Small Foundations Significantly Boost Giving, Study Says

Title: Small Foundation Grantmaking 2015

Organization: Foundation Source

Summary: Small grant makers increased their giving by nearly one-quarter in 2015, according to a study by Foundation Source, a consulting company.

The company based its findings on the transactions of 831 private foundations with assets of less than $50 million — a sample that represents 98 percent of the private foundations in the United States, according to Foundation Source. Grant makers with assets over $1 million but less than $10 million drove the growth: They gave 52 percent more last year than in 2014. “Robust” equity and fixed-income markets helped foundations add to their endowments in 2014 and resulted in a higher-than-expected surge in giving last year, according to Robert Chartener, Foundation Source’s chief executive.

Among the findings:

• With grants nearing 12 percent of their assets, foundations with less than $1 million in assets far exceeded the 5 percent minimum-payout requirement for private foundations.
• Foundations with assets over $1 million but less than $10 million paid out 8.5 percent of their assets; those with assets over $10 million but less than $50 million paid out 6.4 percent.
• End-of-year giving was higher than usual in 2015, with December grants accounting for one-quarter of the total activity for the year. In December 2014, they accounted for 19 percent.
• Gifts to support education, arts and culture, and foreign affairs each declined. Human-service, health, and public-benefit grants each increased as a share of small foundation grant making.