Community Foundation of North Louisiana

What Community Foundation of North Louisiana does

The Community Foundation of North Louisiana (CFNLA) is a 501(c)(3) community foundation established in 1961 in Shreveport, Louisiana, that operates as a regional philanthropic infrastructure provider for North Louisiana. It serves three principal constituent groups: individual donors and families seeking structured, tax-efficient charitable giving vehicles (donor-advised funds, designated funds, etc.); nonprofit organizations across human services, education, health, and the arts seeking competitive grants and capacity-building support; and professional advisors (financial, legal, accounting) referring clients into philanthropic structures. The foundation operates a portfolio of core programs: a multi-track Competitive Grants Program (Primary, Arts, Small Organization), the Grayson Foundation Grants program managed through CFNLA's grant portal, the Women's Philanthropy Network (a giving circle founded in 2005), the Give For Good online day-of-giving platform (active since 2014 and cumulatively having raised over $27 million), Step Forward (an early-childhood and family-resilience initiative including The Parent Talk), the Early Childhood Education Initiative, and the Community Counts community-data initiative. The Community Central facility at the same Shreveport address offers rentable meeting space to nonprofits.

CFNLA's business model is that of a donation-funded nonprofit: it receives charitable contributions from individuals, families, and organizations into managed charitable funds, then redistributes via competitive grant cycles and initiatives. Revenue sources are donor contributions (primary), pooled membership dues from the Women's Philanthropy Network, and ancillary facility rental income from Community Central. The organization reports 1–10 employees and is governed by an independent Board of Directors; Kristi Gustavson serves as Chief Executive Officer. Brandon Brown was announced as the most recent board member addition in connection with the foundation's 65th anniversary in 2026. The geographic scope is regional — Shreveport-Bossier and the surrounding North Louisiana region — with no parent organization, subsidiaries, or disclosed M&A activity.

Technically, CFNLA is a non-technology organization. It operates a WordPress-based website (maintained by vendor Ruby Shore Software, LLC), an online donor portal (cfnl.fcsuite.com/erp/portal), and a grant application portal (grantinterface.com) — these are standard SaaS tools used by community foundations industry-wide rather than proprietary technology. No APIs, SDKs, mobile applications, AI/ML capabilities, patents, or proprietary models are disclosed. The principal "asset" beyond financial capital is the proprietary community dataset curated through the Community Counts initiative and the institutional relationships accumulated across 65 years of regional operation.

Name

Community Foundation of North Louisiana

Legal name

Community Foundation of North Louisiana

Website

https://cfnla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of North Louisiana is a 501(c)(3) regional community foundation in Shreveport, LA, established in 1961, that connects donors and nonprofits in North Louisiana through charitable funds, competitive grant programs, and community initiatives such as Give For Good and the Women's Philanthropy Network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Philanthropy Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Community philanthropy
• Charitable giving
• Grantmaking services
• Donor-advised funds
• Nonprofit support

Headquarters

HQ city

Shreveport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: The foundation receives charitable donations from individuals, families, and organizations who establish charitable funds to support causes in North Louisiana. Donors can create donor-advised funds, designated funds, and other charitable giving structures.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Community Foundation of North Louisiana is a 501(c)(3) community foundation that facilitates charitable giving by managing donor-advised, designated, and scholarship funds, and redistributes capital through competitive grant cycles (Primary, Arts, Small Organization, and Grayson Foundation Grants) to nonprofits serving North Louisiana. It runs community-facing initiatives including Give For Good (an annual online giving day), the Women's Philanthropy Network, Step Forward (early childhood and family resilience), Community Counts (community data), and provides meeting space via Community Central.

