The California Community Foundation has distributed over $3 billion to Los Angeles nonprofits since 1915, making it the funding backbone for much of LA County's nonprofit sector. It is a public charity that manages charitable funds for donors and grants the money out, rather than running direct services itself. This page explains how giving through CCF works, from one-time online gifts to named funds.
CCF is funding infrastructure, not a soup kitchen. Donors put money in; a professional grantmaking staff studies LA County's nonprofit landscape and distributes grants where they judge the need and the organizations to be strongest. Since 1915 that model has moved more than $3 billion into the region's nonprofits.
The practical appeal is delegation. If you care about Los Angeles broadly but do not have time to vet dozens of individual charities, giving through CCF outsources that judgment to people who evaluate local nonprofits full-time. The trade-off is less direct control over exactly which organization receives your dollars, unless you use the tools described below.
CCF offers several giving routes depending on how much you are giving and how much control you want:
For most people the first two options cover it. The named-fund route makes sense for donors planning sustained, larger-scale giving who want CCF to handle compliance, investment, and grant logistics.
CCF's disaster relief fund activates quickly after wildfires, earthquakes, and other emergencies affecting Los Angeles. Giving to a standing fund like this has a real advantage over reactive donations: the infrastructure, vetted grantee relationships, and distribution channels already exist before the disaster hits, so money moves faster and lands with organizations already working on the ground.
If you are moved to give after a specific event, check the fund's current focus on calfund.org first. Giving through an established fund also sidesteps the pop-up fundraising scams that appear after every major wildfire, since CCF's grantees are vetted before a disaster rather than during one.
CCF is a public charity, and you can confirm its 501(c)(3) status yourself in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov; Charity Navigator also maintains a profile. For gifts of $250 or more, keep the written acknowledgment, and for named funds get the fee schedule in writing before committing.
Sources: California Community Foundation (CCF) official site (calfund.org); our California charity guide research. Retrieved July 2026. We are not affiliated with California Community Foundation (CCF) and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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