Community Foundation of Great Fort Wayne

What Community Foundation of Great Fort Wayne does

The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne is a 501(c)(3) public charitable foundation founded in 1922 and headquartered at 555 E. Wayne Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it serves as the principal community foundation for Allen County. It manages approximately $247 million in charitable assets (as of December 31, 2024) on behalf of individual donors, families, professional advisors, and nonprofit organizations, and distributed $14 million in grants and scholarships across Allen County in 2025. Its core products are charitable fund vehicles — Donor Advised Funds, Scholarship Funds, Designated Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Legacy Funds, and over 100 Agency Endowment Funds — each supported by investment management services delivered in partnership with Mason Investment Advisory Services.

The Foundation's go-to-market is community-led rather than commercial: it acquires donors through professional advisor relationships (attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors), educational content, community events, and referral networks, while reaching nonprofits through grant cycles and capacity-building workshops. Sub-brands include the Women's Fund of Greater Fort Wayne, Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP), and the Let's Rise! Vision Plan, which organizes the Foundation's strategic grantmaking around five community pillars (Connected Community, Inspiring Places, Everyone's Economy, Lifelong Learning, and Healthy Mind and Body) tracked through a public Community Dashboard.

Operational revenue is generated through investment returns on endowed assets and administrative fees on managed funds, with fee schedules published in a dedicated fee structure document. The organization operates without any proprietary technology platform or AI/ML capabilities, relying instead on standard community-foundation software (evidenced by FC Suite/ERP references on its donor portal). It is led by President and CEO Brad Little alongside a C-suite that includes Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Colleen Helmken, Chief Philanthropy Officer Kiley Tate-Potts, Chief Operating Officer Heidi Ludwig, and Chief Impact Officer Alison Gerardot.

Name

Community Foundation of Great Fort Wayne

Legal name

Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne

Website

https://cfgfw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne is a 501(c)(3) public charitable foundation founded in 1922 that manages approximately $247 million in charitable assets and distributes grants and scholarships on behalf of individual donors, families, professional advisors, and nonprofit organizations throughout Allen County, Indiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Philanthropic fund management
• Charitable grantmaking
• Donor advised funds
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charitable Asset Management: The Foundation manages charitable assets held in various fund types including donor advised funds, scholarship funds, designated funds, field of interest funds, and agency endowment funds. Revenue is generated through investment returns on endowed assets and administrative fees on managed funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne is a public charitable foundation that manages donor charitable assets through multiple fund vehicles including Donor Advised Funds, Scholarship Funds, Designated Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Legacy Funds, and Agency Endowments. It connects donors with nonprofit causes through grantmaking, awards scholarships, administers over 100 agency endowment funds, and leads community initiatives across Allen County, Indiana under the Let's Rise! Vision Plan.

Product overview

The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne operates as a public charitable foundation offering a suite of philanthropic products centered around fund management and community grantmaking. The core portfolio includes Donor Advised Funds, Scholarship Funds (including the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship), Designated Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Legacy Funds, and Agency Endowments—all designed to help donors organize and maximize their charitable giving. These funds are supported by advisory services and connect to the Foundation's community initiatives including the Let's Rise! Vision Plan (with five pillars: Connected Community, Inspiring Places, Everyone's Economy, Lifelong Learning, and Healthy Mind and Body), the Women's Fund of Greater Fort Wayne, and Youth Empowered Philanthropy. The Foundation also operates a Community Dashboard platform for tracking community indicators and runs campaigns like Give Greater Allen County. In 2025, the Foundation distributed $14 million in grants across Allen County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women's Fund of Greater Fort Wayne: An initiative of the Community Foundation focused on women's philanthropy and community advancement.
• Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP)
• Let's Rise!
• Give Greater Allen County
• Rising Together Grants

