August 2012
KEY FACTS ON COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS
Outlook for Community Foundation Giving
Estimated giving by U.S. community foundations was basically unchanged
in 2011, following a less than 1 percent increase in 2010. Community
foundation giving has remained flat for the last three years, hovering at
roughly $4.2 billion.¹
Prior to the recent recession, community foundations typically reported faster
rates of annual growth in giving than independent or corporate foundations.
While it may appear that this trend has reversed in the past couple of years, in
reality many community foundations are reporting growth in funding. In fact,
community foundations responding to the latest “Foundation Giving Forecast
Survey” reported a median increase in 2011 giving of just over 5 percent.
However, a handful of the largest community foundations reported substantial
reductions, which kept overall giving flat.
Community foundations may begin to show stronger overall growth in giving
in 2012. According to the Foundation Center’s latest “Foundation Giving
Forecast Survey,” close to half of community foundations (45 percent)
anticipate increasing their giving this year. Of these foundations, more than
two-fifths estimate giving increases of 10 percent or more.
1
For more details see S. Lawrence, Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates, The Foundation Center, New York, 2012.
Three out of five surveyed community foundations expect to
increase giving or keep it the same in 2012
100%
80%
44%
Increase
42%
Increase
18%
No Change
19%
No Change
53%
Increase
45%
Increase
$4.2 billion
Estimated giving
by community
foundations in 2011
-0.1%
Estimated change
in community
foundation giving
between
2010 and 2011
734
Number of
grantmaking
community
foundations in 2010
44.3%
Share of community
foundations reporting
more than $1 million
in giving in 2010
60%
40%
20%
39%
Decrease
39%
Decrease
16%
No Change
31%
Decrease
0%
Percent of Number of Foundations
Note: A total of 1,077 foundations responded to this question.
The “Foundation Giving Forecast Survey” was conducted in January 2012.
15%
No Change
40%
Decrease
9.2%
Community
foundation giving
as a share
of all foundation
giving in 2010
Inflation-adjusted community foundation giving has increased nearly fivefold since 1990
$5
Dollars in Billions¹
$4
$4.3
Current Dollars
$4.5
$4.2
$4.2
$4.2
$3.6
$3.2
Constant Dollars
$3
$2.9
$2.5
$2.4
$1
$0.5
$0.8
$0.7
$0.6 $0.6 $0.7 $0.6 $0.7 $0.6
$0.5 $0.5
$1.0
$1.2
$1.0
$1.8
$1.8
$1.6
$2.4
$2.2
$2.0
$1.8
$1.5
$1.2
$2.5
$2.5
$2.3
$2.2
$2
$2.7
$2.6
$2.5
$1.8
$1.5
$0.8
$0
’90
’91
’92
’93
’94
’95
’96
’97
’98
’99
’00
’01
’02
’03
’04
’05
’06
’07
’08
’09
’10
’11
Note: Figures estimated for 2011.
¹Percent change in constant 1990 dollars based on annual average Consumer Price Index, all urban consumers (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of July 2012).
Accounting for inflation, community foundations reported the fastest cumulative growth in giving since 1990
500%
393%
400%
Percent Growth in Inflation-adjusted Dollars1
300%
Community
Independent
Corporate
200%
190%
109%
100%
0%
’90
’91
’92
’93
’94
’95
’96
’97
’98
’99
’00
’01
’02
’03
’04
’05
’06
’07
’08
’09
’10
’11
Note: Figures estimated for 2011.
¹Percent change in constant 1990 dollars based on annual average Consumer Price Index, all urban consumers (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of July 2012).
Since 1990, community foundations have increased their share of overall foundation giving
100%
6%
6%
7%
8%
8%
9%
10%
9%
9%
9%
76%
78%
77%
77%
76%
69%
72%
72%
71%
71%
80%
Community
60%
Independent
Corporate¹
40%
Operating
20%
11%
17%
1%
14%
13%
1%
2%
10%
10%
10%
11%
8%
9%
9%
9%
’05
’08
’09
’10
’11
11%
12%
4%
3%
11%
0%
’90
’93
’96
’99
’02
Percent of Total Giving
Note: Figures estimated for 2011; due to rounding, figures may not add up.
¹Excludes giving by corporate operating foundations.
© 2012 The Foundation Center / Key Facts on Community Foundations / August 2012
2
Community Foundation Giving Patterns, 2010
Compared to independent and corporate foundations,
the larger community foundations included in the
Foundation Center’s 2010 grants sample¹ were more
likely to provide funding for arts and culture,
education, and religion. They were less likely to
provide funding for international affairs and public
affairs/society benefit.
