Brennan Gould

Brennan Gould is President and CEO of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. The Foundation is a community-centered, equity-forward organization with a mission to drive positive, sustainable change in Charlottesville and its surrounding communities. As President, Brennan oversees all aspects of the Foundation’s strategy, vision and operations. The Foundation currently manages over $300 million in assets and distributes over $35 million in grants annually.

Prior to becoming president, Brennan served as Director of Programs and oversaw community investments in the areas of rural food insecurity, maternal and infant health disparities, education, community redevelopment, and greenway trail networks. Brennan gained national recognition for her work to create the Foundation’s Heal Charlottesville Fund, which was formed immediately after the August 2017 white supremacist violence in Charlottesville.

Brennan was awarded the Council on Foundation’s 2018 Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking in recognition of her work on the Heal Charlottesville Fund. In 2020, the Foundation received the Truist Promise Award from the Philanthropy Southeast for its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brennan serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foundations. She is a former co-chair of the University of Virginia’s President’s Council on University-Community Partnerships. A native of Iowa, Brennan holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Iowa and is a distinguished Ron Brown Scholar, Davidson Fellow Laureate and graduate of the Council on Foundations Career Pathways Program. Brennan lives in Charlottesville with her husband and 4 young daughters.