Building stronger, healthier, and more economically vibrant towns in the US..
A Proven Path to a Brighter Future
Discover the Process That’s Helping Foundations Like Yours Build Trust, Boost Impact, and Truly Engage Communities
Leading Locally 2025—a gathering of leaders committed to deeper community investment. You’re one of them.
But if you’re like many foundation leaders, you may be asking:
Are we truly connecting with all of the communities we serve? Are we investing in what residents really want?
That’s where Community Heart & Soul® comes in.
We partner with foundations like yours to help unlock the power of local voices—through a resident-driven process that builds trust, develops leadership, and delivers lasting, visible outcomes in small cities and towns.
Let’s talk about your mission and the towns you care about.
Engage Every Voice—Including the ones often unheard
Strengthen Connections—Build bridges across communities
Align Giving with Local Priorities—Grounded in what matters most to residents
Increase Visibility & Relevance—Be seen and felt across your service area
How it Works
The Community Heart & Soul process is simple, structured, and scalable:
Involve Everyone
Engage people where they already gather—block parties, schools, fairs, and other local events.
Focus on What Matters Most
Turn stories from residents into priorities, and even data, for the future.
Play the Long Game
Build lasting change with an actionable framework to guide communities for years to come.
“The Community Heart & Soul model has been the perfect fit for my organization as we work to strengthen rural Iowa communities. I’ve learned so much about community engagement, helping emerging leaders, and developing authentic relationships with people in our small towns.”
— Jason Neises, Certified Coach Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque
Hear from Foundation Leaders Like You
“Towns that have done Community Heart & Soul have shown increased capacity to do big things. They are more ready to undertake heavy lifts like endowment building, capital campaigns, or passing school bond referenda. The leaders have more skills around building consensus, listening, and planning for action. They know themselves better and can quickly get the community to take action. A surprising benefit of Community Heart & Soul is how we have seen the processes and principles of the program embed themselves within our organization. It has changed how we do our work, especially our community engagement and programs.”
— Nancy Van Milligen, President & CEO, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque
“This partnership has helped us do our work more effectively. We have a deeper knowledge of the communities that have gone through the Community Heart & Soul process. We know the people, their hopes and concerns, and what they think will elevate their communities in the future. Knowing our communities has allowed us to have a greater impact with grantmaking, and we’re making transformational grants that truly meet the needs and aspirations of our communities. We can also better connect nonprofits with community members who have a passion for the areas, which leads to improved service delivery. More developed relationships with community members also results in new funds being created and additional gifts to existing funds.”
— Brian Treece, President & CEO, Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation
Ready to get started?
Let’s explore if Community Heart & Soul is right for your foundation.
