September 9, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Grant makers awarded a record number of multimillion-dollar grants in 1997,
ALSO SEE:
Foundation Yearbook Reports Big Gains in Giving, Assets
according to a new Foundation Center report on grant-making trends.
Foundations made 226 grants of $2.5-million or more, up from the previous high of 193 grants in 1996, according to the report.
Behind the increase in large gifts: Many foundations saw their assets grow rapidly due to stock-market gains, Foundation Center officials noted, and therefore had to step up their giving to meet federal requirements that they give at least 5 per cent of their assets to charities, on average, each year.
Foundations distributed nearly $16-billion in 1997. The largest grant was $70.5-million, to the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center Fund at Emory University. The grant was made by the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, in Atlanta.
Among other key findings:
* Education continued to receive the greatest percentage of grant dollars from foundations, garnering $1.9-billion, or 23.9 per cent of dollars awarded.
* Health causes received 16.7 per cent of grant dollars in 1997. That meant that health causes regained their place as the second biggest recipient of foundation dollars, after they had been knocked to third place by social-services organizations in 1996. Social-services groups received 15.4 per cent of grant dollars in 1997, down from the 17.3 per cent share they commanded in 1996.
* Science programs captured 5.4 per cent of all grant dollars in 1997. That was a rebound from last year, when science projects received 3.5 per cent of grant dollars.
The Foundation Center report includes the most recent data available on grant-making trends. It is based on an analysis of over 86,000 grants of $10,000 or more reported by 1,016 grant makers, including 800 of the 1,000 foundations that give away the most money. The grants studied represented half of all foundation grant dollars awarded in 1997.
The report also includes some information on 1998 giving, which was reported earlier this year in a preview to the yearbook’s release. The 1998 data show that foundations awarded an estimated $19.46-billion to non-profit groups last year, an increase of about 22 per cent from 1997 (The Chronicle, April 22).
Copies of the 1999 edition of “Foundation Giving: Yearbook of Facts and Figures on Private, Corporate and Community Foundations,” are available prepaid from the Foundation Center, Department NW44, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York 10003-3076. The cost is $24.95, plus a shipping and handling fee of $4.50. Credit-card orders can be placed by calling (800) 424-9836 or (212) 807-3690, or by using the on-line order form at http://fdncenter.org.
