september 2011 highlights of foundation giving...
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HIGHLIGHTS OFFOUNDATION GIVING TRENDS
September 2011
Education and health benefited from the largest shares of foundation grant dollars
Among major areas of activity, education, health, human services, and public affairs/society benefi t captured the largest shares of grant dollars awarded by all sampled foundations in 2009. By number of grants, human services continued to rank fi rst, with sampled funders allocating 27.3 percent for this area. In the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, overall grantmaking declined 2.1 percent from 2008 to 2009. Among the foundations comprising the Foundation Center’s grants sample, however, the decline in grantmaking appears much steeper. Grant dollars awarded by a matched set of 502 funders1 fell 14.2 percent in 2009. In large part, this is due to the fact that the Foundation Center’s grants sample primarily represents new grant authorizations, rather than actual grant payments, many of which may have been authorized in earlier fi scal years. (See “Grants Paid vs. Grants Awarded” for more details.) Eight of the 10 major fi elds showed declines in funding, with the steepest declines reported for the environment and animals and the social sciences. In contrast, education and public affairs/society benefi t posted modest gains.
1See Appendix A in the full report for more details on the matched set of grantmakers.
8 of 10Number of major fields
experiencing decline in funding from 2008 to 2009
1,384Number of foundations
included in the 2009 sample, accounting
for approximately half of giving by all
U.S. foundations
186Number of grants of $10 million or more
awarded by sampled foundations in 2009
23.7%International giving’s
share of overall grant dollars
EducationTop-ranked field
by share of 2009 grant dollars—23.3%
Foundations awarded 186 grants of $10 million+ in 2009
Source: The Foundation Center, Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of over 1,000 larger foundations.1Figures include grants of $10 million or more.
Number of grants of $5 million or more1
Number of grants of $10 million or more462
186169
62
259
86
266
96
259
103
236
83
240
81
308
108
386
156
493
188
531
214
’08’07’06’05’04’03’02’01’00’99 ’090
100
200
300
400
500
600
2 THE FOUNDATION CENTER
General Foundation Funding Patterns, 2009
Subject Dollar
Amount % No. of Grants %
Arts and Culture $2,332,162 10.5 20,685 13.4
Education 5,149,553 23.3 30,108 19.5
Environment and Animals 1,648,717 7.4 10,452 6.8
Health 5,004,410 22.6 20,702 13.4
Human Services 2,909,215 13.1 42,289 27.3
International Affairs, Development, and Peace
1,224,952 5.5 3,934 2.5
Public Affairs/Society Benefi t1 2,612,555 11.8 17,603 11.4
Religion 451,745 2.0 5,158 3.3
Science and Technology 582,626 2.6 2,404 1.6
Social Sciences 205,527 0.9 1,224 0.8
Other 16,095 0.1 105 0.1
Total $22,137,556 100.0 154,664 100.0
Source: Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of 1,384 larger foundations. Dollar fi gures in thousands; due to rounding, fi gures may not add up. 1Includes civil rights and social action, community improvement and development, philanthropy and voluntarism, and public affairs.
Education and health accounted for the largest shares of foundation grant dollars in 2009; human services led by share of grants
CHANGE IN GIVING, 2009
◆ Giving by a matched set of grantmakers declined 14.2 percent*
◆ Number of grants decreased 6.6 percent for a matched set of grantmakers
◆ Total number of grants of $10 million or more fell to 186
2009 Sampling BaseThe Foundation Center’s circa 2009 grants database includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by 1,384 of the largest U.S. foundations—including the 15 largest funders in nearly every state—and reported to the Center between October 2009 and September 2010. Grants were awarded primarily in 2009 or 2008. These grants totaled $22.1 billion and represented nearly half of total grant dollars awarded by all U.S. independent, corporate, community, and grantmaking operating foundations.
The 2011 edition of Foundation Giving Trends also includes a matched set analysis of year-to-year changes in giving by sampled grantmakers, which reduces distortions in grant dollars and grants awarded due to fl uctuations in the sample size. See Appendix A for more detailed sampling information.
