Public Foundations

Nongovernmental public charities that operate grants programs which benefit individuals or organizations that have no direct relationship with the foundation as one of their primary purposes. Public foundations are often established to raise and distribute money around a particular topic or population group. Some focus on specific populations such as women or children. Others concentrate their giving on the arts, health, social change or any number of issues at a local, regional, national or international level. Some public foundations receive funding primarily from an ethnic or religious community, but their grantmaking programs may extend beyond this particular community of interest.