May 02, 2008
Most Grant Makers Plan to Increase Giving in 2008
By Noelle Barton
Fifty-four percent of foundations expect giving to increase in 2008, while 28 percent project a decrease this year, according to a study released today by the Foundation Center. The report said the economic turmoil that has caused trouble for some foundation investments does not appear to have any major effect on giving plans for this year.
The biggest foundations —those that make grants of $10-million or more — are the most likely to increase giving in 2008, the report found.
The study found that grant making by the nation’s 72,000 foundations grew by 10 percent in 2007, totaling nearly $43-billion. That is on top of a 7.1 percent increase in 2006, according to the Foundation Center, a research organization in New York.
Community foundations increased their giving by more than any other type of grant maker, giving away nearly 14 percent more last year than in 2006. Independent foundations increased giving by 13 percent while grants by corporate foundations rose by more than 6 percent.
The report found that a strong growth in foundation assets, along with the establishment of new foundations, contributed to the increased giving. The assets of American foundations grew 9 percent from 2006 to 2007, to nearly $670-billion.
The Foundation Center surveyed 1,240 foundations and examined year-end economic indicators to come to the conclusions reached in the report. Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates: Current Outlook (2008 Edition) is available for free (as a PDF) on the Foundation Center’s Web site.
The results from the Foundation Center survey are similar to those found by The Chronicle last month in its annual survey of the nation’s wealthiest grant makers.
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