Education23%
Human Services 13%
Arts and Culture11%
Environmentand Animals
7%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit1
12%
Social Sciences1%
Percent of Grant Dollars
Religion2%
Science and Technology3%
Health23%
InternationalAffairs
6%
Educa23%
1%
Grant Dollars
Hea23
Percent of Number of Grants
Education20%Arts and Culture
13%
Environmentand Animals
7%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit1
11%
Social Sciences1%
Religion3%
Science and Technology2%
Health13%
International Affairs3%
Percent ot of Nf Numbumberer of Grants
EEEdEduucatio20%Culturure
%
nmentntnimaalss%
rss/effitt111
SocSocialia ScScieni cesSociaal Scieiences1%%1%1%11
Religionn3%3%
2%
lthth%
3%
Human Services 27%
INTERNATIONAL GIVING
◆ International giving by sampled foundations fell to $5.3 billion in 2009
◆ International support accounted for 23.7 percent of overall grant dollars
◆ Funding for international programs decreased 19.6 percent in 2009 for a matched set of grantmakers
GIVING BY TYPES OF RECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONS
◆ Grants in the 2009 sample benefited 60,088 unique recipient organizations
◆ The largest share of funding targeted educational institutions
◆ Human service organizations benefited from the largest share of number of grants
*Comparatively, total giving for all U.S. grantmaking foundations declined 2.1 percent between 2008 and 2009.
GIVING BY SUBJECT FOCUS
◆ Eight of the 10 major fields showed decreases in grant dollars in 2009 among a matched set of grantmakers
◆ The environment and animals, social sciences, and science and technology showed the largest decline in funding among a matched set of grantmakers
◆ Education and health benefited from the largest shares of grant dollars
◆ Human services led by share of number of grants
Source: The Foundation Center, Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of 1,384 larger foundations. Due to rounding, fi gures may not add up. 1Includes civil rights and social action, community improvement and development, philanthropy and voluntarism, and public affairs.
Highlights of Foundation Giving Trends, 2011 Edition 3
GIVING BY TYPES OF SUPPORT
◆ Over half of 2009 grant dollars provided program support
◆ General support increased to 21.7 percent of giving
◆ Capital support’s share of grant dollars slipped to 13.5 percent
GIVING FOR SPECIFIED POPULATIONS
◆ The economically disadvantaged benefited from the largest share of grant dollars and grants
◆ Support for single parents increased 81.7 percent in 2009 for a matched set of grantmakers
◆ Support for ethnic or racial minorities increased 20 percent in 2009 for a matched set of grantmakers
International giving accounted for close to one-quarter of foundation grant dollars in 2009
Source: The Foundation Center, Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of 1,384 larger foundations representing approximately half of total giving by all U.S. foundations.
Percent of Grant Dollars
International—Overseas Recipients9%
International—U.S.-BasedRecipients
14%
Domestic76%
Percent of Grant Dollars
p9%
a-Bip
14
mesticic76%%
InternaU.S.-Rec
1
*Excluding the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nation’s largest foundation, Western foundations also awarded the largest share of grant dollars to education.
The economically disadvantaged benefited from the largest share of grant dollars and grants in 2009
Source: The Foundation Center, Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of 1,384 larger foundations representing approximately half of total giving by all U.S. foundations. Chart includes selected benefi ciary groups representing at least 1 percent of grant dollars. Figures represent only grants awarded to recipient organizations that could be identifi ed as serving specifi c populations or grants whose descriptions specifi ed a benefi t for a specifi c population. These fi gures do not refl ect all giving benefi ting these groups. In addition, grants may benefi t multiple population groups, e.g., a grant for homeless children, and would therefore be counted more than once. 1Includes grants that were intended to benefi t the general public or could not be coded as specifying a benefi ciary group.
Percent of Grant Dollars
Percent of Grants
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
General Public/Not Specified1
Crime or Abuse Victims
Immigrants & Refugees
Men & Boys
People with AIDS
Aging/Elderly/Senior Citizens
People with Disabilities
Women & Girls
Ethnic or Racial Minorities
Children & Youth
Economically Disadvantaged
GIVING BY FOUNDATION TYPE
◆ Independent foundations prioritized giving for health, education, and human services
◆ Corporate foundations prioritized giving for education, human services, and public affairs/society benefit
◆ Community foundations prioritized giving for education, human services, and health
GIVING BY FOUNDATION REGION
◆ Led by the Gates Foundation, Western foundations provided the largest share of grant dollars awarded
◆ Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern grantmakers favored support for education; Western foundations awarded the largest share of their grant dollars for health*
For more information on this report, published in September 2011, contact Reina Mukai, at (212) 807-2485 or [email protected]. “Highlights” of Foundation Giving Trends can be downloaded at foundationcenter.org.
