Foundation Trends on Giving Beam a Ray of Hope to Marginalized Groups

Another report in the series showed that about 90% of foundations did not report any multiyear funding; this was consistent with earlier analyses of such giving.

"There are some hopeful signs that more foundations are giving in ways that benefit those that need philanthropic support the most," Aaron Dorfman, NCRP's executive director, said in the statement.

"But only time will tell if the trend holds in the next several years."

Other findings from the studies included the following:

• Foundations in the South were less likely to report giving to benefit underserved communities, but one in five funders nationally provided at least 50% of grant dollars in this way.
• Although the share of reported grant dollars serving a social justice purpose declined in 2011, among those grant makers that did provide such funding the median rose from 4% to 7%.
• Family foundations, Southern foundations and funders giving between $5 million and $10 million were likelier to provide general operating support. Eleven percent of the current sample reported providing 100% of their grant dollars as core support.
• Among those foundations that did report providing multiyear funding commitments, such giving was consistent and at high levels. However, only 5% of the sample reported at least 50% of grant dollars as funding beyond one year.

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