Community Giving Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232982141
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Berwick, PA, USA
Phone
5707523930
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,558,252
Expenses
$5,096,324
Assets
$96,721,995
Liabilities
$7,131,937

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KARA SEESHOLTZ (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KARA SEESHOLTZ (PRESIDENT & CEO): $151,962 total reported compensation
  • ALBERT MEALE (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $138,999 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The community giving foundation exists to grow and steward charitable resources that strengthen the communities it serves. The foundation encourages philanthropy by helping donors achieve their charitable goals while improving quality of life throughout the region, both now and for future generations. Through its commitment to community endowment, donor services, and community leadership, the foundation connects philanthropic resources with local needs, supports nonprofit organizations, and advances initiatives that benefit the broader community.

What it reported doing in 2025

The community giving foundation serves columbia, montour, northumberland, snyder, union, and portions of luzerne counties through the management and stewardship of a diverse portfolio of charitable funds, including unrestricted, field of interest, donor-advised, agency endowment, scholarship, and planned giving funds as part of its core program services, the foundation continues to grow community endowment funds to ensure long-term, flexible resources are available to respond to evolving community needs. The foundation also provides comprehensive donor services, supporting individuals, families, businesses, and organizations in achieving their charitable goals through strategic giving, grantmaking, and philanthropic planning. In addition, the foundation plays a leadership role in the community by identifying needs, convening partners, and directing resources to areas of greatest impact. The foundation administers competitive grant and scholarship programs and conducts due diligence to ensure effective and compliant distributions to nonprofit organizations and students. The foundation also supports local organizations in accessing state and federal funding opportunities and facilitates corporate participation in charitable tax credit programs that benefit educational and community initiatives. Through these combined efforts, the foundation continues to strengthen nonprofit capacity, expand philanthropic investment, and deliver meaningful impact across the region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 89% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.9%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 94.5%; rating input score 95; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 51.7%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.98; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.9% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 20 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 113 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 110 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.