Sector Impact

Giving Breakdown

Fundraising Tactics

Donor Characteristics

Platform & Device

Foundations

Numbers at a Glance

86,203

Total number of grant-making foundations[15]

Numbers at a Glance

$62,793,608,844

Total giving in grants paid to organizations, individuals, and employee matching gifts[15]

Numbers at a Glance

2.4%

Percent increase in overall giving to foundations in 2018[3]

Numbers at a Glance

79,489

Number of Independent Foundations[15]

Numbers at a Glance

3,451

Number of Operating Foundations[15]

Numbers at a Glance

2,468

Number of Corporate Foundations[15]

Numbers at a Glance

795

Number of Community Foundations[15]

Numbers at a Glance

18%

Percentage of US charitable giving that comes from foundations[2]

There are over 86,000 grant-making foundations in the United States. The total amount they pay out annually to organizations, individuals, and employee matching gifts exceeds $62 billion making up 18% of all charitable giving. Giving to foundations was up 2.4% in 2018, keeping pace with the increase in overall philanthropic giving. Overall, independent foundations make up a vast majority of the sector, followed in much smaller numbers by operating foundations, corporate foundations, and community foundations respectively. Click here for a full description of the section.