New Foundation Center Report Sheds Light on
Community Foundation Giving
Community foundations account for nearly
10 percent of giving by U.S. foundations
New York, NY—September 18, 2006. Estimated giving by the nation's 700 community foundations rose to a record $3.2 billion in 2005, according to the Foundation Center's new report, Key Facts on Community Foundations. The report is the first ever to exclusively highlight the Center's most current research on the size, scope, and giving interests of this segment of the nation's grantmaking foundations.
Key findings include:
- In 2005, community foundations' estimated giving rose 10.9 percent—roughly twice as fast as independent and corporate foundations.
- Well over half (59 percent) of community foundations responding to the Center's latest forecasting survey expected to increase giving in 2006, while 30 percent expected to reduce giving.
- The community foundations in the Center's grants sample gave proportionately more for human services and the arts than did independent and corporate foundations in 2004.
"In recent years, community foundations have experienced robust growth in existing assets and a continued infusion of new gifts," noted Josie Atienza, the report's author. "In uncertain times, they are an especially appealing option for donors. They spare donors from having to be engaged in the day-to-day management of investments, while allowing them to remain involved in grantmaking decisions."
The report can be downloaded at no charge from the Gain Knowledge area of the Foundation Center's web site.
About the Foundation Center
Established in 1956, and today supported by more than 600 foundations, the Foundation Center is the nation’s leading authority on organized philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants and conducts research on trends in foundation growth and giving. It also operates education and outreach programs that help nonprofit organizations obtain the resources they need. More than 37,000 people visit the Center’s web site each day, and thousands more are served in its five regional learning centers and through its national network of more than 275 Cooperating Collections. For more information, visit foundationcenter.org or call 212-620-4230.
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