For Communities

A new definition we’ve seen: Community is a group of people who care about each other and feel they belong together. What is your “community?”

Most often it’s a place, because Mississippians believe in places. We also believe in people, and we know who our people are. Helping communities of all kinds is what the Community Foundation is all about. Think of us as a platform to build on. What are your community’s strengths? What does it need?

Together we can imagine ways to transform the spaces and places we live, the needs we see and the people we care about. We directly serve 22 counties in Mississippi, and if your community isn’t one we cover, we’ll connect you to the folks who do. We’re a community, too, after all. Celebrate a milestone, build a park. Clean up blight, restore a building. The only limit is what you can imagine.

A Smarter, Simpler Way to Give

When people in your community give to an endowment,  the nonprofits and causes that make your community thrive can operate now and in the future. We specialize in managing all of the financial and oversight aspects of endowments so nonprofits can focus on serving their communities, and donors in a community can feel confident that their gift is making the most significant difference for the communities they care about most.

An endowment is a donation to a nonprofit organization or cause that is combined with the gifts of other donors and invested. The organizations receive money from those investments year after year. As the endowment grows, the nonprofit organization becomes better prepared to serve its community for many years to come.

You can support an endowment today by giving to one of the nonprofits participating in our Endowment Challenge or by contacting our office to learn more.

You can also make a gift to an endowment at the Community Foundation for Mississippi, which will help us continue doing work to help your community and others throughout our 22-county service Area. Your gift to our endowment might qualify for the Endow Mississippi Tax Credit program that encourages charitable giving that prioritizes nonprofits endowments that are creating positive impacts for children, families, and communities across Mississippi. The program provides a 25% state tax credit to individuals, businesses, and organizations that give to permanent endowments at qualified Community Foundations. Learn more by visiting the Endow Mississippi website.