社区基金会起源于美国，发展至今将近100年的历史。社区基金会在直接有效解决社区问题上优于其他类型的基金会，是以社区为载体和工作平台的基金会中的一种。为捐助人服务，解决社区问题，作为捐赠人和受助人的桥梁，构建公民参与氛围上发挥重要作用。社区基金会通过公民参与增加了居民的社会责任感，从而增加居民的幸福感，有助于和谐社会的构建，成为政府和企业必要而有益的补充。 自从汶川地震后，我国的非营利组织发展开始出现上扬之势，尤其众多基金会的成立，致力于解决社区问题和帮助弱势群体的社区基金会回应了正处在转型期的中国社区发展的需求。中国目前的社区基金会正处在萌芽状态，如何发挥社区基金会的社会创新的功能，如何有别于其他类型的基金会为社区发展做出独特的贡献，如何领悟社区基金会的灵魂魅力，成为中国社区基金会发展的一个个问题。 本文对比中美社区基金会的异同，阐述了美国社区基金会的起源、历史和发展阶段，以社会发展为背景探寻美国社区基金会发展的动力和制约因素，归纳出三个发展阶段及各个发展阶段的特点即捐赠人参与、社区领导和社区公民参与。中国社区基金会在剖析美国社区基金会的基础上，通过阐述和分析国内社区基金会的发展状况，同时借鉴美国社区基金会的发展经验——分别从筹款渠道，机构治理和项目执行上对比，指出中国社区基金会的发展模式和可能的路径，在基金会运作管理上开展社区参与和实行税收优惠方面就如何发展和完善社区基金会提出了一些看法和建议。

Community foundations was rooted in the United States about 100 years ago. Community foundations are more effective in solving community problems. Community foundations are the kind of foundation where the community is both a carrier of the foundations and platform of carrying out the programs. The main function of community foundation is to serve donors, solve the community problems. They act as a bridge between donors and recipients and helps build a citizen participation spirit in society. They increase the social responsibility of residents as well through citizen participation increasing the happiness of the residents. They build a harmony society, also serve as necessary and useful complements to the government and enterprises. Since the Wenchuan earthquake, China's development of foundations began an upward trend, in particular, the increase in number of foundations. Community foundation that are committed to solving community problems and to helping vulnerable groups respond to the needs of community development in the transition period of China. Community foundation of China is at the beginning. How will their innovative features function as China develops? how will they contribute to their communities? How are they different from other types of foundations? How to understand the essence of the community foundation? These series of questions need to be addressed. This article contrasts the similarities and differences of the Community Foundations in China and the United States.It describes the origins of the American Community Foundation and its three stages of historical development; explores the driving force for its development and constraints factors of U.S. Community foundation in the social development background, and analyses the characteristics of the three stages: donor participation, community leaders and community citizens participation. Based on described and analyzed the development of the Community Foundation of China，on learned from the development experience of the American Community Foundation and on contrasted, respectively, from fund-raising channels, institutional governance and project implementation, the article points out the possible path and model to develop community foundation in the future of China; Puts forward some suggestions on how to develop and improve community foundation such as on public policy to implement tax incentives and on the operation and management of the Foundation to carry out citizen participation.