Craigslist Foundation empowers people to strengthen their communities by connecting them to the resources they need to effectively engage in community building.

The Need

With the rising interest in community service and volunteerism, we are committed to ensuring everyone has access to the tools, technology, knowledge and resources that enable effective community-building both online and in-person.

Our Vision

We believe everyone should work together to build stronger communities. The nonprofit sector cannot do it alone. As an operating foundation that does not provide grants, Craigslist Foundation leverages its experience as a community connector to bring together nonprofit leaders, business, government, philanthropy and community members to take greater responsibility for where we live, play and work. We are a catalyst for individual and collective action for the public good across America, helping communities:

Discover — Community building begins with discovery—discovering where a community wants to go, what the best paths to success are and what role each of us can play. We help develop community leaders nationwide, through events such as our annual Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp. We believe sharing stories of success, failure and innovation inspire others to achieve success.

Engage — Craigslist Foundation believes engaged communities are the backbone of our society. We participate in the development of tools and technology to empower people to revitalize their neighborhoods. For instance, we helped create allforgood.org, through our recent work in a volunteer coalition which included Google, craigslist, members of President Obama’s Transition Team and others. Allforgood.org helps people find meaningful service opportunities to fit their geography and passions. We continue to expand the reach and impact of this and other innovative open source applications.

Impact — We connect individuals and organizations with tools and resources to measure the impact of their community-building efforts. By enabling communities to see their progress, we create an ongoing positive cycle of change.