The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties will join more than 700 community foundations across the U.S. to observe charitable giving during Community Foundation Week, starting Thursday.

In 2007, community foundations gave an estimated $4.1 billion to a variety of non-profit activities in fields that included the arts, education, environment, disaster relief, and health and human services.

The Community Foundation has been promoting philanthropy throughout Herkimer and Oneida counties since 1952. The Foundation has made more than 4,200 grants totaling over $33.5 million in support of causes ranging from education to health care, the arts to the environment. Grants are generated by the more than 260 funds that comprise the Foundation’s endowment, established and advanced by area individuals and families.

"Community foundations are at the heart of our cities and towns. We know the places of need in our area, and we can direct resources to solve those problems," said Peggy O’Shea, president and CEO. "Here at the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida counties, donors can enjoy personalized grant-making support to make the most of their giving, consolidate their giving into one charitable fund, donate any type of asset, create a lasting legacy in their family name, receive professional investment management and tax accounting of their donations. Donors also enjoy introductions or site visits to their favorite charities, as well as seminars on topics of interest for enriching their community — and much more. Our professional guidance makes charitable giving easier and more powerful."

Community foundations are one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy in the U.S., with assets of more than $50 billion. Every state is home to at least one community foundation. They make up 1 percent of all U.S. grant making foundations but account for more than 9 percent of all foundation giving.

"Community foundations are catalysts for positive change within both urban and rural areas," said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations. "Donors of all income levels and from all geographic regions are finding community foundations to be an ideal way for them to easily give back to their community in a meaningful way."

For information about the Community Foundation, call 735-8212 or visit www.foundationhoc.org.