Grantmaking Foundations
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 12,100 grantmaking foundations in the US award grants from trust funds to support charitable activities. Top areas of focus for giving include healthcare, education, human services, public affairs, arts and culture, environmental causes and animals, and international affairs.
Market Risk Challenges Investments
Fluctuations in interest rates, corporate earnings, and global financial markets can create a challenging investment environment for foundations.
Facing Public Scrutiny
Grantmaking foundations, particularly public foundations, face scrutiny from the public to provide transparency.
Industry size & Structure
The average grantmaking foundation operates out of a single location, employs about nine workers, and generates $14.7 million annually.
- According to the US government, the grantmaking foundation industry consists of about 12,100 firms that employ 112,300 workers and generates $178 billion in revenue.
- The 238 US foundations surveyed in 2019 received over $9.4 billion in gifts, distributed nearly $8.4 billion to organizations and individuals, and managed over $94.1 billion in assets, according to Candid and the Columbus Survey.
- The top 50 organizations account for about 38% of industry revenue.
- Large organizations include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF).
- Most foundations have less than $50 million in assets.
Industry Forecast
Grantmaking Foundations Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 4, 2024 - Executive Pay Increases Continue
- Nonprofit executive pay is increasing but inflation is cutting into those gains, according to Candid’s 2024 Nonprofit Compensation Report. Female executives continue to lag behind their male peers in both pay and representation at the highest levels, however. Median CEO compensation reached a new high of $132,077 in 2022, up from $118,541 in 2018. In nonprofits with budgets over $50 million, the median salary for male CEOs is $559,770, while the median salary for female CEOs is $430,640, a difference of $129,130. Female CEOs in this budget range now earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, a significant decline from 82 cents in 2012.
- Community foundations saw a bigger increase in giving in 2023 than independent or corporate foundations, according to the Foundation Giving Forecast Survey conducted by Candid. The median community foundation awarded 6.6% more grant dollars in 2023 while the median corporate foundation gave 1% more. The median independent foundation awarded the same amount in 2023 as in 2022.
- Few philanthropic foundations invest their endowment assets to create positive social and environmental change in addition to high returns, according to Bridgespan Social Impact. About 5% of the primarily US-based foundations surveyed invest their assets for impact. One of the biggest concerns is financial performance. Some foundation leaders worry that impact investments lead to so-called concessionary returns, where a market rate of return is sacrificed to achieve a social or environmental benefit. Foundations are required by the US Internal Revenue Service to grant 5% of their assets each year to charity; in practice they have granted slightly more in the last 10 years — an average of 7% of their assets, according to Delaware-based FoundationMark. The remaining assets of these foundations are invested with the intention of earning the “highest-possible risk-adjusted financial returns.” Those investments allow these organizations to grant funds often in perpetuity.
- Grantmaking foundation industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased moderately during the first nine months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Grantmaking foundation industry sales are forecast to grow at a 5.85% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Foundations generate revenue from endowment returns and donations.
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