Since July 1963, AAACF's continued success is a tribute to the small group of visionary citizens who first established the Community Foundation, and to the thousands of community members - donors, volunteers, committee members and advisors - whose continued support and efforts help us meet the changing needs of our community.
History
Like many of the over 1600 community foundations around the world, AAACF was formed by a group of citizens invested in bettering the quality of life in their local community. In our case, that group of civic leaders was affiliated with the Washtenaw United Fund (now the United Way of Washtenaw County). The Board of the Washtenaw United fund recognized the benefit of establishing a broad purpose community foundation that could serve a wide range of changing local needs. Unlike private foundations, a community foundation could consolidate and invest the donations of a broad base of local donors, providing a flexible vehicle for community members to give back.