Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

Decline in 2009 Foundation Giving Steeper Than Anticipated, According to New Foundation Center Survey

The Foundation Center announced (November 4, 2009) that giving will likely decline by more than 10 percent in 2009, closer to the higher end of the 8 to 13 percent range estimated earlier this year. According to September 2009 survey findings released today in Foundations' Year-end Outlook for Giving and the Sector [PDF], foundation giving will also decline further in 2010, as previously predicted by the Center.  

Despite reduced resources, more than three-quarters of the close to 600 respondents to the new survey expect that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of having weathered the crisis. The focus of long-term changes range from governance to grantee relations to investments.

"Foundations will be giving less than they expected at the beginning of the year," said Bradford K. Smith, president of the Foundation Center. "But many are rethinking their grantmaking so that fewer dollars will not necessarily mean less impact."

Most grantmakers believe that the economic crisis will actually strengthen the nonprofit sector. Some recommend that nonprofits pursue more creative fundraising strategies and less traditional sources of support, such as revenue-generating activities; develop concrete sustainability plans; and collaborate more. However, some funders expressed concern that nonprofits were not using the recession as an opportunity to review and rethink their activities.

"Our survey found that many foundations have made difficult strategic choices as a result of the economic crisis, including reducing staff," said Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center and author of the advisory. "They expect that their grantees will be similarly committed to restructuring their operations to reflect the new reality."

The report can be downloaded [PDF] at no charge from the Gain Knowledge area of the Center's web site.

This Foundation Center research advisory is the latest in a series that explores the impact of the economic downturn on the nonprofit sector. The advisories and the online chart "In Their Own Words: 2009 Foundation Giving Forecast" are available at the Center's Focus on the Economic Crisis web page, which offers a variety of resources to help nonprofits and foundations deal with the challenging economy. Also available there is the Center's interactive map that displays the most recent data available on U.S. foundation support for the crisis, totaling more than $427 million to date.

About the Survey

In September 2009, the Foundation Center launched a special online update of its annual Foundation Giving Forecast Survey and made it available to approximately 5,000 large and mid-size U.S. independent, corporate, and community foundations. The survey included questions on the outlook for foundation giving in 2009 and 2010, changes in their strategies and operations as a result of the economic downturn, and the impact of the crisis on the foundation and nonprofit communities. A total of 593 foundations provided useable responses as of early October 2009. The Center's next Foundation Giving Forecast Survey will be conducted in January 2010, with results released in the March 2010 edition of Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates.

This study was made possible in part by support from The Wallace Foundation. The Foundation Center's Research Institute is funded in part by The Wallace Foundation, which supports and shares effective ideas and practices to help institutions expand learning and enrichment opportunities. To learn more, visit the Knowledge Center at www.wallacefoundation.org.

Community Foundation Giving Increased 6.7 Percent in 2008 Despite Economy

The Foundation Center's new study, Key Facts on Community Foundations, finds that between 2006 and 2007 the nation's community foundations grew in asset size by close to 14% and increased giving by over 20%. Moreover, between 2007 and 2008, community foundations increased giving by close to 7%, surpassing increases in giving by both independent and company-sponsored foundations.

Though strengthened by increases in their assets, community foundations will face funding challenges similar to other grantmakers. Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center notes, "Community foundations may fare better than other types of grantmakers, given their large pool of donors and leading role in responding to those affected by the economic crisis. But most will have no choice but to pull back on giving in the near term."

Learn more about community foundations' giving patterns and funding priorities by downloading the report [pdf] at no charge from the Gain Knowledge area of the Foundation Center's web site.

Read the Latest Studies on Family and Corporate Foundations

Two recently released reports provide useful perspectives for nonprofit grantseekers on company-sponsored and family foundations in the U.S.