Products and services

• Donor Advised Funds Charitable giving vehicles that allow individual and family donors to make contributions, receive immediate tax deductions, and recommend grants to their favorite charities over time.
• Scholarship Funds Education-focused charitable funds that provide financial assistance to students, including the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program that annually awards full-tuition scholarships to five Allen County students for baccalaureate degrees at Indiana institutions.
• Designated Funds Charitable funds that provide ongoing support to specific nonprofit organizations designated by the donor.
• Field of Interest Funds Charitable funds that support specific causes or geographic areas important to the donor, such as education, health, or the arts.
• Legacy Funds (Legacy Giving) Planned giving and estate planning vehicles that allow donors to leave lasting charitable legacies through bequests, retirement plans, and Qualified Charitable Distributions.
• Agency Endowments Endowment funds that help nonprofit organizations build long-term financial sustainability by placing invested assets under the Community Foundation's stewardship, with over 100 Agency Endowment Funds currently managed.
• Grants Program Competitive grantmaking program that distributes charitable funding to nonprofits serving Allen County across programs for children, families, education, scholarships, arts, culture, community engagement, and development.

Quantifiable outcome

• $247 Million in charitable assets managed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• PBS Fort WayneminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 November 2025Grant recipient through Knight Foundation/Community Foundation partnership to strengthen local public media. Grant revives beloved local programming such as PrimeTime and fuels new productions celebrating regional culture, history, and everyday experiences.
• WBOI (Northeast Indiana Public Radio)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 November 2025Grant recipient through Knight Foundation/Community Foundation partnership. Funding expands news gathering, launches expanded weekday features, produces three longform storytelling or investigative pieces monthly across radio, livestream, website, and social media.
• Indiana 211minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2024Partnership to strengthen access to nonprofit services for underserved populations, particularly immigrant and refugee communities. Hosted town hall conversation with community leaders to identify gaps in community-based services and develop actionable plans for improved access.
• Canterbury SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2023Multi-year partnership for the annual Jonathan Hancock Lecture Series. Community Foundation helps support and expand public access to nationally renowned speakers aligned with the Let's Rise! Vision Plan initiatives. Partnership effective immediately starting with Spring 2023 event featuring Jessica Lahey.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Charitable: National commercial DAF sponsor with a comparable investment account-linked giving model. Competes for the same donor advised fund pool with a digital-first platform and brand-name parent.
• Fidelity Charitable: National commercial donor-advised fund sponsor offering lower-friction DAF services at scale. A direct competitor for donor advised fund dollars and a benchmark on fees, technology, and donor experience.
• The Cleveland Foundation: One of the oldest and largest US community foundations with comparable fund management, grantmaking, and community programs. Larger-scale incumbent with overlapping mission and similar product set.
• Chicago Community Trust: Major regional community foundation with similar donor services, grantmaking, and community leadership roles. Larger incumbent in the same Midwest geography and mission space.

Direct peers

• Greater Kansas City Community Foundation: Mid-size community foundation offering donor advised funds, agency endowments, scholarships, and competitive grants. Closely comparable in scale, fund types, and geographic single-metro focus.
• Central Indiana Community Foundation: Indianapolis-based community foundation serving Central Indiana with comparable donor advised funds, grantmaking, and community leadership programs. Most direct in-state comparable by mission, product mix, and operating model.
• Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham: Alabama-based community foundation with a comparable single-metro geographic focus, donor advised funds, agency endowments, and scholarship programs. Similar scale and operating model.
• The Indianapolis Foundation: Affiliated with CICF, the Indianapolis Foundation is a community foundation operating with similar fund types, grant cycles, and donor services in Indiana. Direct functional peer with overlapping donor and nonprofit audiences.
• Community Foundation of Greater Cincinnati: Mid-size regional community foundation with a comparable mix of donor advised funds, agency endowments, and competitive grantmaking. Comparable scale and operating model with similar geographic focus.
• Columbus Foundation: Large Ohio-based community foundation with a comprehensive suite of fund types, scholarship programs, and community leadership initiatives. Closely comparable in product breadth and grantmaking scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CFGFW
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFGFW
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-foundation-of-greater-fort-wayne

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Foundation of Great Fort Wayne