What Community Foundation of Howard County does

Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity founded in 1969 as the Columbia Foundation by James Rouse and four others — the first community foundation in Maryland — and renamed to its current name in 2013. It operates as a regional philanthropic platform serving Howard County, Maryland, with headquarters in The Apple Ford Center at Athol Manor in Columbia. Its core function is intermediating between donors and community needs: CFHC accepts charitable contributions (cash, securities, real estate, retirement assets, life insurance, and other forms), holds them across nearly 400 distinct funds, invests them professionally, and redistributes capital through community grants, donor-advised fund grants, scholarships, and specialized giving circles. In 2025 the foundation reported $37 million in assets under management and awarded 433 grants totaling $2.1 million to local nonprofits.

CFHC's product surface spans donor-advised funds, unrestricted funds, field-of-interest funds, designated funds, corporate-advised funds, scholarships and awards, memorial funds, giving circles, nonprofit agency endowments, and supporting organizations. Specialized programs include the Women's Giving Circle (1,600+ donors, $1.3M endowment, $1M+ granted through 250+ awards), the Black Philanthropy Circle (founded 2023), the Youth in Philanthropy program (founded 2019), the Endow Maryland tax credit program, and a wholly owned subsidiary, Real Estate Charitable Foundation of Maryland (2020), which facilitates real estate gifts. The technology stack is conventional nonprofit SaaS: FC Suite for donor management and online donations, Grant Interface for application intake, PayPal for payment processing, and Constant Contact for email outreach.

Revenue mechanics are not commercial in nature. Operating revenue derives from administrative fees on managed funds and investment income on endowment assets, which fund the Community Grants program. CFHC does not charge for its core donor-facing services; the minimum gift to establish a fund is $10,000 (and $20,000 for scholarship funds). The foundation is staffed by 7 professionals with over 100 years of combined nonprofit and philanthropic experience, operates under National Standards accreditation from the Community Foundations National Standards Board, and is governed by a local volunteer Board of Trustees. Customer segments are horizontal: individual and family donors, nonprofit grantees, students receiving scholarships, professional advisors, and local businesses.

Name

Community Foundation of Howard County

Legal name

Community Foundation of Howard County

Website

https://cfhoco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Community Foundation of Howard County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that connects individual, family, and business donors in Howard County, Maryland to community needs through nearly 400 funds, awarding grants and scholarships via professional endowment management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Donor-advised funds
• Charitable grantmaking
• Endowment management
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Receives charitable contributions from individuals, families, and businesses in various forms including cash, securities, real estate, and other assets. These contributions establish and grow endowment funds.
2. Investment Income: Returns on investment from managed endowment funds. Income from unrestricted endowment funds supports the Community Grants program.
3. Administrative Fees: Charges administrative fees for managing donor funds, with fee schedules available for Agency, Donor Advised, Field of Interest, and Scholarship Funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of Howard County is a 501(c)(3) public charity that manages nearly 400 charitable funds and connects donors with Howard County's critical community needs. It offers donor-advised funds, field-of-interest funds, designated funds, unrestricted funds, corporate-advised funds, and scholarship funds; runs an annual Community Grants Program awarding grants to local nonprofits; and administers scholarships for county students.

Product overview

Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity operating as a community foundation with a platform of charitable giving services. The core offerings include Donor-Advised Funds for flexible philanthropy management, Community Grants Program for annual nonprofit funding, and Scholarships for Howard County students. CFHC administers nearly 400 funds including Unrestricted Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Designated Funds, Corporate-Advised Funds, Scholarships and Awards, Memorial Funds, Giving Circles, Nonprofit Agency Endowments, and Supporting Organizations. Specialized programs include Black Philanthropy Circle (founded 2023) for African diaspora communities, Women's Giving Circle of Howard County with $1.3M endowment, Endow Maryland tax credit program, and Youth in Philanthropy program. Professional services encompass gift planning, real estate gifts through the Real Estate Charitable Foundation of Maryland, and multiple Ways to Give options including cash, securities, real estate, life insurance, and retirement assets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Black Philanthropy Circle: A giving circle that aims to promote philanthropy, advance equity and support nonprofit organizations that provide services to the African diaspora residing in Howard County. Founded in 2023.
• Women's Giving Circle of Howard County
• Youth in Philanthropy
• Endow Maryland

Products and services

• Donor-Advised Funds

Quantifiable outcome

• 433 grant awards totaling $2.1 million in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BrightviewcoreOthers · 1 January 2018Brightview donated Athol Manor house to the foundation to serve as the new primary place of business. The Apple Ford Center at Athol Manor is now CFHC's headquarters.
• Howard County Office of Emergency ManagementminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Key partner with Howard County's Office of Emergency Management to receive and distribute over $2 million in donations to victims of both Ellicott City floods.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County: Direct peer: Maryland community foundation with similar structure of donor-advised funds, community grants, and scholarships serving a single affluent county. CFHC's new CEO previously led CFAAC, where she tripled AUM and grantmaking.
• Baltimore Community Foundation: Direct peer: Maryland-based community foundation administering donor-advised funds, field-of-interest, and designated funds for the Baltimore region. Comparable in mission, fund types, and grantmaking model.
• Community Foundation of Frederick County: Direct peer: Maryland community foundation of similar size and structure, administering donor-advised funds, scholarships, and community grants for a single county. Highly comparable in scale and operating model.
• Greater Washington Community Foundation: Direct peer: DC-area community foundation administering a much larger pool of donor-advised funds, field-of-interest, and designated funds, with a comparable donor-advised fund and grants model.
• Greater Horizons: Direct peer: One of the largest US community foundations; CFHC has an active operational partnership with Greater Horizons. Comparable fund vehicles (donor-advised, agency, scholarship) and administrative model.

Regional players

• Horizon Foundation: Howard County-based foundation that also serves the local community. Comparable in geographic focus and community foundation mission, though it has a stronger advocacy orientation.
• Calvert Foundation (Calvert Impact Capital): Maryland-based charitable organization offering community investment and giving products with a regional orientation. Tangentially comparable in community-development focus.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: Largest national sponsor of donor-advised funds. Competes with CFHC's donor-advised fund product line on scale, digital experience, and operating cost, even though it does not perform local community grantmaking.
• National Philanthropic Trust: National donor-advised fund sponsor and philanthropic services provider. Competes with CFHC on donor-advised fund hosting for high-net-worth donors nationally.
• Cleveland Foundation: One of the largest and oldest US community foundations. Comparable in mission and core fund vehicles, but operates at substantially greater scale and across a broader urban footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CFHoCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFHoCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cfhoco
• Instagraminstagram.com/CFHoCo

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments48 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Community Foundation of Howard County