Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley

What Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley does

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley (CFHV) is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1969 and headquartered in Poughkeepsie, New York. It operates as a regional philanthropic infrastructure provider serving Dutchess, Putnam, and Ulster Counties, managing nearly 600 charitable funds with aggregate assets over $100 million and distributing over $777 million in grants and scholarships since January 2000. The organization runs a full fund-administration platform including donor-advised funds (199 DAFs, ~$48 million), designated funds (80, ~$36 million), field-of-interest funds (48, ~$17 million), scholarship funds (120+, ~$10 million), unrestricted funds (~$11 million), and agency endowments for 72+ nonprofits (~$10 million).

CFHV's product surface spans three primary customer segments: donors and families (establishing charitable funds, legacy giving, estate planning), local nonprofits (Community Grants, capacity-building via Thrive, agency fund management, and the new LIFT bridge loan program), and students (scholarship administration via Grant Interface). Specialized programs include the Farm Fresh Food Initiative (over 2 million pounds of food distributed), Partnership in Education ($1 million awarded since 1986), and the recently launched LIFT low-interest bridge loan product (up to $50,000 per nonprofit) originated with Ulster Savings Bank.

The business model rests on nominal fund management fees on AUM, returns on professionally managed endowment investments, and charitable contributions from individuals, families, and institutions. GTM is relationship-driven through county-specific advisory committees, a professional advisor network, and signature events such as the annual Garden Party. Underlying technology is built primarily on third-party platforms (FCSuite donor portal, Grant Interface) rather than proprietary infrastructure. CFHV holds the National Standards Seal and the Candid Seal and operates with a 1–10 person staff under President and CEO Laura Washington.

Name

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley

Legal name

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley

Website

https://communityfoundationshv.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Poughkeepsie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Nominal support fees for managing charitable funds, handling investment administration, tax receipts, and grants management. Fee supports community grantmaking, nonprofit training, and promotional activities.
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Receives donations from individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to establish and grow charitable funds supporting Hudson Valley communities.
3. Investment Returns on Endowments: Professional investment management of nearly 600 charitable funds with assets over $100 million, generating returns that support grantmaking and fund growth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley (CFHV) manages nearly 600 charitable funds with over $100 million in assets on behalf of individual donors, families, businesses, and nonprofits in Dutchess, Putnam, and Ulster Counties. The foundation offers donor-advised funds, designated funds, field-of-interest funds, scholarship funds, unrestricted funds, and nonprofit agency funds, and distributes Community Grants and scholarships to local nonprofits and students. In February 2026, CFHV launched the LIFT (Local Impact Fund for Tomorrow) pilot low-interest bridge loan program for nonprofits, and it operates supporting programs including the Farm Fresh Food Initiative, Partnership in Education, and Thrive Nonprofit Capacity-Building workshops.

Product overview

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley (CFHV) is a philanthropic services organization offering a comprehensive suite of fund management and grantmaking products. The core offerings include various fund types (Donor-Advised Funds, Designated Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Scholarship Funds, and Unrestricted Funds) that allow donors to establish charitable legacies aligned with their values. CFHV distributes Community Grants to local nonprofits and administers a scholarship program with 120+ funds distributing over $450,000 annually to nearly 200 students. In 2026, CFHV launched LIFT (Local Impact Fund for Tomorrow), a new low-interest bridge loan program for nonprofits. The organization also operates specialized programs including the Farm Fresh Food Initiative, Partnership in Education, and a Nonprofit Capacity-Building initiative (Thrive) providing training workshops. Agency Funds are offered to help nonprofits build permanent endowments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• $542,000 in community grants awarded in 2025 (largest grant cycle ever)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FeedHVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood rescue mobile app launched from Farm Fresh Food Initiative; links food donations to those experiencing hunger while mitigating waste; part of Hudson Valley Food System Coalition
• Hudson Valley Food System CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition with mission to realize a more equitable and regenerative Hudson Valley food system by connecting food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management practices

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Regional players

• Central New York Community Foundation: Central New York Community Foundation serves Onondaga and surrounding counties with DAFs, scholarships, and grantmaking. Operates in a different NY region than CFHV but with virtually identical products, fund types, and grant cycle structure.

Others

• Vassar College: Vassar College is a major higher education institution in Poughkeepsie sharing CFHV's geography and overlapping leadership pipeline (former employers of multiple CFHV executives). Indirect peer as a Hudson Valley institutional philanthropy stakeholder and former employer of several CFHV team members.
• Ulster Savings Bank: Ulster Savings Bank is a Hudson Valley-based community bank and CFHV's LIFT bridge loan partner. As a Core Financial Partner in the LIFT program, the bank originates and services nonprofit bridge loans while CFHV provides impact-aligned capital.

Direct peers

• Rochester Area Community Foundation: Rochester Area Community Foundation serves a multi-county region in NY State through DAFs, scholarship funds, and community grantmaking. Functions as a near-perfect geographic and operational mirror to CFHV at regional scale, with similar community-grant cycles and scholarship administration.
• Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo: Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo operates a multi-county foundation in Western NY, managing DAFs, endowments, and grantmaking for local nonprofits. Highly comparable as a NY State community foundation with similar fund architecture and grantmaking model.
• The Boston Foundation: The Boston Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the U.S., managing donor-advised funds, permanent endowments, and grantmaking across a metropolitan region. Comparable operating model and fund types but at significantly larger scale than CFHV.
• The New York Community Trust: The New York Community Trust is a NY-based community foundation making grants across multiple boroughs/counties from donor-advised, unrestricted, and field-of-interest funds. Directly comparable to CFHV in mission, fund types, and grantmaking operations, but operates at considerably larger scale (billions in AUM).

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Charitable: Schwab Charitable is the second-largest national DAF sponsor, offering low-cost donor-advised funds linked to Schwab's wealth platform. Competes with CFHV for philanthropic dollars from HNW individuals, particularly those with brokerage relationships.
• National Philanthropic Trust: National Philanthropic Trust is one of the largest national DAF sponsors and a leading provider of philanthropic consulting. Operates a similar DAF and philanthropy advisory model to CFHV but at national scale, focusing on HNW donors seeking flexible giving vehicles.
• Fidelity Charitable: Fidelity Charitable is the largest national donor-advised fund sponsor in the U.S., with tens of billions in AUM and a digital-first DAF platform. Represents a key competitive threat to CFHV in the DAF/individual donor segment, although it is national and not locally-attuned.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-foundations-of-the-hudson-valley
• Xx.com/cfhvny
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFHVNY

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Foundations of the Hudson Valley