• Private Foundations: A nonprofit organization you or your family establishes, typically through a substantial initial gift.

• Details: A private foundation is a form of tax-exempt organization that must be organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. The charitable activities of a private foundation generally concentrate on receiving charitable contributions, managing its charitable assets, and making grants to other charitable organizations to support its charitable activities.

Foundations are overseen by directors and trustees, generally called the "board" — often family members, friends, or advisors. This board is responsible for determining, with the help of professional advisors, the affairs of the foundation, including how foundation assets are invested, where and when grants are distributed, and how large these grants should be.
Private foundations accept many types of assets, eliminate capital gains tax for gifts of long-term appreciated securities, and potentially provide an immediate tax deduction up to 30% of adjusted gross income for cash gifts and 20% for appreciated assets. 

• Community Foundations: A nonprofit organization, supported by many donors, that typically focuses on benefiting a specific community. Offers multiple types of funds, frequently including donor-advised funds, often with the ability to remain anonymous.

• Details: A community foundation is a permanent charitable public benefit organization supported by local donors and governed by a board of private citizens who speak for the needs and well being of the community. The Internal Revenue Service designates community foundations as public charities because they raise a significant portion of their resources from a broad cross section of the public each year.

These foundations are organized to channel gifts from donors to a variety of charitable organizations in a local community. Individuals, families, businesses and organizations create permanent charitable funds that help their region meet the challenges of changing times. The community foundation generally invests and administers these funds.

Community foundations accept many types of assets, eliminate capital gains tax for gifts of long-term appreciated securities, and potentially provide an immediate tax deduction up to 50% of adjusted gross income for cash gifts and 30% for appreciated assets.