Community Foundation for Monterey County

What Community Foundation for Monterey County does

The Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN #94-1615897) founded in 1945 and headquartered in Monterey, California, with a regional office in Salinas. It operates as a regional community foundation managing more than 800 charitable funds on behalf of individuals, families, and businesses, with $420 million in total assets and cumulative grantmaking exceeding $430 million since the early 1980s. CFMC's core offerings include Donor Advised Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Regional Funds (Big Sur, Carmel Valley, Northern and Southern Monterey County), and over 200 Scholarship Funds that award approximately $2 million annually to local students. The foundation also administers multiple competitive grant programs (Impact Grants, Special Purpose Grants such as the Out Reach Fund, Organizational Development Grants, and Regional Grants) and runs the annual Monterey County Gives! campaign.

The foundation operates a community-led go-to-market: it reaches donors, nonprofits, and students through its website portals (Donor, Grant, and Scholarship), email newsletter, social media (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn), community events and workshops, and a network of financial advisors, estate planners, and attorneys who refer planned-giving clients. Through its Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) sub-brand — including the LEAD Institute, the Board Empowerment Program (supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Phyllis Geer Krystal Fund), workshops, and consulting — CFMC extends beyond grantmaking into nonprofit capacity building.

Revenue is generated through donor contributions, investment returns on the $420M endowment, and administrative fees for fund management services; services to donors are free and scholarship/grant amounts are competitive. The technology stack is built entirely on third-party SaaS (Grant Interface for grants, AcademicWorks for scholarships, Constant Contact for email, Microsoft Outlook/Office 365 for scheduling, Google Analytics for traffic). A 17-member Board of Directors governs the foundation; in 2025 President/CEO Dan Baldwin announced his retirement and a public search for his successor is underway as of early 2026.

Name

Community Foundation for Monterey County

Legal name

Community Foundation for Monterey County

Website

https://cfmco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation for Monterey County is a 501(c)(3) community foundation managing more than 800 charitable funds with $420 million in assets, serving individual donors, financial advisors, local nonprofits, and scholarship applicants throughout Monterey County, California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Philanthropic Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Philanthropic fund management
• Charitable grantmaking
• Scholarship administration
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Monterey, CA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Fund Management: The CFMC manages charitable funds for individuals, families, and businesses. Revenue is generated through donor contributions, investment returns on endowment assets, and administrative fees for fund management services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation for Monterey County is a 501(c)(3) community foundation that manages more than 800 charitable funds on behalf of individual donors, families, and businesses, allowing them to support nonprofit causes through donor-advised funds, field-of-interest funds, regional funds, and scholarship funds. CFMC reinvests those pooled resources into Monterey County by awarding competitive grants to local nonprofits (Impact Grants, Special Purpose Grants, Organizational Development Grants, Regional Grants) and approximately $2 million in scholarships annually to students. Through its Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the foundation also provides professional development workshops, the LEAD Institute leadership program, the Board Empowerment Program with cohort coaching, and consulting services to strengthen the regional nonprofit sector.

Product overview

The Community Foundation for Monterey County operates as a philanthropic platform offering charitable giving products and nonprofit support services. The core offerings include Donor Advised Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Regional Funds, and Scholarship Funds, which allow individuals and families to create customized charitable vehicles. The Foundation also manages various grant programs (Impact Grants, Special Purpose Grants, Organizational Development Grants) to distribute funds to vetted nonprofit organizations. Through its Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) division, CFMC provides professional development including the LEAD Institute, Board Empowerment Program, workshops, and consulting services. The organization also runs the Monterey County Gives! annual giving campaign and manages specialized funds like the Out Reach Fund for LGBTQ+ communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE): A program of CFMC that strengthens nonprofits through grants and professional development, offering LEAD Institute, workshops, resources, and consulting services.

