International Community Foundation

International Community Foundation

Founded in 1990 by Richard Kiy, the International Community Foundation operates as a nonprofit grantmaking organization based in National City, California. It connects a diverse network of more than 1,000 donors with strategic philanthropic opportunities across international borders, with a geographic concentration in Latin America's Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez region. ICF deploys donor capital through a mix of international grantmaking, fiscal sponsorship, and community investment programs. Asset classes include direct charitable grants, program-related investments, and investment endowment portfolios. Confirmed grantees and partners include the conservation organization Pronatura Noroeste, active in Northwest Mexico, and the US-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, a binational strategy group. The foundation also holds direct real estate assets: its headquarters at 2505 N Avenue in National City and the adjacent Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center, an educational community garden. These tangible assets anchor local programs in food justice and health education, while international grants target education, healthcare services, and environmental conservation. ICF maintains an active professional presence through membership networks such as CFLeads, the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS), and Philanthropy Southwest. Additional affiliations include the Association of Fundraising Professionals San Diego and The Funders' Network. The organization has also established a sister entity, Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad, to strengthen its on-the-ground grantmaking capacity in Mexico. ICF’s structural differentiator lies in its binational operational model. Rather than acting as a passive donor-advised fund aggregator, it functions as an active cross-border grantmaking entity with a dedicated local foundation in Mexico. This architecture allows direct, place-based philanthropic execution in communities where many US-based foundations lack jurisdictional reach or local knowledge.