Philanthropy Front and Center-Atlanta

New Research Advisory Gives Long-Term View of Foundation Giving

In September 2009, the Foundation Center conducted a follow-up to its January 2009 giving forecast survey to determine foundation expectations for giving beyond 2009. The survey responses from over 600 grantmakers have been analyzed and indicate that giving from foundations is expected to decline by more than 10 percent in 2009, and continued reductions are expected in 2010. "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."

Foundations' Year-end Outlook for Giving and the Sector is the latest in the Center's research advisory 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.

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

Just Released - New Edition of Key Facts on Georgia Foundations

Assets held by Georgia foundations increased from $8.4 billion to $13.3 billion between 2002 and 2007, according to new data released by the Foundation Center in Key Facts on Georgia Foundations. The report also shows that in 2007, gifts received by Georgia foundations topped $1 billion for the first time, almost four times the amount for 2002.

"The increases in foundation assets, giving to nonprofits, and gifts to foundations in 2007 were significant and reflect the economy of that five-year timeframe," said the report's author, Pattie Johnson, director of the Foundation Center-Atlanta. "This report will provide a crucial baseline when we
analyze giving and assets for 2008, the year the recession began, and subsequent years."

Among the report's major findings:

• The number of Georgia foundations increased 16% between 2002 and 2007, from 1,262 to 1,470.
• Education was again the top funding priority for Georgia foundations in 2007.
• The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation topped the lists of Georgia foundations by both total giving and total assets for 2007.
• More than half of all Georgia foundations in 2007 were smaller funders that gave $50,000 or less in grants annually.

View or download Key Facts on Georgia Foundations for free from the Gain Knowledge section of our web site.

Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Hurricane Katrina: Where Did the Money Go?

Despite my aching legs and feet from all of the walking, my husband and I had a blast celebrating our fifth anniversary in New Orleans. I thought four years would be enough time to rebuild homes and fix the damaged ones. Instead, I found myself wondering, “Where did the money go?” 
 

The Foundation Center attempts to answer this question in its newly released report: Giving in the Aftermath of the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes (2007-2009). According to the report, economic and community development has now “captured the largest share of ongoing foundation support dollars (24 percent) and the second largest share of grants (18 percent).” This represents a shift in the focus of service providers and grantmakers from immediate relief to recovery and rebuilding.  You can find this report and a wealth of other information at the Focus on Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief area of our web site.

I’m glad this shift is taking place. When I toured the Ninth Ward, I saw a sea of abandoned homes, empty home lots, battered FEMA trailers, and makeshift signs of remembrance and pleas for help. I was sorely disappointed and hurt to see what little had been done to rebuild the area, so I am glad to see that grantmakers are now more aggressively directing funds to rebuilding those communities.

Although rehabilitation will take years, I saw evidence of glaring success initiated by celebrities. The tour guide showed us Brad Pitt’s housing development from his Make It Right Foundation New Orleans. We also saw the Musician’s Village, a powerful partnership between Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., and Habitat for Humanity. It was refreshing to see these new communities being reconstructed.
 
Now that I have seen parts of the aftermath with my own eyes, I realize that I probably wouldn’t have been near the Ninth Ward had I traveled to New Orleans prior to Katrina, unless I was visiting someone.
 
You would never know the devastation that wrecked the city if you stay downtown or in the Quarter. When you don’t have to look at the devastation daily, it’s easy to ignore the fact that more help is needed in less affluent areas. Even though billions have been donated, affected parts of the city still have a long way to go to rebuild.
 
Here is how you can help.

Asia M. Hadley, Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Foundation Center Study Shows Renewed Interest in Social Justice Philanthropy

Social Justice Grantmaking II: An Update on U.S. Foundation Trends provides a current analysis of foundation giving to social justice work and reports on the detailed recommendations given by funders and advocates interested in advancing social justice philanthropy. This follow-up to the Center’s 2005 study, our first exploration of the topic, reports a nearly 31 percent increase in foundation giving to U.S.-based and international social justice activities between 2002 and 2006. The increase surpasses the 20 percent increase in overall foundation giving during the same time period. Foundation giving to social justice totaled $2.3 billion in 2006, representing roughly 12% of all giving by foundations. Economic and community development, health care access, and human rights and civil liberties received the largest share of social justice funding.

The report discusses factors that have influenced the resurgence of interest in social justice grantmaking, including the success of community organizing during the presidential election. "In 2005 many of us wondered about the prospects for social justice philanthropy because the field itself was so pessimistic about its future. Today, social justice is experiencing a resurgence, fueled by philanthropists whose passion won't let them stand by when there is injustice and whose pragmatism demands results," said Bradford Smith, president of the Foundation Center.
You can download the highlights to the report free of charge and purchase a copy from the Gain Knowledge area of our web site.

Introducing Philanthropy In/Sight

The Foundation Center recently released Philanthropy In/Sight, our new interactive mapping tool for grantmakers, policymakers, researchers, and others interested in seeing the impact of philanthropy in the U.S. and worldwide.

Philanthropy In/Sight provides two unique mapping platforms powered by the Foundation Center's comprehensive databases of the more than 97,000 U.S. grantmakers and records of 1.6 million grants. Users can choose from over 1,100 subject areas and dozens of thematic indicators to assess past funding and current needs in areas such as education, housing, and health care at the global, national, state, or local levels. With these features, Philanthropy In/Sight enables foundations and policymakers to take a more strategic approach to grantmaking.

