Posted on June 8, 2006

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Corporate Foundations Gave a Record $3.6 Billion in 2005, Report Finds

Charitable giving by corporate foundations reached a record high last year, and a majority of surveyed foundation leaders project continued growth in 2006, a new summary report from the New York City-based Foundation Center finds.

According to Key Facts on Corporate Foundations, nearly 2,600 corporate foundations gave grants totaling $3.6 billion in 2005, although the growth of corporate giving still lags that of independent and community foundations. In addition, although corporate foundation giving comprises 11 percent of all giving, that's down from 17 percent in 1987. The report also found that, in terms of funding priorities, corporate foundations targeted half of their giving to education (26 percent) or public affairs/social benefit (24 percent) — which includes support for community development, federated funds and other philanthropy, and civil rights — and that more than half of the corporate foundations surveyed expect to increase their giving in 2006, while roughly one-third anticipate reductions in giving.

The report's findings come from the Foundation Center's tracking of fiscal and programmatic information on more than eighty thousand foundations, corporations, and public charities; annual surveys of leading grantmakers; and analyses of the giving patterns of the nation's nearly 1,200 largest foundations. The release of the report coincides with the launch of the center's new search service, Corporate Giving Online, which enables grantseekers and other researchers to find detailed information on thousands of corporate grantmakers.

"At $3.6 billion, corporate foundation giving represents a small but critical component of overall corporate philanthropy," said the center's director of research, Steven Lawrence. "Unlike corporations' direct charitable support, it's transparent and provides the only consistent window into corporate funding patterns. Despite accounting for a smaller share of overall foundation giving since the late 1980s, corporate foundation giving remains an essential resource for the nation's nonprofits."

To read or download the complete report (5 pages, PDF), visit: http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/
pdf/corporatekeyfacts.pdf.

“Corporate Foundations Gave a Record $3.6 Billion in 2005, New Foundation Center Report Shows.” Foundation Center Press Release 6/08/06.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Location(s): National, New York, New York City

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