Community foundations bring together the resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support effective nonprofits in their communities. Over the years, foundations have come to engage community problem-solving through more than just grant-making. They have added a rich array of other activities, including programs of community capacity building, active modes of advocacy, and centres for meeting. In 2011, the 700+ institutions in the United States gave an estimated $4.2 billion to a variety of nonprofit activities in fields that included the arts and education, health and human services, the environment, and disaster relief. The origins of this book stem from conversations among the leadership of community foundations about the challenges they must overcome in order to make such "foundational" contributions to their communities. As community foundations enter the second century of their existence (the first foundation was formed in Cleveland in 1914), the need for knowledge and best practices has never been greater. This book, with expert authors representing the best and the brightest in this important field, fills that need. "The roles for Community Foundations have remained the same through their first 100 years--accumulating and managing funds to work to improve the quality of life in their areas by doing what other sectors cannot or will not do. Changes have occurred through time though in how they fulfill those roles in response to changes in area needs and in how other sectors have chosen to perform. Here for Good provides a unique and very practical view of directions for Community Foundations through the views of "hands-on" practitioners about that future fit with public and private sectors, how they will connect with community, and the leadership strategies needed for success in the next 100 years of service." --David Cox, Executive Assistant to the President, University of Memphis "Mazany and Perry have produced an exceptional book that provides insight into the role of community foundations as agents of change. The chapters written by community foundation leaders are exemplary and make the case for such foundations as truly the foundations of their community. Here for Good presents one of the finest works to date on this subject." --Fritz Wagner, Managing Director, Northwest Center for Livable Communities, University of Washington "In this timely and far-reaching volume, Mazany and Perry unpack the forces changing community philanthropy in the early 21st century through the profound restructuring in government, governance and civic engagement and what that means for community foundations shaping community change in the U.S. Through a series of interrelated cases, Here for Good places community foundations squarely in the role of anchor institutions in our communities and sets out the critical paths for community foundations to connect to the diversity of community development and range of community challenges that lie ahead." --Sabina Deitrick, Director, Urban and Regional Analysis Program, University of Pittsburgh "Mazany and Perry draw the reader into a conversation with a remarkable group of people who work within the community foundations that increasingly determine the economic health and social well-being of local communities almost everywhere. A shrinking public sector has made community foundations more important than ever, and Here for Good provides powerful lessons about how they may be made as effective as possible in fulfilling their roles as critical place-based, anchor institutions." --Dennis Judd, Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois-Chicago "The simple idea behind a community foundation as 'a pool of assets that are available for communities to use in appropriate and charitable ways' is powerful and enduring. It already has lasted for almost 100 years. But as the challenges facing our communities are changing, so must community foundations adapt. Here for Good offers some of the best in current practice while glimpsing into the future to guide the community foundation field as it moves into its second century." --William S. White, President & CEO, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation "Through the voices of leading practitioners, as well as academics, Here for Good clearly describes the challenges and potential of community foundations. Mazany, Perry, and their fellow authors powerfully make the case that community foundations are place-based, anchor institutions that can and should help lead and produce serious and sustained change in our cities and communities. This well-crafted and hopeful book makes a much-needed contribution to the theory and practice of community development." --Ira Harkavy, Chair, Anchor Institutions Task Force, University of Pennsylvania Terry Mazany, David C. Perry