Philanthropy In/Sight users can:

• Plot the locations of grantmakers and grant recipients by country, state, county, city, metro area, congressional district, or ZIP code
• Find quick information about grantmakers and grant recipients, as well as details about past and recently-awarded grants
• Use layered demographic and thematic data to assess local funding needs and impact
• Explore emerging trends in both domestic and international grantmaking

To learn more, take the guided tour of Philanthropy In/Sight or see these frequently asked questions.

Interested in subscribing to Philanthropy In/Sight? Click here.

Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

NEA Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

Periodically, the National Endowment for the Arts has looked at arts participation in the United States in partnership with the U. S. Census Bureau.  It has just published its latest survey, Arts Participation 2008: Highlights from a National Survey—a statistical snapshot of engagement in the U.S. with the arts by frequency and activity type.

The survey is not designed to determine why arts participation increases or decreases from survey to survey—but rather to look at how arts participation is affected by social, cultural, or economic patterns or by policies and programs in the arts arena.  The 2008 survey results present an especially challenging question: how did the economic downturn affect participation in the arts?

When the survey was conducted in May 2008, the recession, although not officially declared, had already made travel and other costs a problem for many Americans.  Although the survey cannot prove that weak consumer spending had a direct impact on participation in the arts, the survey results do show that adult attendance at arts events declined for almost every art form in 2008 as compared to the last survey in 2002.

The report presents charts and tables representing the results of the survey and reports some key findings, including:

1 in 3 adults attended an arts museum or an arts performance in the 12-month survey period.
Smaller percentages of adults attended performing arts events than in previous years.
Long-term trends suggest fundamental shifts in the relationship between age and arts attendance.

For more information about these and other key findings of the survey, read the report.

Does your experience with arts participation reflect these findings? Let us know.

Kayron Bearden, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

New Study Examines Funding for Women and Girls and the Importance of Women's Funds

Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women's Funds, a study published jointly by the Foundation Center and the Women's Funding Network, examines institutional giving to projects targeting women and girls and explores the growing influence of women's funds in the philanthropic landscape.

According to the report, which draws on the Foundation Center's grants data, fiscal summaries, and survey research, the rate of foundation giving for women and girls has grown faster than foundation giving in all areas. The role of women’s funds has also gained in significance in recent years, both in terms of actual grantmaking and in terms of bringing attention to “…the catalytic power of investing in women and in women-led solutions” (Highlights, p. 2).

"Women are a rising force in philanthropy," said Christine Grumm, president and CEO of the Women's Funding Network. "This report demonstrates the power women-led solutions have in creating sustainable change in communities."

In conjunction with the release of the new study, Josie Atienza, assistant director of research at the Foundation Center, and Grumm presented report highlights to a group of more than 60 grantmakers and nonprofit organizations. Other speakers were Bradford K. Smith, president of the Foundation Center; Larry McGill, senior vice president for research; Ana Oliveira, president and chief executive officer of the New York Women's Foundation; and Merble Reagon, executive director of the Women’s Center for Education and Career Advancement.

For a free executive summary of Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women's Funds and information on ordering the full report, visit the Gain Knowledge area of the Foundation Center's web site.

Community Foundations Grow and Increase Giving

The Foundation Center's recent 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 at no charge from the Gain Knowledge area of the Foundation Center's web site.

Originally posted by Ines Sucre, Foundation Center-New York

Charitable Donations Exceeded $300 Billion in 2008

The Giving USA Foundation released its annual report on giving – Giving USA – yesterday. Although charitable giving in the US (including giving by individuals, corporations, foundations and bequests)  exceeded $300 billion, these donations were 2% less than 2007. The 2008 figure was the first decline in giving (in current, not inflation adjusted, dollars) since 1987 and only the second since Giving USA began publishing these reports in 1956. But you have to keep things in perspective. If my personal retirement account had dropped only 2% from 2007, I would be overjoyed. $307.65 billion – estimated charitable donations in 2008 – is a lot of money! This is still a very generous country.
 
There are lots of details in the Giving USA Foundation press release. The report will be published in early July and can be pre-ordered now.

Folks in Atlanta were fortunate to be able to hear an in-depth analysis of the data yesterday morning at a program sponsored by Giving USA Foundation and Alexander Haas.  Del Martin, one of the founders of the Alexander Haas consulting firm, is the chair of the Giving USA Foundation.  David King from Alexander Haas made the presentation on the findings; you can download his slide show. The presentation also included highlights from Georgia Gives 2008, a report compiled by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and funded by the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Foundation. 

For more discussion about Giving USA 2009, see:

• Charitable Donations Fell by Nearly 6% in 2008, the Sharpest Drop in 53 Years from the Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Dissecting Giving USA's 2008 Resultsfrom the Chronicle of Philanthropy
• How Much Did Americans Really Give in 2008? from Tactical Philanthropy blog

Looking for similar information about Canadian philanthropy?  Check out Canada Statistics.

Pattie Johnson, Director, Foundation Center – Atlanta

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]

Originally posted by Ines Sucre, Foundation Center-New York