Foundations' Generosity Rose in 2021 With More Focused Impact

What You Need to Know

Foundations with assets between $1 million and $500 million collectively gave $40 million more in 2021 than in 2020.
At the same time, they gave 500 fewer grants in 2021 than in the previous year, suggesting a more targeted impact.
Foundations of all sizes granted more than 5% in 2021, with the smallest ones giving 8.9%.

Private and family foundations with assets between $1 million and $500 million collectively gave $689 million in 2021, $40 million more than the year before, according to a report released recently by Foundation Source, a provider of foundation management services.

The increase was more pronounced among foundations with $50 million to $500 million in assets where giving went up by nearly 21%.

At the same time, foundations gave 500 fewer grants in 2021, suggesting a move from urgently helping as many recipients as possible in 2020 to having more targeted impact in 2021, Foundation Source said.

“While some of our data indicates a return to pre-pandemic behaviors, the spike in giving over the last year could be a signal that the shocks of 2020 have had a lasting impact and set dedicated philanthropists on a new trajectory to address needs in a less reactive but increasingly generous way,” Sunil Garga, president and chief executive of Foundation Source, said in a statement.

The report’s findings are based on an analysis of the activities of a sample of 948 private, non-operating foundation clients, with data drawn from transactions, returns and balances recorded by Foundation Source as it paid grants and expenses on behalf of its clients, prepared their tax returns and recorded investment information provided by each foundation’s financial institution(s).

Among the key findings from the report:

Private foundation endowments experienced double-digit growth in both 2020 and 2021, consistent with strong market performance and contribution rates, helping to set the stage for future giving. In 2021, endowments increased $1.7 billion year-over-year.