Helping Youths Tops Priority List for Foundations Started by Black Families, Study Finds

An overwhelming majority of family foundations started by black people focus on helping others achieve a better quality of life, with three-quarters making grants to help youths and more than a third dedicating money to scholarships, according to a new study.

The study was conducted by the Aspen Institute’s Philanthropy and Social Innovation program and the University of Pennyslvania’s Graduate School of Education. It examined information on 103 African-American family foundations collected through surveys, tax filings, Web sites, and watchdog groups.

Nearly three-quarters of the foundations in the study were started by either an athlete or his or her family members in the athlete’s honor.

Of the remaining grant makers, 8 percent were established by musicians, 7 percent by actors, 3 percent by medical doctors, and 2 percent by business owners. The remaining 7 percent of foundations were started by people from a range of backgrounds, including those who had inherited money.

Most of the funds were small. Their assets ranged from $425,000 to $40-million, with the mean just under $1-million. The majority (80 percent) employed from one to five full-time staff people.

None of the black family funds used community foundations to manage their money, according to the study. Instead, they preferred to work with independent financial consultants.

Most of the funds were established during the 1990s, and more were located in California than any other state.

Their founders reported three main motivations for philanthropy: a desire to “give back,” to have a big impact on the world, and to help disadvantaged young people. Eighty percent alluded to the idea of helping others in their mission, the study said.

While “racial uplift” has been cited in literature about African-American philanthropy, none of the funds studied mentioned that as a goal. Nor did any respondents cite tax savings as a motivator.

Medical causes, specifically cancer, HIV/AIDS, and sickle-cell anemia, were the third most-popular priority after youths and scholarships, according to the study.

Most of the medical grants given by the funds went to education and disease prevention, with little going to research, the study said.

The study, A Growing Tradition? Examining the African American Family Foundation, is available on the Aspen Institute’s Web site.