What Community Foundation of Washington County MD does

The Community Foundation of Washington County MD, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) community foundation established in 1997 and headquartered at 19638 Leitersburg Pike, Suite 203, Hagerstown, Maryland. It manages 475+ charitable funds valued at over $74.7 million as of FY25, distributing $3.87 million in grants and scholarships in FY25 alone and more than $42.4 million cumulatively since inception. The foundation serves three primary constituencies: donors (individuals, families, and businesses seeking tax-efficient charitable vehicles), local 501(c)(3) nonprofits seeking responsive grant funding, and students seeking higher-education scholarships, with a secondary constituency of professional advisors referring planned giving opportunities.

The foundation's core offerings are organized into three product lines: (i) a responsive grants program prioritizing collaborative partnerships in family stability, youth development, mental health, basic needs, and arts/recreation, supplemented by named programs such as the FANS Fund, Women's Giving Circle, and Mary K. Bowman Fine Arts Fund; (ii) a scholarship ecosystem of 100+ named funds categorized by school, extracurricular achievement, career goals, student demographics, and employer affiliation; and (iii) a diversified fund structure comprising donor-advised, agency, community, designated, field-of-interest, and legacy funds. Application intake is handled through SmarterSelect; donations are processed via Qgiv; the website runs on Squarespace; and a dedicated planned giving platform is hosted at cfwcmdgift.org. Administrative operations are led by President/CEO Stacey Crawford (CFRE) with a 1-10 person staff.

The revenue model is donation-driven: funds are established by donors, grow through investment management, and are distributed as grants and scholarships according to donor intent and committee review. Administrative fees are charged on fund management rather than on grant recipients. The foundation partners with the Pauline Anderson Foundation to co-fund the responsive grants program, and participates in Endow Maryland to capture state-level endowment matching. Geographic scope is strictly limited to Washington County, MD, and there is no parent company, no external ownership, and no disclosed subsidiary structure. The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees and underwent a strategic rebrand in November 2023 led by Ekstrom Alley Clontz & Associates.

Name

Community Foundation of Washington County MD

Legal name

Community Foundation of Washington County MD, Inc.

Website

https://cfwcmd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of Washington County MD is a 501(c)(3) community foundation established in 1997 that manages 475+ charitable funds worth over $74.7 million, distributing grants to local nonprofits and scholarships to Washington County students through donor-advised, designated, field-of-interest, and legacy fund structures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation 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

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable fund management
• Philanthropy advisory services
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Hagerstown

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. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation receives donations from individuals, families, and businesses to establish or contribute to charitable funds. These funds grow through investment and are distributed as grants and scholarships to serve the community.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of Washington County MD operates as a community foundation and public charity that manages pooled charitable funds on behalf of donors. It accepts contributions into multiple fund types (donor-advised, agency, community, designated, field of interest, and legacy), invests the assets, and distributes them through a responsive grants program to local 501(c)(3) nonprofits and through a scholarship program to high-school and non-traditional students in Washington County, Maryland.

Product overview

The Community Foundation of Washington County MD operates as a philanthropic organization managing a diversified portfolio of charitable funds. The core offerings include grant programs (Responsive Grants targeting collaborative nonprofit partnerships), a scholarship ecosystem with over 100 named funds organized by school affiliation, extracurricular achievement, career goals, and student demographics, plus a comprehensive fund structure comprising Donor-Advised Funds, Agency Funds, Community Funds, Designated Funds, Field of Interest Funds, and Legacy Funds. These services are facilitated through third-party platforms including SmarterSelect for applications and Qgiv for donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grants Programs Awarding responsive grants to local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Washington County, with funding prioritized for collaborative partnerships addressing community needs including family stability, youth development, mental health, basic needs, and arts and recreation programs.
• Scholarships More than 100 scholarship funds for graduating high school students and non-traditional students in continuing education, categorized by school, extracurricular achievement, goal-based fields, student demographics, and employer-based programs, with awards paid directly to educational institutions on behalf of recipients.
• Donor-Advised Funds Funds that provide donors with the opportunity to remain actively involved in recommending grants from their contributions to meet their charitable needs.
• Agency Funds Designated funds that specify one or more organizations that will receive annual or periodic distributions as designated by donors.
• Community Funds Undesignated funds that address the broad charitable interests of the community, allowing the Foundation to respond to emerging needs and opportunities.
• Designated Funds Donor-specified funds that direct distributions to particular charitable organizations or causes.
• Field of Interest Funds Funds that support specific areas of interest such as arts, education, agriculture, or particular demographics, with grantmaking guided by donor preferences.
• Legacy Funds Deferred gifts from donor estates that provide long-term sustainability for the Foundation's charitable mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $40 million distributed in grants and scholarships since 1997
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Charitable: National donor-advised fund program offering investment-focused giving accounts; a major alternative for donors who might otherwise establish funds at local community foundations.
• Fidelity Charitable: Largest U.S. national donor-advised fund sponsor; competes with community foundations for donor-advised fund dollars but operates as a national, low-friction platform rather than a place-based philanthropy vehicle.

Others

• Council on Foundations: National membership association for U.S. foundations and corporations; relevant peer as an ecosystem participant that provides research, advocacy, and standards relevant to CFWC's operating model.

Direct peers

• Baltimore Community Foundation: Maryland-based community foundation managing donor-advised funds, scholarships, and place-based grantmaking for the Baltimore region; comparable mission and product set, though larger AUM scale.
• Community Foundation of Frederick County: Neighbor Maryland community foundation with comparable model (donor-advised funds, scholarships, responsive grants) serving a single county; directly comparable in geography, scale approach, and service mix.
• Western Maryland Community Foundation: Hyper-local Maryland community foundation serving Allegany and Garrett counties with scholarships, donor funds, and responsive grants — a closely comparable regional peer in scale and structure.
• Community Foundation for Greater New Haven: Mid-sized community foundation with donor-advised funds, scholarships, and place-based grantmaking; directly comparable operating model though larger geography and AUM.
• Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore: Maryland community foundation managing donor funds and grantmaking for the Lower Eastern Shore; directly comparable single-region community foundation model with scholarship and responsive grant programs.
• York County Community Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation offering donor-advised funds, competitive grants, and scholarships for York County; near-identical operating model in a similarly sized mid-Atlantic county.

Regional players

• United Way of Washington County: Local fundraising intermediary in the same geography as CFWC; competes for workplace giving and corporate philanthropy dollars but distributes via campaigns rather than donor-advised funds.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cfwcmd

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 Washington County MD