September 14, 2006 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Community foundations received substantial increases in gifts last year, leading to big gains in
assets and more money available for grants this year, an annual survey by Ohio’s Columbus Foundation has found.
Donations to community foundations totaled $5.6-billion in 2005, a 34-percent increase over the previous year’s $4.2-billion total, according to the survey of 641 community foundations.
The increases in donations helped offset the sluggish investment performance at many community foundations. The average return on investments last year was 7 percent, according to a study conducted by the Council on Foundations.
In 2003 and 2004, a stronger stock market helped community foundations achieve double-digit percentage increases when they invested their assets.
Tulsa Tops List
The Tulsa Community Foundation raised more money than any other organization on the list, a particularly surprising accomplishment for an organization that was founded in 1998 and serves a population of only 850,000.
For the fifth year running, the organization received the most donations: a record $791.3-million in 2005, according to the Columbus Foundation report. That was a $519.3-million increase over 2004.
The organization’s success is due in no small part to several funds it oversees, including the George Kaiser Family Foundation, which operates under the umbrella of the Tulsa Community Foundation and which has received a sizeable infusion of funds over the last several years from George B. Kaiser, an Oklahoma oil tycoon.
Financial records show the Kaiser fund had $1.1-billion in assets in 2004, and it received another big gift in 2005, although the community foundation declined to specify the amount.
Tulsa also jumped to the top of the assets list with more than $2.29-billion, an 84-percent increase over last year’s $1.25-billion. The increase put Tulsa ahead of the New York Community Trust, which held the most assets in 2004.
“Little Tulsa has a philanthropy tradition that may be unlike any other community,” said Phil Lakin Jr., executive director of the Tulsa Community Foundation. “I would challenge other communities to find the 15 or 20 leaders who could help them grow quickly. If we have them, then the bigger cities have them.”
Real Estate
Two California foundations ranked second and third in gifts received: the California Community Foundation, in Los Angeles, with $443.8-million, followed by the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, with $180.7-million.
Antonia Hernández, chief executive officer of the California Community Foundation, said that the types of gifts the organization received account for the size of the foundation’s increases.
“We have received major gifts from individuals, and increasingly they take the form of real estate and private-company holdings, which have risen in value tremendously,” she said.
Also on the rise was grant making. The survey found an 8- percent increase, from $3-billion in grants awarded in 2004 to $3.2-billion in 2005. As in past years, the New York Community Trust was the leading grant maker, awarding $142-million. Greater Kansas City Community Foundation was a close second, distributing $140.7-million, $43-million more than in 2004.
The Tulsa Community Foundation, which topped the gifts and assets lists, ranked 24th in grant making, at $37.8-million.
Because of the young organization’s rapid growth, Mr. Lakin says Tulsa is still working to develop a staff to find ways to spend the money.
“If we are not in the top 10 next year [in grants], I will be appalled,” he said. (The organization would have to have awarded close to $69-million in grants last year to be among the top 10 community-foundation grant makers.)
$44.8-Billion in Assets
Community-foundation assets increased by 13 percent in 2005. Joining the Tulsa Community Foundation, six other organizations reported more than a billion dollars in assets, two more than in 2004: New York Community Trust, Cleveland Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, Marin Community Foundation, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, and California Community Foundation. These groups collectively held 24 percent of the $44.8-billion in assets reported by survey participants.
The Columbus Foundation has conducted the community-foundation survey since 1988. The data include funds, supporting organizations, and other charitable entities controlled by the community foundations.
Survey results can be found on the Columbus Foundation’s Web site, after September 14. Printed copies can be obtained at no charge by contacting the organization at 1234 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43205-1453; (614) 251-4000.
The Council on Foundations’ report — “2005 Investment Performance and Practices of Community Foundations” — will be available starting in October and can be ordered through the organization’s Web site, or by contacting the council at 1828 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 466-6512.
The cost is $65, or $50 for council members. A CD-ROM version is also available for $30, or $15 for members.