Products and services

• Donor Advised Funds Charitable giving vehicles that allow donors to recommend grants to nonprofit organizations from a named fund over time, providing flexibility, tax efficiency, and administrative convenience.
• Field of Interest Funds Charitable funds focused on specific causes such as homeless women, Latino communities, or women's issues, where the Foundation awards grants based on donor-defined interests.
• Regional Funds Community-specific funds supporting Big Sur, Carmel Valley, Northern Monterey County, and Southern Monterey County areas, enabling place-based philanthropy.
• Scholarship Funds Over 200 scholarship funds administered by CFMC, awarding approximately $2 million annually to help Monterey County students pursue postsecondary education.
• Impact Grants Strategic grants supporting community-wide initiatives and organizations making significant differences in Monterey County.
• Special Purpose Grants Grants supporting specific causes including LGBTQ+ communities (Out Reach Fund), homeless women, and other designated focus areas.
• Organizational Development Grants Grants focused on strengthening nonprofit organizations' capacity and operational effectiveness.
• Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) Professional development division of CFMC that strengthens nonprofits through grants and professional development, offering the LEAD Institute, workshops, resources, and consulting services.
• LEAD Institute Leadership development program for nonprofit executives and emerging leaders, part of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.
• Board Empowerment Program Program combining a $5,000 unrestricted grant with ten-month coaching and cohort support to strengthen nonprofit board leadership.
• Out Reach Fund A field of interest fund established in 2005 to improve quality of life for LGBTQ+ communities in Monterey County through grants to nonprofit organizations.
• Monterey County Gives! Annual year-end giving campaign raising millions for local nonprofits through the Foundation's platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• $430 million in cumulative grants to nonprofits since 1984
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Community Association of Big Sur (CABS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Established the Butch Kronlund Endowment Fund for CABS with $100,000 anonymous donor gift and $100,000 match from CABS Resilience Stewardship Fund. CFMC provides investment management and stewardship.
• Coral CollectivecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides focused guidance and coaching for the Board Empowerment Program's ten-month cohort of nonprofits.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Philanthropic Trust: One of the largest national independent DAF sponsors, offering donor-advised funds and giving services. Comparable in providing charitable giving vehicles, but at national scale without CFMC's community-based grantmaking focus.
• Fidelity Charitable: Largest national donor-advised fund sponsor, offering low-cost DAFs with sophisticated digital tools. Comparable as a DAF provider competing for the same philanthropic dollars as CFMC's donor-advised funds, but at national scale with vastly greater technology investment.
• Schwab Charitable: Major national donor-advised fund program with strong financial advisor distribution. Comparable DAF product and target donor segment, but with national scale and integration into Schwab's wealth management platform.

Direct peers

• Sacramento Region Community Foundation: Regional California community foundation managing charitable funds, awarding grants, and running scholarship programs across the Sacramento region. Closely comparable structure, mission, and product set to CFMC's Monterey County operations.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: One of the largest community foundations in the US, SVCF serves Silicon Valley with donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and scholarship programs. Directly comparable as a California community foundation offering the same core products (DAFs, regional funds, scholarships) to a regional donor base.
• Santa Barbara Foundation: Central Coast California community foundation with overlapping geography and mission focus, managing charitable funds and grants for regional nonprofits. Comparable as a regional California foundation with similar DAF, scholarship, and grant programs.
• Orange County Community Foundation: Major California community foundation managing hundreds of charitable funds and supporting nonprofits through grants and capacity building. Closely comparable model, geographic region, and product portfolio to CFMC.
• San Francisco Foundation: Historic Bay Area community foundation offering donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and community leadership programs. Comparable as a California-based community foundation with a similar mix of charitable fund management and nonprofit capacity building.
• Humboldt Area Foundation: Northern California community foundation with a regional focus on rural communities, managing charitable funds and scholarship programs. Comparable scale and regional community foundation model to CFMC.

Emerging players

• Centre for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE): Capacity-building organization for nonprofits in a regional area (Central Texas). Comparable as a Center for Nonprofit Excellence-style organization offering training, consulting, and resources to strengthen local nonprofits, similar to CFMC's CNE sub-brand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cfmco
• Facebookfacebook.com/cfmco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-foundation-for-monterey-county
• Instagraminstagram.com/cfmco

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 for Monterey County