60% of Foundations Expect to Give More Because of the Covid and Economic Crises

Sixty percent of foundations expect their giving this year to exceed budgeted 2020 levels, with an average increase of 17 percent, according to a new report examining how grant makers are responding to the health and economic crises.

About a quarter of 2020 giving will be related to Covid-19 and the recession it prompted, according to the report by Council on Foundations, Philanthropy California, and Dalberg Advisors.

The report is based on a nationwide survey of more than 250 community foundations, family foundations, corporate foundations, and other grant makers.

Other findings from the report:

• Less than a third of expanded funding is going toward health care. Broader economic recovery and community building are higher priorities.
• 85 percent of philanthropies said they were adopting flexible grant-making practices for existing grantees.
• 20 percent of grant makers with endowments were proposing new investment practices, such as mission-related investments or investing in ways that advance racial equity.
• The average level of giving for racial equity was 16 percent.
• Nearly half of community foundations said racial equity was a primary focus of their giving, compared with 66 percent for family foundations.
• 4 percent had cut staff.