The article is based on the results of the research of community funds. Community funds are non-profitable organizations. Community funds accumulate and distribute the recourses donated to them by the commercial sector, authorities and private philanthropists. The recourses are directed to the community to solve its urgent problems. The article discusses the organizational features of the community funds as well as their specificity as grant-giving organizations. The article characterizes some particularities of the community funds and public authorities’ communications, and it also shows the influence that the economic crisis of 2009 has on their performance. The community fund technology is an alternative mechanism to increase efficiency of the state and municipal social sphere management. The community funds develop forms of social activity and civil participation due to the engagement of groups of philanthropists and citizens. Processes of philanthropy institutionalizing take place. The role of the community funds as support instruments to provide life quality, its social and economic elements on a certain territory, increases in situation of economic crisis.