Community foundations are locally basedgrant making foundations that mobilize local philanthropiccontributions to support variety of development projects.They are becoming increasingly important in mobilizing localresources and development expertise. These foundations playa particularly valuable role in assisting local development,strengthening resourcefulness and capacities, attracting newresources and cultivating philanthropy from local donors forcommunity-based and Community-Driven Development (CDD). Thisnote provides guidance to those considering communityfoundations as an element of a larger CDD or SocialInvestment Fund (SIF) project.