"With the launch of our 9/11 Philanthropic Response Project last year, we immediately began compiling and releasing information about 9/11-related funding," said Sara L. Engelhardt, president of the Foundation Center. "At this stage of our initiative we are able to fill in much more of the picture of philanthropy's response to the tragedy, and we are creating new ways for the public to keep pace with this evolving story. We are committed to monitoring and measuring this funding over time as the story unfolds."
The Foundation Center's new 9/11 Funding Database
offers a means of keeping the public current on 9/11 donors
and recipients. The Center will continuously update it as
new information becomes available. This interactive database
provides users with a versatile tool for locating the latest
information on a wide range of institutional donors, grant
recipients, and grants made following September 11. According
to Center staff, users can search the database to find out
how much a specific corporation or foundation gave and to
which organizations. The database also makes it possible to
look at donors and recipients in various geographic areas,
as well as the organizations receiving funds in human services,
arts and culture, immigrant rights, foreign policy research,
and other service areas. In the future the Center will add
information about distributions from relief funds in order
to increase understanding of the long-term impact of 9/11
contributions. The database is accessible free of charge in
the Researching Philanthropy area of the Center's Web site
at http://foundationcenter.org/research/911/.
Another component of the Center's initiative is its series of research reports analyzing 9/11 donors, recipients, and gifts. The second report in the series, Giving in the Aftermath of 9/11: An Update on the Foundation and Corporate Response provides an overview of the size and scope of 9/11 institutional giving and the flow of gifts from foundations and corporations to relief funds and other recipients, based on data compiled through September 2002. The report also offers a first look at the uses and beneficiaries of distributions from a sample of the largest relief funds. The 20-page report may be downloaded free of charge at the Center's Web site.
"The findings in this expanded report add much more texture to previous research on the foundation and corporate response to September 11," remarked Loren Renz, the Center's vice president for research. "We have much more to say about 9/11 donors, and we can begin to map in far greater detail the flow of funds to recipient organizations across the country and how they're being used. Our findings on distributions by the top 30 relief funds are the start of broader research we will do in this area in 2003."
Among the key findings of this report:
Scope of Response. The report covers 1,000 foundations, corporations, and other institutional donors that have together contributed over $1.0 billion for 9/11 funding. Giving by these donors represents 39 percent of an estimated $2.6 billion in total private giving in response to 9/11.
Breakdown by Types of Donors. 568 corporations pledged $682.4 million, or 67 percent of all institutional giving, while 417 independent and community or other public foundations pledged $309.2 million, or 31 percent of institutional funding.
Giving per 9/11 Donor ranged from less than $500 to the $50 million pledged by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; 289 donors contributed $1 million or more; the median gift was $125,000.
Recipients of Donations. Donors reported 2,566 donations (totaling over $1 billion) to more than 1,150 recipients; $600 million went to 173 relief funds created after 9/11 and $110 million to 978 direct-service providers, local groups affected by the disaster, and organizations focusing on issues related to the attacks. (The remaining funds could not be broken down by recipient or were undesignated.)
Top Recipients. The September 11th Fund is the largest relief fund ranked by amount received from institutional donors ($144.2 million, or 14 percent), followed by the American Red Cross Liberty Disaster Relief Fund ($133.3 million, or 13 percent). The Salvation Army is the top service-provider recipient, with gifts from corporations and foundations totaling $17.4 million.
Gifts to Direct-Service Providers by Field of Activity. Human services providers received nearly 39 percent of the $110 million donated to direct-service organizations ($40.9 million), followed by arts and culture groups, public/society benefit groups, and educational institutions.
Distributions from 30 Top Relief Funds totaled close to $1.9 billion for relief and recovery in the form of direct aid to individuals (77 percent), emergency rescue services (12 percent), long-term recovery services and assistance (8 percent), and grants, loans, and technical assistance to affected businesses and nonprofits (under 4 percent).
Principal Beneficiaries of Relief Funds included the "general victims" population (48 percent) and uniformed rescue workers (22 percent). Other groups included employees and union members, low-income/immigrant communities, children, and businesses.
According to Renz, another report next fall will provide even more detail about the beneficiaries and purposes of funding, some of which will be based on a survey of recipients of 9/11-related gifts.
To date, supporters of the Center's 9/11 Philanthropic Response Project include the California Endowment, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ChevronTexaco, the Ford Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, Morgan Stanley, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
About the Foundation Center
The Foundation Center's mission is to support and improve philanthropy by promoting public understanding of the field and helping grantseekers succeed. To achieve its mission, it collects, organizes and communicates information on U.S. philanthropy; conducts and facilitates research on trends in the field; provides education and training on the grantseeking process; and ensures public access to information and services through its World Wide Web site, print and electronic publications, five library/learning centers, and a national network of Cooperating Collections. Founded in 1956, the center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media and the general public.
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