Learning & Best Practices
CFCC Members help advance climate resilience in their respective communities, but also serve as specific examples to workshop with the full CFCC network, allowing community foundations to engage with tangible projects and inform their own implementation efforts.
CFCC Member case studies provide a deeper understanding of the standout initiatives, projects, or partnerships that have resulted in measurable impact and or lessons learned.
Disaster Recovery
Climate Finance
Donor Engagement
Disaster Recovery
| CFCC Member | Practice | Example | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio Area Foundation, Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country | CFs as regional hubs for smaller CFs | When the rural Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country (CFTHC) went from relative national anonymity to becoming the focus of attention in its expected response to the devastation of the Guadalupe River Floods (2025), it quickly partnered with the San Antonio Area Foundation. Together, they marshaled a region-wide response, resulting in over $100M amassed for the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund and provided $16M in grants to date that supported over 50 known and trusted nonprofit partners, 700+ families, 200+ small businesses, and 17 volunteer fire departments within months after the floodwaters receded. In August, Governor Abbot announced CFTHC’s new $40 million Housing Recovery Fund to support long-term housing relief for Kerr County families. | N/A |
| California Community Foundation | Rapid Deployment of Resources | The California Community Foundation (CCF) created the CCF Wildfire Recovery Fund (the Fund) in response to the LA Wildfires (2025), raising over $100M from more than 47,000 donors. Initially launched to fund immediate relief, the Fund has now activated a network of 200 regional nonprofit organizations that were surveyed in the Spring about long-term recovery needs. | This ability to respond rapidly, activating networks of known and trusted partners, speeds up the delivery of critical services to impacted communities while ensuring full compliance with requirements. This distribution network can shave critical days and weeks off response timelines, allowing communities to bounce back faster after disaster strikes. |
| Hawai’i Community Foundation | Partnering with States and Local Governments | The Hawai’i Community Foundation’s (HCF) 106-year relationship with the community positioned HCF in a critical role in responding to the Maui fires (2023); HCF had created Strong Funds for each county in 2019 to support a coordinated response across state and local government, first responders, volunteers, supporting organizations, and philanthropic contributors in the wake of unforeseen disasters. Therefore, HCF was in a unique position to aid in the Maui fire relief efforts. In addressing a primary need for housing, this relationship was formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the State of Hawai’i, Maui County, FEMA and HCF, and other community non-profit partners, ultimately leveraging more than $200M in private donations that served immediate needs, provided critical on the ground, real-time due diligence, while allocating a portion of those funds for long-term recovery efforts. | N/A |
Climate Finance
| CFCC Member | Practice | Example | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pittsburgh Foundation | Utilize Tax Credits | The Pittsburgh Foundation has four Federally Qualified Health Centers under contract to develop solar battery backup and storage projects. | These projects included: * Total philanthropic funds leveraged: $953,154 * Total Tax Credits leveraged: $582,697 * Total System Capacity: 225 kW DC |
Donor Engagement