July 26, 2001 | Read Time: 3 minutes
By IAN WILHELM
Grant making by the nation’s foundations grew an estimated 18.4 percent last year, a slightly slower rate than in the previous two years, according to a new report.
Over all, foundations made $27.6-billion in grants to nonprofit organizations last year, up from $23.3-billion in 1999, according to the report by the Foundation Center. The figures are not adjusted for inflation.
In 1999, grant making rose 19.9 percent; in 1998 the increase was 21.7 percent.
The Foundation Center figures for 2000 are estimates based on a sample of 1,660 foundations and are subject to revision when figures from a larger number of grant makers are available. The 1999 figures are based on data from over 50,000 grant-making foundations.
Foundations in the West experienced the strongest growth in giving and assets, according to 1999 figures, the most recent year foundation data were available for specific regions.
Western foundations increased their giving 31.6 percent, compared with the national average of 19.9 percent in 1999.
The total value of assets held by Western foundations rose 31.9 percent to $107.1-billion in 1999, and for the first time surpassed those of Midwestern and Southern foundations, which held $101.5-billion and $94-billion in assets respectively.
The West also experienced the fastest rate of growth in number of foundations.
Foundations in the Northeast remained worth more than those in any other region, with a total of $146-billion in assets.
Decline in Corporate Giving
The report provided one of the first statistical indicators that the weakening economy is beginning to affect giving.
Corporations made a 9-percent increase in giving in 2000, compared with the 15-percent increase in donations they made in 1999 and the 18.4-percent gain in 1998, the Foundation Center said.
While the somewhat slower growth in overall foundation giving could also be a sign of the weakening economy, most foundations set their giving based on endowment growth the previous year, so many grant makers in 2000 were basing their giving on 1999 endowment performance. As a result, many foundation observers say that it will be more likely that the stock-market turmoil that began in spring 2000 will start having an effect on grant making in 2001.
Key Findings
Among the Foundation Center’s other findings:
- Community foundations continue to grow faster than other types of foundations, with 82 new community foundations established in 1999. The total number of all foundations — community, corporate, operating, and private — increased 7.2 percent, from 46,832 to 50,201. Only corporate foundations experienced a decline in number, from 2,022 in 1998 to 2,019 in 1999.
- Funds in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Texas (listed in declining order of giving) continued to account for about half of all foundation giving in 1999. New York and California contributed about one-third of the total.
- Nearly 700 foundations received bequests or other infusions of cash of at least $5-million in 1999, 113 more than in 1998. The largest sum added to a foundation was the $11.5-billion that Bill and Melinda Gates gave to their fund in 1999.
“The Foundation Yearbook: Facts and Figures on Private and Community Foundations” is part of a series of five reports, published by the Foundation Center, called the “Foundations Today Series.” To order copies of the series by credit card, contact the Foundation Center at (800) 424-9836 or, in New York City, call (212) 807-3690; fax (212) 807-3691; or use the online ordering form at http://www.fdncenter.org; or send mail orders to the Foundation Center, Dept. NO11, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10003-3076. Prepayment of $95 is required. Call (800) 424-9836 for details.
