US Foundations Expect to Reduce Grants in 09
11 May 2009 at 4:51 pm
Close to two-thirds of US Foundations responding to a new Foundation Center survey expect to reduce the number and/or the size of grants they award in 2009.
According to Foundations Address the Impact of the Economic Crisis, organisations seeking new sources of support and recently established entities will be especially challenged in securing foundation funding. The report is based on 2009 survey responses of more than 1,200 U.S. foundations.
In addition, the new survey finds that over half of respondents are reacting to the economic crisis by engaging in more non-grantmaking activities. Fully two-thirds of these funders plan to seek out more collaborations and partnerships in 2009.
At least one out of five respondents expects to engage in more Foundation staff-led activities, provide more technical assistance, offer more bridge/emergency financing, or engage in more advocacy.
Other key findings from the new advisory include:
– Foundations will draw upon various resources to fund their 2009 giving — close to two out of five respondents expect to draw at least in part on their endowments to fund grants.
– About 14 percent of respondents either have made or plan to make exceptional grants or launch special initiatives in response to the economic crisis, largely by reallocating existing grants budgets.
– Nearly one-third of respondents made operational changes as a result of the 2000-02 economic downturn that they believe better prepared them to face the current downturn, such as changes in investment strategies or reducing operating expenses.
The Foundation Center research advisory is the latest in a series that explores the impact of the economic downturn on the Not for Profit sector.
In January 2009, the Foundation Center mailed its annual “Foundation Giving Forecast Survey” to approximately 5,000 large and mid-size U.S. independent, corporate, and community foundations. The survey included questions on foundations’ giving and assets in 2008, the outlook for giving in 2009 and 2010, and how foundations are responding to the economic downturn. A total of 1,243 foundations provided usable responses.
The report can be downloaded from the Gain Knowledge area of the Center’s web site at foundationcenter.org
