Report Says $2 Out of $3 in Health Grants Benefit Disadvantaged People

Foundation giving to health-related causes benefits minorities, the poor, and other disadvantaged people far more than previous research has indicated, says a new report.

The report, released by the Philanthropic Collaborative, a Washington coalition of nonprofit and local-government officials, says that $2 out of every $3 in health grant dollars helps such populations.

From 2005 to 2007, the most recent years data are available, the Foundation Center, in New York, estimates that 31.4 percent of health giving supported disadvantaged people. But the Philanthropic Collaborative says that upon closer inspection of a sample of the $7.8-billion in health awards made during those years, it is likely that 68 percent of it assisted minorities and others.

“The analysis provides robust evidence that foundations financed $5-billion or more in health-related grants in 2005 to 2007 targeted at a wide range of underserved groups, notably including racial and ethnic minorities and the economically disadvantaged,” says the report.

The report is the latest volley in a divisive debate about whether foundations do enough to support minorities and the poor.

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a foundation watchdog in Washington, estimates that $1 out of every $3 in grants support disadvantaged people. The group is calling on charitable funds to give at least 50 percent of their grant dollars to aid them.

Several philanthropy experts, including the Philanthropic Collaborative, have questioned the organization’s research. The committee used data from the Foundation Center, which collects grants by many foundations and categorizes them by cause and “intended beneficiary.”

The report by the Philanthropic Collaborative says that the foundation coding fails to capture the full extend of who benefits from foundation grant making.

For example, theundefinedJohnundefinedW.undefined AndersonundefinedFoundation, in Valparaiso, Ind., gave $10,000 in 2005 to a Chicago children’s hospital. The Foundation Center categorized the grant as helping youth and children. But the Philanthropic Collaborative says the hospital primarily serves minorities from low-income neighborhoods.

The report concludes: “The full range of foundation activities must be kept in mind in
order to appreciate the full diversity of grant making and the impact of charitable giving by foundations.”

To be sure, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has said that its analysis was based on less-than-ideal data, but it says that more foundations still should consider the needs of disadvantaged groups in making groups to the health, the arts, or other causes.

The report is available on the Philanthropic Collaborative’s Web site.undefined