December 12, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
More foundations published annual reports this year than in past years, according to a new
study by the Foundation Center. Even so, more than 90 percent of grant makers still do not publish such reports, the center said.
The number of foundations issuing annual reports increased from 1,479 last year to 1,495 this year, according to the center, which has been tracking foundations’ public reporting since 1985. Annual reports are the most detailed form of accounting for programs and finances examined in the Foundation Center study. The study was based on 20,000 foundations that have assets of at least $1-million or that make grants of $100,000 or more annually.
The number of foundations issuing other types of printed publications that detail their giving also grew slightly last year, to 3,258, an increase of 19 over last year’s 3,239.
The Internet proved the most popular new method this year for foundations to communicate about their grant making. The study found that 1,269 foundations used Web sites to let the public know their grant making and application procedures, the Foundation Center said, nearly 200 more than a year earlier. In 2001, 1,072 grant makers used the Internet to provide information.
“Web sites are the fastest growing vehicle for grant makers to communicate with grant seekers and the public,” said Loren Renz, vice president for research at the Foundation Center. “Given the flexibility, lower production costs, and broader reach of Web-based communication, more foundations are likely to choose Web sites as an important means for conveying information about their work.”
Highlights of the report are available on the Foundation Center’s Web site at http://www.fdncenter.org/research. A full copy of the report can be obtained by subscribing to the Foundations Today Series, which includes five annual research reports and costs $95 a year.
Orders should be sent to Foundation Center, Department N016, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York 10003-3076; (800) 424-9836; fax (212) 807-3691.
FOUNDATIONS: HOW THEY REPORT TO THE PUBLIC
| Foundations surveyed | Number issuing publications | Percentage | Number issuing annual reports | Percentage | |
| 2002 | 20,002 | 3,258 | 16.3% | 1,495 | 7.5% |
| 2001 | 18,942 | 3,239 | 17.1 | 1,479 | 7.8 |
| 2000 | 18,323 | 3,419 | 18.7 | 1,423 | 7.8 |
| 1999 | 17,173 | 3,289 | 19.2 | 1,382 | 8.0 |
| 1998 | 14,395 | 3,170 | 22.0 | 1,310 | 9.1 |
| 1997 | 12,259 | 3,010 | 24.6 | 1,255 | 10.2 |
| 1996 | 11,416 | 2,865 | 25.1 | 1,199 | 10.5 |
| 1995 | 10,956 | 2,755 | 25.1 | 1,157 | 10.6 |
| 1994 | 9,977 | 2,541 | 25.5 | 1,075 | 10.8 |
| 1993 | 9,424 | 2,418 | 25.7 | 1,045 | 11.1 |
| 1992 | 8,971 | 2,248 | 25.1 | 989 | 11.0 |
| 1991 | 8,729 | 2,125 | 24.3 | 960 | 11.0 |
| Note: Foundations surveyed had assets of $1-million or more or distributed $100,000 or more annually. | |||||
| SOURCE: Foundation Center | |||||
