Philanthropy Front and Center-San Francisco

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.

Spotlight on Arts Grantmaking in California

We just released our new regional research report, "Spotlight on Arts Grantmaking in California."  The report sheds light on grant priorities and the effect of the economic crisis on California arts funders and recipient organizations surveyed earlier in 2009. Findings show the contrast between types of support that grantmakers award compared to what arts groups say they need most. Download the five-page pdf file.

Foundation Center Launches National Education Stimulus Initiative

The Foundation Center announced the launch of "Foundations for Education Excellence," a national initiative to engage philanthropic institutions and education leaders across the country in a unified, strategic drive to improve public education.

foundationcenter.org/educationexcellence, the web portal developed by the Foundation Center with a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, was launched in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. It connects foundation funders in education to information and tools that will help them support ARRA's education reform goals.

"There is a unique window of opportunity in the coming weeks and months for private philanthropy to leverage its investment in education," said Bradford K. Smith, the Center's president. "Funders need fast-track tools to target areas of need and collaborate in new ways to improve educational opportunities across the country. The Foundation Center is ideally positioned to provide foundations with the knowledge platform needed to advance this process."

Read the full press release for details on the contents and uses of the portal.

The Foundation Center announced the launch of "Foundations for Education Excellence," a national initiative to engage philanthropic institutions and education leaders across the country in a unified, strategic drive to improve public education.

foundationcenter.org/educationexcellence, the web portal developed by the Foundation Center with a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, was launched in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. It connects foundation funders in education to information and tools that will help them support ARRA's education reform goals.

"There is a unique window of opportunity in the coming weeks and months for private philanthropy to leverage its investment in education," said Bradford K. Smith, the Center's president. "Funders need fast-track tools to target areas of need and collaborate in new ways to improve educational opportunities across the country. The Foundation Center is ideally positioned to provide foundations with the knowledge platform needed to advance this process."

Read the full press release for details on the contents and uses of the portal.

SOCAP Recap

If you have been navigating the Social Capital Markets (SOCAP09) waters, then you know social impact assessment and developing metrics has been at the heart of many discussions at this year's conference. Everyone has an interest in this topic: social entrepreneurs, foundations, nonprofit organizations, policymakers, researchers, investors, financial strategists, media--everyone. And for many reasons, social impact assessment is difficult.

There are 2 impact measurement resources the Foundation Center and McKinsey & Company have been exhibiting at the SOCAP conference, respectively:

• Philanthropy IN/Sight: an interactive mapping that enables users to visualize data in ways that reveal patterns and relationships. Essentially it's a mash-up of our Grantmaker data, our Grants data, and Google Maps, which allows users to assess impact, funding needs, and effectiveness with layered demographic and other thematic data.
• Learning for Social Impact: a to-be-launched-later-this-fall web portal is part of McKinsey & Company's Social Sector's Office approach and commitment to sharing insights and innovations that can help advance social change. One of the deliverables included in the Learning for Social Impact portal will be a repository of 150+ social impact assessment tools available to the public for free. To find out when this database, white paper and e-learning handbook will be available, sign up here.

If you want to learn more about how to prove your organizational impact and increase your understanding of outcome thinking and management, then register for our upcoming class,Friday, September 25th.

 

Foundation Yearbook 2009 Just Released

The third volume in our Foundations Today Series, Foundation Yearbook: Facts and Figures on Private and Community Foundations (2009), provides data on the number of private and community foundations in the country and on their giving and assets through 2007. Using a survey of 1,225 large and mid-size foundations, as well as year-end fiscal indicators for all grantmaking foundations, the Yearbook also provides estimates of giving by private and community foundations for 2008. Further projections for foundation giving and assets for 2009 are also analyzed in this report.

In 2007, there were more than 75,000 grantmaking foundations, and foundation giving rose 13.8% over the previous year to $44.4 billion. In 2008, giving rose 2.8% to an estimated $45.6 billion, while foundation assets declined an estimated 21.9%. Based on this and other indicators, the Foundation Center projects that giving by foundations will fall by up to 13% in 2009. “The outlook beyond 2009 remains unclear, and much depends on when the economy and stock market begin a consistent recovery. At present, it appears likely that foundation giving will decline further next year” (Foundation Yearbook, highlight, p. 1).

New York and California held the largest share of foundation assets at 16%; while New York private and community foundations provided the largest share of giving overall. In terms of giving by foundation type, in 2007, 73% of all giving was done by independent foundations, which also had 83% of total foundation assets. With 8% of overall assets and only 1% of the total number of foundations in the country, community foundations made 10% of all giving. Representing only 3% of the total number of foundations, company-sponsored foundations also provided 10% of total giving.

See for yourself! Please download the free highlights and order the full report and the complete series from 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.

Thanks to Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta, for sharing this post.

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.

Thanks to Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta, for sharing this post.

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 Foundation Center’s 2005 study, our first exploration of the topic, reports a nearly 31% increase in foundation giving to U.S.-based and international social justice activities between 2002 and 2006. 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 2008 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 report highlights free of charge. The full report can be purchased on our web site (free shipping in August!).

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 Foundation Center’s 2005 study, our first exploration of the topic, reports a nearly 31% increase in foundation giving to U.S.-based and international social justice activities between 2002 and 2006. 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 2008 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 report highlights free of charge. The full report can be purchased on our web site (free shipping in August!).

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.

Kidsdata.org About to Go Statewide

Kidsdata.org, a project of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, offers more than 250 indicators on the health and well being of children. The site strives to raise the visibility of key issues affecting California’s children, helping to ensure that those issues are addressed. Initially kidsdata.org provided information for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, along with statewide comparisons. 

We just got an announcement that kidsdata.org will soon offer data for all counties, cities, and school districts in California. With this expansion, wide-ranging data on approximately 40 topics affecting the health and well being of California’s children will be available on one web site for communities across the state. Local data for all 58 California counties will be phased in beginning this fall. For a list of indicators that will be available statewide, and their estimated launch dates, visit http://www.kidsdata.org/statewide.

Community Foundations Grow and Increase Giving

The Foundation Center's new study, Key Facts on Community Foundations [pdf], 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.