Long Island Community Foundation

What Long Island Community Foundation does

The Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1978 and headquartered in Melville, New York, that serves as the Long Island affiliate of The New York Community Trust (NYCT). Its core function is to connect donors with nonprofit organizations working on Long Island, offering multiple fund structures — donor-advised funds, designated funds, unrestricted funds, and field-of-interest funds — through which individuals, families, corporations, and private foundations contribute cash, securities, real estate, and other property. Programmatic initiatives include the AFTEE Feed the Need Campaign (food security), the Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund (environment), the Long Island Racial Equity Initiative, the Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund, scholarship programs, and collaborative funds that pool donor contributions around shared themes. Since inception, LICF has awarded $258,735,349 in grants, and the combined NYCT/LICF/WCF entity held $2.9 billion in total assets in 2022.

LICF operates with a small staff of 1–10 and runs two web-based platforms: the MyNYCT donor portal, which lets donors manage contributions and recommend grants, and a grantee portal through which nonprofits submit applications and manage active awards. Distribution combines direct grantmaking (competitive RFPs, donor-directed grants, collaborative funds) with a professional-advisor referral channel that engages attorneys, accountants, and financial planners. Marketing relies on content (website, newsletters, the Professional Notes Series), events/webinars, and earned media. The foundation is registered for charitable solicitation across ten U.S. states beyond New York.

The business model is donation-based: LICF does not charge fees for core charitable services, and administrative costs are covered through investment returns on endowed funds and operational support from NYCT. As of 2024, LICF is undergoing an organizational unification with The New York Community Trust to consolidate branding and advocacy while maintaining its Long Island office footprint and dedicated staff. Governance includes a board and a Director of Donor Relations and Communications, with NYCT providing overarching leadership and institutional infrastructure.

Name

Long Island Community Foundation

Legal name

The Long Island Community Foundation

Website

https://licf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Long Island Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity, founded in 1978 and affiliated with The New York Community Trust, that connects individual, family, and institutional donors with Long Island nonprofits through donor-advised, designated, unrestricted, and field-of-interest funds, and distributes grants across arts, education, health, environment, and community development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation & Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Community foundation grants
• Donor-advised funds
• Charitable giving services
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Philanthropic fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Melville

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Contributions and Donations: The foundation receives charitable contributions from individuals, families, corporations, and private foundations. Donors create various fund types (donor-advised, designated, unrestricted) and contribute assets including cash, securities, and other property. The foundation manages these funds and distributes grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Long Island Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation that connects donors with Long Island nonprofits through a range of charitable fund vehicles, including donor-advised funds, designated funds, unrestricted funds, and field-of-interest funds. The foundation accepts cash, securities, real estate, and other property contributions, manages endowed assets, performs due diligence, and distributes grants to qualifying nonprofits across program areas such as arts, community development, education, environment, health, hunger, mental health, and youth development.

Product overview

The Long Island Community Foundation operates as a community foundation providing charitable giving services and grantmaking programs. Its core offerings include Donor Portal and Grantee Portal platforms for managing charitable funds and grant applications. The foundation offers multiple fund types: Donor-Advised Funds, Unrestricted Funds, Designated Funds, Field-of-Interest Funds, and Collaborative Funds. Notable programs include the AFTEE Feed the Need Campaign for food security, the Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund for social change, the Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund for environmental initiatives, and the Long Island Racial Equity Initiative for social justice. The organization also manages scholarship programs and provides educational resources through its Professional Notes Series for tax and estate planning professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AFTEE (All For The East End): Feed the Need Campaign supporting innovative Farm to Pantry initiative and East End charities.
• Community Needs Fund
• Donor-Advised Funds

Products and services

• Donor-Advised Funds

Named customers1 record

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

One partnership is on record.

• The New York Community TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Long Island Community Foundation is an affiliate of The New York Community Trust. As part of centennial celebrations, the organizations are creating a single unified organization to more powerfully advocate for the Long Island region with one voice. The New York Community Trust is the parent organization that provides operational support, financial infrastructure, and institutional resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The New York Community Trust: Parent organization and affiliate structure that LICF is unifying with. Both are community foundations serving the broader New York metropolitan region with donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and advisor referral programs targeting HNW donors and local nonprofits.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Large community foundation with significant AUM, offering donor-advised funds and grantmaking. Provides a benchmark for the asset-growth trajectory achievable by community foundations in high-wealth regions.
• Chicago Community Trust: Large regional community foundation with comparable offerings including donor-advised funds, competitive grantmaking, and advisor education programs. Demonstrates the scale potential for community foundations in major metro areas.
• Westchester Community Foundation: Sibling affiliate of The New York Community Trust alongside LICF. Operates as a regional community foundation in Westchester County, NY, offering similar donor-advised funds, designated funds, and grantmaking to local nonprofits.
• Cleveland Foundation: One of the oldest and largest community foundations in the US. Operates similar fund types, grantmaking programs, and donor engagement models as LICF, serving a defined regional geography.
• Boston Foundation: Major metropolitan community foundation with comparable donor-advised fund programs, collaborative initiatives, and professional advisor engagement strategies focused on a defined regional geography.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: Largest national donor-advised fund sponsor. Directly competes with LICF's DAF program by offering low-friction giving with broad investment options, but lacks LICF's regional expertise and local nonprofit relationships.
• National Philanthropic Trust: Independent national DAF sponsor that competes for philanthropic dollars with community foundations. Provides an alternative giving vehicle with potentially lower fees but without LICF's regional expertise and local nonprofit due diligence.
• Schwab Charitable: Major national donor-advised fund sponsor with integrated brokerage platform. Competes for the same HNW donors considering charitable giving vehicles, particularly those with existing Schwab relationships.

Regional players

• Brooklyn Community Foundation: Community foundation serving Brooklyn with similar mission of connecting donors to local nonprofits. Comparable in offering donor-advised funds, competitive grantmaking, and equity-focused initiatives.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LICommunityFndt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2193821

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Long Island Community Foundation