ORDER TODAY!Foundation Giving Trends, 2011 Edition, is available for $45 or as part of the Foundations Today Series, our annual three-book set of research reports ($95).Online: foundationcenter.org/marketplaceToll-Free: (800) 424-9836 (9:00 am–5:00 pm EST)Call for bulk order discount information or to pay by check.
Grants Paid vs. Grants AwardedFoundation Giving Trends is based primarily on the total amount authorized, whether it is paid during a single year orin several installments over a period of years. If the full amount authorized is not available, the amount paid during the year is shown.
The drawback of this measure is that if a foundation pays out a substantial multi-year commitment made at an earlier point in time, it will overstate the commitments being made by that foundation for that given year. Conversely, it does not capture the full extent of payments being made for other years. For example, the California Wellness Foundation’s grant payments in 2009 totaled just over $32 million, while the foundation awarded approximately $50 million in new grant commitments that year. Thus, depending on what time period is being examined, a foundation’s grant commitment may appear to overcount—or undercount—a foundation’s current payments.
4 THE FOUNDATION CENTER
Foundations in the Northeast, Midwest, and South favored education in 2009; funders in the West prioritized health
Source: The Foundation Center, Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of 1,384 larger foundations representing approximately half of total giving by all U.S. foundations. Due to rounding, fi gures may not add up. 1Includes civil rights and social action, community improvement and development, philanthropy and voluntarism, and public affairs.2Figures for the South exclude the District of Columbia. The 17 DC-based foundations in the sample awarded 2,595 grants totaling $215 million.3Excluding the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (accounting for $3 billion in grants awarded), education ranked fi rst among the funding priorities of Western foundations (25.1 percent), followed by health (14.7 percent), environment and animals (14.2 percent), human services (13 percent), arts and culture (12.2 percent), public affairs/society benefi t (9.6 percent), science and technology (5.3 percent), international affairs (3.5 percent), religion (1.7 percent), and the social sciences (0.7 percent).
Education22%
Human Services 11%
Arts and Culture14%
Environment and Animals8%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit1
15%
Science and Technology2% Social Sciences
2%
Religion2%
Health20%
International Affairs5%
EdduE c222
ccess
ulturree
imamalsss
PububP liclic AAfAffaifairs/rs/Soci tiet By Benefit1
% SocSocialia Sciences2%%2
HHHeaalt220%
al Affaairsirs%
Education25%
Human Services 18%
Arts and Culture10%
Environment and Animals5%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit1
16%
Social Sciences1%
Religion3%
Science and Technology2%
Health17%
International Affairs4%
Education25%
Human Services 21%
Arts and Culture11%
Environment and Animals7%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit1
10%
Religion3% Science and Technology
2%
Health18%
International Affairs3%
Education23%
Human Services 9%
Arts and Culture8%
Environment and Animals9%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit1
8%
Social Sciences1%
Religion1%
Science and Technology4%
Health31%
International Affairs8%
EEduu22
HHHumuma
urre
nimaalsls
airsrs//enefitit1
SocSocialia Sciences1%%1
HHeaealtlth17%
al Affairs
EEduducat23%
cees
d Culture%
t and AnAnimamaalslslsls9%
1
Social Sciences1%1%
RelR igion1%1%
He33
sEEduuE c
22
HHHHumma
ree
imalsls
s//fitt1
2%
Healthh18%
onal Affairss3%
NORTHEASTTotal Dollars=$5.9 billion
SOUTH2
Total Dollars=$4.1 billion
MIDWESTTotal Dollars=$4.2 billion
WEST3
Total Dollars=$7.8 billion
Program support accounted for half of foundation grant dollarsin 2009
Source: The Foundation Center, Foundation Giving Trends, 2011. Based on all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of 1,384 larger foundations representing approximately half of total giving by all U.S. foundations.1Includes endowment funds.
Program
General/Operating
Research
Capital1
Student Aid
Percent of Grant Dollars
Percent of Grants
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%0%
About Foundation Giving TrendsFoundation Giving Trends, 2011 Edition, documents the grantmaking patterns of a sample of the largest private and community foundations in 2009 and tracks changes in funding trends since 1999. The report examines giving (based on grant authorizations when available) by subject focus, recipient type, type of support, population group served, and geographic focus. It also details differences in funding trends by foundation region and type. Foundation Giving Trends is part of the Foundations Today Series of annual research reports on foundation growth and trends in foundation giving.