Mirroring cross-sector trends, the number of larger foundations providing information via Web sites grew to 1,072 in 2001, up by more than one-quarter from 2000. At the same time, the number of foundations issuing annual reports or other publications dropped from 3,419 to 3,239 in 2001--the first decline reported since the Foundation Center began tracking information on public reporting in 1985. As a result, the share of larger U.S. foundations issuing publications declined to less than one-in-five (17.1%) in the latest year. Still, the number of foundations issuing publications in the latest year represented a nearly seven-tenths (69.2 percent) gain over the 1,914 foundations that issued publications at the beginning of the 1990s. Moreover, the share of foundations issuing annual reports—the most detailed form of public reporting—held steady at 7.8 percent, following seven years of decline.

“This one-year decrease in the overall number of foundations issuing publications does not represent a reversal of the trend toward greater public reporting,” notes Loren Renz, Vice President for Research at The Foundation Center. “On the contrary, more foundations than ever maintained Web sites in the latest year, and the number of foundations issuing annual reports continued grow.” As the many new foundations established in the boom years of the late 1990s mature, “the number of foundations issuing publications will undoubtedly rise.”

Foundation Reporting: Update on Public Reporting Trends of Private and Community Foundations, 2001 Edition, examines changes in the voluntary reporting patterns of U.S. foundations over the past decade. Part of the Foundation Center’s Foundations Today Series of annual research publications, Foundation Reporting provides comparisons of foundations’ public reporting patterns by asset size; period of establishment; regional location; and foundation type. The report also includes detailed information on how to research foundations.

Data for the nearly 19,000 active foundations included in this report come from the Foundation Center’s annual surveys of private and community foundations awarding at least $50,000 in giving or holding assets of $1 million or more. To maintain consistency with historical Foundation Center data on public reporting, this analysis limits its scope to those foundations with at least $100,000 in giving or holding assets of $1 million or more. Information on foundation reporting also reflects actual foundation publications that have been provided directly to the Foundation Center.

Web Sites Serve as Important Means for Foundation Reporting

The Internet serves as an increasingly important tool for foundations to disseminate timely information on their programs, activities, guidelines, and grantees. The Foundation Center identified 1,072 larger U.S. foundations that provided information to the public through Web sites in 2001, up by more than one-fourth (27.6 percent) from 840 in 2000. About one-in-seven (156) of these funders used Web sites as their exclusive means for voluntary public reporting. The Foundation Center provides links to all private and community foundation Web sites through the Foundation Finder.

Among the many other findings presented in Foundation Reporting are:

• Larger Foundations More Likely to Issue Publications: Close to three out of four foundations (72.8%) with at least $100 million in assets issued publications in 2001. These grantmakers —only 2.9% of surveyed foundations—represented one-in-eight (12.5%) of the 3,239 foundations that issued any publications and one-in-five (20.3%) of the 1,479 foundations that issued annual reports. The largest foundations also accounted for nearly half (49.8%) of all foundations maintaining Web sites.




• Older Foundations More Likely to Issue Publications: More than two out of five surveyed foundations (40.8%) established before 1950 issued publications in 2001. By comparison, roughly one out of four foundations (26.0%) established between 1950 and 1979 and one out of nine grantmakers (11.2%) established since 1979 issued publications. Older foundations were most likely to maintain Web sites. Close to one-in-seven (14.4%) foundations established prior to 1950 utilized the Internet to provide information to the public.




• Community Foundations More Likely to Issue Publications: Close to nine out of ten surveyed community foundations (87.4%) issued publications in 2001 and more than half (54.7%) maintained Web sites. Community foundations, which represent a large pool of donors, often use publications as tools to assist in fundraising and educating the public about their role in local communities. Corporate foundations followed with more than one-third (34.6%) issuing publications. By comparison, roughly one-sixth (16.1%) of independent foundations issued publications.




• Foundations in the West and Midwest More Likely to Issue Publications: Despite the concentration of larger and older foundations in the Northeast and Midwest, the West showed the highest share of foundations issuing publications. Overall, roughly one-in-five Western foundations (20.2%) issued publications, followed by Midwestern (19.2%), Southern (16.1%), and Northeastern (14.8%) foundations. This finding suggests a willingness among funders in the West to provide detailed information on their grantmaking programs earlier in their development. It may also reflect the higher concentration of staffed foundations in the West, which are more likely to issue publications.

Foundation Reporting also provides detailed information on how to research foundations’ grantmaking interests and secure statistical data on their activities using the Internet, CD-ROMs, and print publications. In addition, it includes background on mandatory public reporting by foundations and how to secure copies of funders’ Internal Revenue Service Form 990-PF.

The successor to the Foundation Center's popular Foundation Giving report, the Foundations Today Series provides the latest information on foundation growth and trends in foundation giving. The five reports in this annual series—Foundation Giving Trends, Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates, Foundation Yearbook, Foundation Staffing, and Foundation Reporting—present detailed analyses of foundation grantmaking trends based on a sample of larger U.S. foundations, examine growth in the resources of active U.S. foundations, identify differences among grantmakers by foundation type, document foundation staffing patterns, and explore foundation reporting practices.

"Highlights" of Foundation Yearbook can be accessed at no charge from the Researching Philanthropy area of the Foundation Center's Web site.

Orders for the Foundations Today Series may be charged with VISA, MasterCard, or AMEX by calling our toll-free number, 800-424-9836 (in New York, call 212-807-3690); by faxing your request (with return address and credit card number) to 212-807-3691; by using our on-line order form; or by mailing orders to the Foundation Center, Dept. NO11, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003-3076. Prepayment of $95.00 is required. Make checks payable to the Foundation Center. Discounts are available for multiple-subscription orders. Please call 800-424-9836 for details.

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