniques, grantmaking, and strategic investments to create maximum impact. In 2011, the Community Foundation released its first Frederick County Human Needs Assessment Report, an independent study identifying the most pressing needs in Frederick County. This data-driven report provided the groundwork on which the Community Foundation based its strategic grantmaking. This report was updated in January 2019, with this new information continuing to shape the Community Foundation’s response in addressing these needs through grantmaking, leadership, collaboration, and advocacy.

Since 1986, $78 million has been given back to the community in grants to nonprofits and scholarships to deserving students. In FY2021, $5.1 million was awarded in grants to nonprofits. Donor support for scholarships has allowed the scholarship program to expand from traditional 2-year and 4-year programs to include those working towards masters and doctorate degrees, as well as vocational training. What’s next? The Community Foundation launched its unrestricted endowment campaign in June 2019 to establish a flexible and sizeable endowment fund to prepare for the future. Grants from the Forever Frederick County funds are helping address the most pressing issues in our community now and as they evolve and change over time. Preparedness is key, and the Forever Frederick County funds help ensure that solutions can be achieved more quickly. Grantmaking is currently driven by data from both the 2018 and updated 2022 Frederick County Human Needs Assessment Reports, which identified three areas of strategic focus: supporting families with children, preparing for an aging population, and responding to substance use disorder; and three areas of elevated importance: affordable housing, mental health and alleviating disparities in service delivery. The board of trustees is committed to being proactive in its approach to use available funding wisely and most impactfully. Additionally, the Community Foundation continues to reach out to individuals, families, businesses, civic groups, faith-based organizations, and more to build its permanent component funds so that grant and scholarship support for Frederick County is ensured for future generations.