Community Foundation of Frederick County

What Community Foundation of Frederick County does

The Community Foundation of Frederick County is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1986 and headquartered in Frederick, Maryland. It serves as a local philanthropic intermediary, connecting individual donors, families, and professional advisors with charitable causes, nonprofits, and students in Frederick County and, more recently, Carroll County, Maryland. The Foundation manages 844+ component funds across donor advised, designated, field of interest, scholarship, agency, and fiscal sponsorship structures, and offers planned giving services including CRUTs, CRATs, CRTs, bequests, and gifts of real estate or securities.

The Foundation runs four primary grant programs (Strategic, Impact, Rolling, and Women's Giving Circle) and a portfolio of scholarships (general, career education, Trumpower, Second Chance, music), processed through third-party platforms Foundant (grant applications), NextGen (scholarship applications), and Spectrum (donor portal), supported by GiftLaw Pro and a planned-gifts calculator for advisor use. Investment management is delegated to multiple external managers including Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, Wells Fargo Advisors, First United Bank & Trust, Maryland Financial Planners, and The Family Heritage Trust Company, with five portfolio options including a Sustainable Focus ESG choice. Mission (management) fees on fund balances, varying by fund type, plus designated gifts for operating support, fund the Foundation's operations.

Distribution is omnichannel and community-led: a frederickcountygives.org website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, a monthly e-newsletter, quarterly professional advisor newsletter, press releases, donor stories, the Annual Report to the Community, the Wertheimer Awards, and a Professional Advisor Council paired with the Frederick County Estate Planning Council drive donor acquisition and nonprofit engagement. The Foundation has invested more than $111 million in cumulative grants and scholarships since inception, with FY2025 disbursements of $6.9 million in grants and $2.4 million in scholarships.

Name

Community Foundation of Frederick County

Legal name

The Community Foundation of Frederick County, Inc.

Website

https://frederickcountygives.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of Frederick County is a 501(c)(3) public charity managing 844+ donor funds, awarding grants and scholarships, and providing planned-giving services to individuals, nonprofits, students, and professional advisors in Frederick County, Maryland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Philanthropy and Foundation Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Community foundation
• Philanthropic services
• Donor advised funds
• Charitable giving
• Grant administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Frederick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Services: The Community Foundation generates revenue through managing charitable funds for donors. The Foundation charges mission fees (management fees) that support operations, varying by fund type and balance. Donors create funds with minimum $25,000 cash or non-cash gifts (real estate, securities, life insurance). The Foundation also receives designated gifts for operating expenses and has an Administrative Endowment Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of Frederick County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages charitable component funds for individual donors and administers grant programs to local nonprofits and scholarship programs to students in Frederick County, Maryland. It offers multiple fund types (Donor Advised, Field of Interest, Designated, Scholarship, Agency, Fiscal Sponsorship), connects donors with causes through professional fund management, and invests assets to generate returns that are redistributed to community causes. Since 1986, the Foundation has invested more than $111 million in grants and scholarships into Frederick County.

Product overview

The Community Foundation of Frederick County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering philanthropic services including grant programs (Strategic Grants, Impact Grants, Rolling Grants, and Women's Giving Circle Grants) and scholarship programs (General Scholarships, Career Education Scholarships, Trumpower Foundation Scholarships, Second Chance Scholarships, and Music Scholarships). The organization facilitates charitable giving through various fund types including Donor Advised Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Designated Funds, and Scholarship Funds, supported by online platforms including the Grant Application Portal (Foundant), Scholarship Application Portal (NextGen), Donor Portal (Spectrum Portal), GiftLaw Pro, and Planned Gifts Calculator. Services are provided to donors, nonprofits, students, and professional advisors in Frederick County, Maryland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women's Giving Circle of Frederick County Fund: A component fund of The Community Foundation that provides grants to support programs empowering women in challenging situations.
• Frederick FEED Grant Program

Products and services

• Strategic Grants Grants funding projects addressing the greatest needs in Frederick County, identified through the Foundation's Human Needs Assessment Report, including support for families with children, aging population services, and responses to Substance Use Disorder. For 501(c)(3) nonprofits, government/quasi-governmental agencies, religious organizations, and civic groups serving Frederick County residents.

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Women's Giving Circle of Frederick CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Originally founded as a component fund of the Community Foundation, Women's Giving Circle of Frederick County, Inc. became an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization in 2026. The Foundation continues to host the Women's Giving Circle grants program.
• Frederick County GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Partnership to administer the Frederick FEED (Food Equity and Emergency Distribution) Grant Program. The County launched the program with $1 million in emergency funds for food banks, with the Community Foundation distributing grants to nonprofits. A second round of $500,000 was awarded in June 2026 to 19 nonprofits.
• McDaniel CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Partnership for the Trumpower Foundation Nursing Scholarship supporting Carroll County, Maryland residents enrolled in McDaniel College's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
• The Frederick County Estate Planning CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Interdisciplinary organization for professionals involved in estate planning, fostering cooperation among accountants, attorneys, financial planners, life underwriters, and trust officers.
• The 12-to-24 CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborative focused on improving outcomes for Frederick County youth ages 12-24 by increasing nonprofit collaboration and uplifting youth voices. The Foundation hosts a designated fund for this initiative.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Maine Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation managing donor funds, grants, and scholarships across multiple counties. Comparable in operating model and rural/small-metro geographic mix.
• The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven: Mid-sized community foundation managing donor funds, making grants, and administering scholarships in a single county/region. Comparable in operating model and scale.
• Baltimore Community Foundation: Maryland-based community foundation managing donor funds and distributing grants in the Greater Baltimore region. Directly comparable in business model, fund types, and geographic focus on Maryland philanthropy.
• Greater Washington Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the DC metro region with donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and scholarship programs. Comparable in scope and offerings to the Frederick County foundation, though operating in a larger and more affluent geographic market.

Broad incumbents

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Large-scale community foundation managing donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and scholarship programs. Comparable business model but operates in a much larger and wealthier market.
• Fidelity Charitable: Largest national donor-advised fund sponsor, competing with community foundations on fees, scale, and digital experience. Comparable product offering (DAFs) but lacks local community focus.
• Cleveland Foundation: One of the oldest and largest US community foundations, offering donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and scholarship programs. Comparable in service offerings but operates at much larger scale and across a broader metro.
• National Philanthropic Trust: National donor-advised fund sponsor offering low-cost charitable giving accounts. Competes on price and investment options but lacks the local expertise and community-grantmaking focus.
• Schwab Charitable: Major national donor-advised fund sponsor offering low-fee charitable accounts. Directly competes for donor-advised fund dollars with the Community Foundation.

Regional players

• Horizon Foundation: Howard County, Maryland-based community foundation supporting health and community initiatives through grantmaking. Comparable in regional Maryland community foundation positioning, though with a thematic focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/CommunityFndFredCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/CommunityFoundationFredCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/The-Community-Foundation-of-Frederick-County
• Instagraminstagram.com/CommFndFredCo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Community Foundation of Frederick County