Product overview

Community Foundation of North Louisiana operates as a philanthropy organization offering a portfolio of programs and services. The core offerings include competitive grant programs (Primary Grants, Arts Grants, Small Organization Grants), dedicated grant initiatives (Grayson Foundation Grants, WPN Grants), and community initiatives (Step Forward, Early Childhood Education, Community Counts data initiative). Major programs include Give For Good, North Louisiana's largest day of giving that has raised nearly $25 million since 2014, and the Women's Philanthropy Network established in 2005. Additional services include Community Central space rental, a Nonprofit Finder directory, and scholarship opportunities through a dedicated portal. The organization facilitates philanthropy through grant cycles, training sessions, and community partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Give For Good: North Louisiana's largest day of philanthropy, an online giving platform that has raised nearly $25 million for local nonprofits since 2014.
• Women's Philanthropy Network (WPN)
• Step Forward
• Community Counts
• Community Central

Products and services

• Competitive Grants Program A competitive grant program offering Primary Grants, Arts Grants, and Small Organization Grants with a multi-stage application process including Letters of Intent; designed for qualifying nonprofit organizations in North Louisiana.
• Grayson Foundation Grants A private foundation grant program committed to improving quality of life in Shreveport-Bossier, serving disadvantaged populations in health, human services, and education sectors; applications accepted once annually through CFNLA's grant portal.
• Women's Philanthropy Network (WPN) A dynamic community of caring women dedicated to addressing pressing community issues through pooled annual dues and high-impact grantmaking to local nonprofits focusing on education; WPN awarded $80,000 in grants in 2026.
• Give For Good North Louisiana's largest day of philanthropy and online giving platform that has raised over $27 million for local nonprofits since 2014; connects donors with nonprofits through an annual giving day.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $27 million raised for local nonprofits since 2014 through Give For Good
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Grayson FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Grayson Foundation is a private foundation committed to improving quality of life in Shreveport-Bossier. It accepts grant applications once annually through CFNLA's grant portal, typically awarding grants to programs serving disadvantaged populations in health, human services, and education sectors.
• Women's Philanthropy Network (WPN)coreOthersFounded in 2005, WPN is a dynamic community of caring women dedicated to leveraging charitable giving to address pressing community issues. Members pool annual dues to make high-impact grants to local nonprofits focusing on education initiatives. WPN awarded $80,000 in grants in 2026.
• Human Healthy Horizons in LouisianaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner in the Step Forward initiative's The Parent Talk program, supporting parents and caregivers in building family resilience.
• Bureau of Family HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner collaborating on the Step Forward initiative to address childhood adversity and toxic stress.
• Louisiana Childhood Adversity Resilience Education Network (LA CARE Network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Step Forward's The Parent Talk program, contributing expertise in childhood adversity resilience education.
• Families Helping Families Region 7minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner collaborating on The Parent Talk events to support families in North Louisiana.
• Basic NecessitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Step Forward's The Parent Talk program focused on supporting families facing basic needs challenges.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Council on Foundations: National membership association for community foundations, private foundations, and corporate grantmakers, providing training, advocacy, and peer networking. Acts as an industry-level incumbent to CFNLA in the foundation sector.

Direct peers

• The Rapides Foundation: Central Louisiana private foundation running competitive grant cycles focused on health, education, and economic development. Comparable grantmaking function to CFNLA's competitive grants program within Louisiana.
• Greater New Orleans Foundation: Louisiana community foundation managing charitable funds, running competitive grant cycles, and operating community-leadership programs across the Greater New Orleans region. Comparable in scale and program breadth to CFNLA.
• Baton Rouge Area Foundation: Direct Louisiana-based community foundation administering donor-advised funds, competitive grants, scholarships, and community initiatives for the Baton Rouge region. Closely comparable to CFNLA in mission, structure, and grantmaking model.
• Community Foundation of Acadiana: Regional Louisiana community foundation serving the Acadiana region with donor-advised funds, competitive grants, scholarships, and community initiatives. Mirrors CFNLA's structure and operating model in a neighboring geography.
• North Carolina Community Foundation: Multi-county regional community foundation administering competitive grants, scholarships, donor-advised funds, and community initiatives across North Carolina. Closely mirrors CFNLA's operating structure outside Louisiana.
• Central Louisiana Community Foundation: Central Louisiana community foundation providing grantmaking, scholarships, and donor services to nonprofits and donors in the Cenla region. Operates a similar competitive grant and donor-advised fund model to CFNLA.

Regional players

• Foundation for the Mid South: Regional foundation serving Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas with philanthropic programs targeting economic security, education, and health. Comparable philanthropic grantmaking model but broader geographic scope than CFNLA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/commfoundnla
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFNLA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cfnla
• Instagraminstagram.com/commfoundnla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 North Louisiana