Key Facts on Community Foundations 2008

Community foundations account for 1 percent of all U.S. grantmaking foundations but about 9 percent of giving. Since the start of the 1990s, the rate of growth in community foundation giving has surpassed that of U.S. foundations overall in all but two years. The latest year was no exception. Giving by community foundations jumped nearly 14 percent in 2007 to an estimated $4.1 billion. (Adjusted for inflation, giving rose 10.7 percent.) Contributing to the faster growth in community foundation giving has been strong asset growth, new gifts and bequests from donors, and exceptional disbursements from donor-advised funds