March 7, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Education organizations received the largest share of foundation dollars in 2000,
capturing a quarter of grant dollars, according to a new report by the Foundation Center. That marked the 12th year in a row that education groups received more grant money than other types of nonprofit organizations. Foundation support for education rose by one-third from the previous year, the report says.
The report, “Foundation Giving Trends: Update on Funding Priorities,” presents the findings of an annual study of grants of $10,000 or more from a sample of 1,015 private, corporate, and community foundations in the United States.
The grants included in the study represented more than half of foundation giving in the United States in 2000 and totaled $15-billion — a 30-percent increase from the previous year.
The report attributed the increase to the strength of the U.S. economy and stock market during the first half of 2000, and to increased grant making by some of the nation’s largest foundations, including the Ford, Bill & Melinda Gates, Robert Wood Johnson, and David and Lucile Packard Foundations and the Lilly Endowment.
The report did not include any data on what has happened since 2000, when stock-market declines have battered many endowments — and caused some foundations to decrease their giving.
Among other findings presented in the report:
- Health programs received one-fifth of foundations’ grant dollars in 2000, a 56-percent increase in the dollar amount from the previous year. Support for environmental and animal-related causes increased by one-third and efforts related to public and social benefit received 28 percent more than the previous year. The smallest increases were in grants for arts and culture and human services, which each received 16 percent more in 2000 than the year before.
- Nearly half of foundations’ giving — 46 percent — was earmarked for programs. Capital support, including contributions to endowment, made up nearly a quarter of grant dollars, while 14 percent went for general and operating support.
- The number of large grants awarded by foundations has increased significantly in the past decade. Foundations included in the sample made 86 grants of $10-million or more in 2000, up from 8 in 1991 and 62 in 1999.
“Foundation Giving Trends” is part of the Foundations Today series published by the Foundation Center. It is available for $95, together with the four other reports in the series, from the Foundation Center, Attn: Customer Service, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10003-3076; (800) 424-9836; fax: (212) 807-3691; http://fdncenter.org.