By target population group, community foundation
giving primarily benefited the economically
disadvantaged and children and youth—consistent
with independent and corporate foundations. By types
of support, community foundations favored program
support, followed by general operating support.
¹The Foundation Center’s 2010 grants sample database includes all of the grants of $10,000
or more awarded by 1,330 of the largest U.S. foundations, including 128 community
foundations. The overall sample accounted for roughly half of grant dollars awarded by the
more than 76,000 grantmaking U.S. foundations.
Education and human services were the top
priorities of community foundations in 2010
International Affairs,
Development, & Peace
2%
Other 2
1%
Science & Technology
3%
Religion
4%
Environment
& Animals
6%
Education
26%
Public Affairs/
Society Benefit 1
10%
Arts & Culture
13%
Human Services
21%
Health
14%
Percent of Grant Dollars
Note: Based on a sample of 128 larger community foundations. Due to rounding, figures may
not add up to 100 percent.
¹Includes civil rights and social action, community improvement and development,
philanthropy and voluntarism, and public affairs.
²Includes 0.5 percent of community foundation grant dollars awarded for the social sciences.
Community foundations provided relatively larger shares of their funding
to arts and culture, education, and religion in 2010
100%
Arts & Culture
10%
12%
13%
Education
Environment & Animals
80%
24%
21%
Health
26%
Human Services
4%
60%
7%
International Affairs
6%
14%
Public Affairs/Society Benefit 1
14%
24%
Science & Technology
Social Sciences
40%
23%
Religion
21%
13%
20%
4%
4%
2%
20%
12%
3%
0%
Independent Foundations
1%
2%
3%
10%
.02%
.04%
Corporate Foundations
3%
4%
1%
COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS
Percent of Grant Dollars
Note: Based on a sample of 1,330 larger foundations, including 128 larger community foundations. Due to rounding, figures may not add up to 100 percent.
¹Includes civil rights and social action, community improvement and development, philanthropy and voluntarism, and public affairs.
© 2012 The Foundation Center / Key Facts on Community Foundations / August 2012
3
Community Foundation Giving Patterns, 2010, continued
Community foundations prioritized giving
for the economically disadvantaged and
children and youth in 2010
Community foundations allocated a larger share
of their grant dollars for operating support than
did foundations overall in 2010
Economically
Disadvantaged
Program Support
Children & Youth
General/Operating
Support
Ethnic or Racial
Minorities
Capital Support1
Women & Girls
People with
Disabilities
Student Aid
Community Foundations
Men & Boys
All Foundations
Aging/Elderly/
Senior Citizens
Research
Community Foundations
All Foundations
Crime or Abuse
Victims
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Percent of Grant Dollars
Immigrants & Refugees
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Percent of Grant Dollars
Note: Based on a sample of 1,330 larger foundations, including 128 community foundations.
Approximately 40 percent of community foundation grant dollars could not be identified by
type of support.
¹Includes endowment funds.
Note: Based on a sample of 1,330 larger foundations, including 128 community
foundations. Chart includes selected beneficiary groups representing at least 1 percent
of community foundation grant dollars. Figures represent only grants awarded to groups
that could be identified as serving specific populations or grants whose descriptions
specified a benefit for a specific population. These figures do not reflect all giving
benefiting these groups. In addition, grants may benefit multiple population groups,
e.g., a grant for homeless children, and would therefore be counted more than once.
Summary 2010 Statistics for Community Foundations
Community foundation giving represented
about one-tenth of total foundation giving
in 2010
Change in Community Foundations, 2009 to 2010
2009
No. of Foundations
Total Giving
Total Assets
Gifts Received
Note: Dollars in thousands.
737
$ 4,174,413
$49,491,219
$ 4,814,379
2010
% Change
734
$ 4,213,390
$55,555,918
$ 4,751,748
-0.4
0.9
12.3
-1.3
Operating
$4.3 billion
9%
Independent
$32.5 billion
71%
Community
$4.2 billion
9%
Corporate¹
$4.9 billion
11%
Total Giving = $45.9 billion
Note: Based on total giving by 76,610 grantmaking private and community
foundations.
¹Excludes giving by corporate operating foundations.