Key Facts on Corporate Foundations presents data on, among many other topic areas, estimated giving, allocation of funding by subject area, and forecasts about future funding by the nation's 2,500 corporate foundations. Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center, states in this report: "Corporate foundations will not be alone in having to reduce giving this year, but the cuts may well be deeper than for other types of grantmakers." Learn what else is happening with corporate foundations.
Download the full report>> [pdf]

Published jointly by the Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations, Perpetuity or Limited Lifespan: How Do Family Foundations Decide? presents results from the first national survey of family foundations on the topic of lifespan planning. Learn what family foundations are considering when they make these long-term decisions and see what factors and characteristics influence whether a foundation plans to exist in perpetuity or limit its lifespan.
Download the full report>> [pdf]

The Answer Desk Is Open. Ask Us!

Do you have questions about fundraising, nonprofit management, and related topics? We have answers and provide them fast. Our Ask Us service is available 24/7.

You can connect with a Foundation Center librarian and ask your question live, in real-time, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 9:30am to 8:00pm Eastern Time and Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30am to 4:30pm Eastern Time. Other times, you can ask by e-mail.

We've answered more than 90,000 questions since our start in 1998 and our fans regularly tell us what they think. So, if you have a question, join the growing number of satisfied customers who regularly Ask Us!

(This post is from Katie Artzner, the Foundation Center's online librarian.)

New Foundation Center Report Provides Insight on Future Giving by Foundations

The Foundation Center has just released the 2009 edition of Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates: Current Outlook. According to this latest report in the Foundations Today Series, U.S. grantmaking foundations increased their giving modestly by 2.8% in 2008 to an estimated $45.6 billion. However, in light of deepening economic problems, future giving is expected to decrease, as over 67% of foundations surveyed for this report indicate they will be reducing their giving in 2009.

Read a detailed press release analyzing the findings in the new report, and access the complete report at no charge at the Gain Knowledge area of the Foundation Center's web site.

Funding for Arts Month at the Answer Desk: Foundation Giving for Arts and Culture

Q: How much funding do foundations provide to arts and culture?

A: Foundation funding for arts and culture totaled $2.3 billion in 2006 (the latest year of record), a 13.4 percent increase over 2005, according to the Foundation Center's annual publication, Foundation Giving Trends: Update on Funding Priorities [Highlights PDF].  Within the arts field, funding for several subcategories showed double-digit increases between 2005 and 2006, including visual arts/architecture, performing arts, multidisciplinary arts, and media and communications. In contrast, support for 2 subfields decreased in the latest year, historic preservation and humanities. More information about foundation giving for arts and culture and other fields can be found in the full Foundation Giving Trends publication, available for purchase or for free use at the Foundation Center-Cleveland and all Ohio Cooperating Collections.

More detailed information about funding for arts and culture can be found in Foundation Grants to Arts and Culture: A One-year Snapshot and Government Funding for the Arts [PDF], recently issued by Grantmakers in the Arts in cooperation with the Foundation Center. Additionally, lists of the top 50 foundations awarding grants for arts, culture, and humanities [PDF]; media and communications [PDF]; museums [PDF]; and the performing arts [PDF] are available free of charge at our web site.

October 2008 is Funding for Arts Month at the Foundation Center. View our calendar for event information and register online to attend.

Do you have a question? Ask Us!

(This post is from Katie Artzner, the Foundation Center's online librarian)

What Do You Think? The "New" New Philanthropy

Remarks given by William A. Schambra, Director, Hudson Institute's Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, at the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations 2008 conference:

"... Instead of a handful of large foundations calling the shots for American philanthropy, we have tens of thousands of foundations [...]. Notwithstanding incessant calls for collaboration, consortiums, and coordination, these countless foundations evidence a bewildering diversity of means, ends, and notions of how to connect them...

...In short, and in contrast to the early decades of the 20^th century, foundations tend to be bit players on the American policy scene, drastically diminished in influence, disorganized, dispirited, and lacking a common vision or intellectual framework for their undertakings."

What do you think?