Foundation Giving in ’08 Defied Huge Asset Decline
The nation’s foundations lost nearly $150 billion in assets last year, or almost as much as they have given away over the last four years, a new study has found.
The study, by the Foundation Center, a chief authority on American philanthropy, determined that foundation giving for the year nonetheless held steady at an estimated $45.6 billion, falling by just 1 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis.
Still, without the $2.8 billion given away by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the nation’s largest, the decline would have been almost 3 percent. Moreover, the center cautioned that because the steep loss of asset value happened so late in 2008, giving in the current year was likely to drop much more.
The full-text article by Stephanie Strom is available from The New York Times, 3.31.2009.
The study, by the Foundation Center, a chief authority on American philanthropy, determined that foundation giving for the year nonetheless held steady at an estimated $45.6 billion, falling by just 1 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis.
Still, without the $2.8 billion given away by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the nation’s largest, the decline would have been almost 3 percent. Moreover, the center cautioned that because the steep loss of asset value happened so late in 2008, giving in the current year was likely to drop much more.
The full-text article by Stephanie Strom is available from The New York Times, 3.31.2009.
Labels: economy, foundations, philanthropy
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