© 2012 The Foundation Center / Key Facts on Community Foundations / August 2012
4
Summary 2010 Statistics for Community Foundations, continued
Top 25 Community Foundations by Total Giving, 2010
State
Total Giving1
Assets
Gifts Received
Fiscal Date
1. Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
MO
$251,886,514
$1,189,480,459
$213,227,522
12/31/2010
2. Silicon Valley Community Foundation
CA
228,399,000
1,830,140,000
155,525,000
12/31/2010
3. New York Community Trust
NY
140,835,396
1,877,885,562
106,535,663
12/31/2010
4. Chicago Community Trust
IL
130,513,816
1,595,765,501
89,038,445
9/30/2010
5. California Community Foundation
CA
117,608,000
1,242,402,000
106,597,000
6/30/2011
6. Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
GA
99,000,534
741,108,064
138,352,721
12/31/2010
7. Columbus Foundation and Affiliated Organizations
OH
96,119,215
1,061,039,486
109,087,479
12/31/2010
8. Cleveland Foundation
OH
94,560,803
1,888,630,534
40,561,975
12/31/2010
9. Tulsa Community Foundation
OK
93,524,000
4,022,451,000
91,656,000
12/31/2010
10. Omaha Community Foundation
NE
86,420,901
606,014,771
137,181,546
12/31/2010
11. San Francisco Foundation
CA
82,473,000
1,101,069,000
56,712,000
6/30/2011
12. Boston Foundation
MA
77,521,000
859,510,000
81,215,000
6/30/2011
13. Denver Foundation
CO
69,012,161
576,008,818
51,352,704
12/31/2010
14. East Bay Community Foundation
CA
67,463,000
369,800,000
29,300,000
6/30/2011
15. Community Foundation for National Capital Region
DC
62,969,894
368,358,325
55,381,316
3/31/2011
16. Greater Cincinnati Foundation
OH
62,620,127
443,097,111
62,296,825
12/31/2010
17. Marin Community Foundation
CA
57,484,094
1,207,464,129
81,282,665
6/30/2011
18. Communities Foundation of Texas
TX
55,784,000
769,107,000
30,235,000
6/30/2011
19. Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
MI
55,208,050
600,483,119
37,562,500
12/31/2010
20. Seattle Foundation
WA
52,117,881
663,201,900
64,883,181
12/31/2010
21. Greater Houston Community Foundation
TX
46,325,575
296,571,854
68,538,944
12/31/2010
22. Saint Paul Foundation
MN
46,065,048
702,560,293
48,515,216
12/31/2010
23. Minneapolis Foundation
MN
45,193,056
625,399,567
51,307,178
3/31/2011
24. Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
TN
44,664,210
412,697,685
55,708,035
12/31/2010
25. Pittsburgh Foundation
PA
41,545,328
821,409,075
72,360,620
12/31/2010
Foundation Name
Note: The Foundation For The Carolinas and Oregon Community Foundation were omitted from the list because updated fiscal information was not available at the time
of publication. Their giving in 2009 was $89.9 million and $60.7 million, respectively.
1
Includes grants, scholarships, and employee matching gifts; excludes set-asides, loans, PRIs, and program expenses.
Close to half of community foundations reported
$1 million or more in giving in 2010
Well over half of community foundations reported
$10 million or more in assets in 2010
2%
Asset Range
Total Giving Range
6%
6%
5%
10%
9%
5%
18%
19%
33%
25%
33%
16%
15%
Percent of Number of Foundations
Note: Based on total giving by 734 grantmaking community foundations. Due to rounding,
figures may not add up to 100 percent.
Percent of Number of Foundations
Note: Based on 734 grantmaking community foundations. Due to rounding, figures may not add
up to 100 percent.
© 2012 The Foundation Center / Key Facts on Community Foundations / August 2012
5
Summary 2010 Statistics for Community Foundations, continued
Community Foundations by State, 2010
Total Community Foundations1 = 734
20+
10–under 20
5–under 10
Under 5
¹Number of community foundations includes one foundation located in Puerto Rico and one in the Virgin Islands.
The Midwest accounted for close to half of
community foundations in 2010
100%
13%
Northeast
80%
17%
West
60%
23%
South
0%
24%
West
79 Fifth Avenue ◆ New York, NY 10003
foundationcenter.org ◆ (212) 620-4230
28%
South
40%
20%
14%
Northeast
47%
Midwest
Number of Foundations =
734
34%
Midwest
Total Giving =
$4.2 billion
Note: Giving includes grants, scholarships, and employee matching gifts; excludes set-asides,
loans, PRIs, and program expenses.
Source for all data: The Foundation Center
For more information contact Reina Mukai at
(212) 807-2467 or [email protected].
“Key Facts on Community Foundations” is
available at foundationcenter.org.