Giving by U.S. Family Foundations Increased 21 Percent, Report Finds
Giving by U.S. Family Foundations Increased 21 Percent, Report Finds
America's family foundations awarded $17 billion in grants in 2006, a 21 percent increase from the previous year, a new report from the Foundation Center finds.
According to the 2008 edition of Key Facts on Family Foundations (4 pages, PDF), giving by family foundations has more than doubled since 1998 — the first year for which statistics are available — and accounts for 59 percent of giving by independent foundations overall. The study, which identified 37,100 independent foundations with measurable donor or donor-family involvement, examined giving by recipient type, type of support, population group served, and geographic location.
The largest family foundation by giving and assets in 2006 was the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Many family foundations in the survey were small, however, with 49 percent awarding less than $50,000 annually.
As a result of the Gates Foundation's grantmaking focus on global health issues, health was the top funding priority among family foundations in the West, while education took the top spot in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. According to the report, 67 percent of all family foundations have been established since 1990.
"Despite the economic fluctuations since the start of the 2000s, donors and donor families have continued to establish new foundations and build the endowments of their existing foundations," said Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center. "We expect these trends to continue to boost family foundation giving for the foreseeable future."
“Giving by U.S. Family Foundations Jumped 21 Percent According to New Foundation Center Report.”
Foundation Center Press Release
3/27/08.
Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Location(s): National
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