Mission Statement

The mission of the Grantmaker Forum is to provide leadership and information about the value of service and volunteering and to encourage private and public investment in the field as a means of strengthening communities and building a healthy democracy.

Who We Are

The Grantmaker Forum on Community & National Service, founded in 1993, is an affinity group of grantmakers representing the whole spectrum of philanthropy, including private foundations, individual donors, corporate foundations and community foundations. The Grantmaker Forum is organized around the belief that service—giving of oneself for purposes greater than oneself—is a fundamental value of American democracy; it is a value that should be supported and celebrated.

The Grantmaker Forum on Community & National Service holds that in order for the service ethic to be promoted and valued broadly, it must be nurtured by the public, private and nonprofit sectors. The public sector's affirmative efforts to encourage an ethic of service and volunteering are reflected in such federally-funded national service programs as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. The private sector's role in promoting an ethic of service and civic engagement is represented in corporate giving programs as well as employee volunteer programs. The nonprofit sector makes its own unique contribution, most explicitly by its reliance on and engagement with community volunteers who donate time and money to deliver programs and services to those in need.

The Grantmaker Forum is devoted to raising awareness about the value and power of service and volunteering, and maximizing opportunities for all Americans to serve. The Grantmaker Forum pursues its mission through sponsoring events, community dialogues, issue-based research, networking, publications, and an annual conference.

We welcome grantmakers and other interested community leaders to learn more about the history of the Grantmaker Forum and to join us in our efforts.