Spring 2008
Giving Trends
Research: General Operating Support Slipping
Each year the Minnesota Council on Foundations conducts a comprehensive analysis of grantmaking in the state. During 2005, the most recent year for which giving data is available, shares of funding for general operating support and capital campaign dropped.
For the third consecutive year, Minnesota grantmakers devoted the largest share of their grant dollars (51 percent) for program support. After a high-water year for general operating support of $160 million (29 percent share) in 2004, total grant dollars dropped to $144 million (25 percent share) in 2005.
The year also saw some notable shifts in the types of funding by grantmaker group:
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Private foundations increased program funding in 2005, devoting more than half of their grantmaking to programs/projects, up from 41 percent in 2004. General operating and capital support experienced a corresponding drop, each declining 5 percent.
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While corporate grantmakers increased their capital giving, they decreased general operating funding from 28 percent in 2004 to 26 percent in 2005.
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Community/public foundations bolstered their program support, but their share of 2005 grant dollars for capital and general operating support declined by 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Of the three grantmaker types, community/public foundations posted the smallest drop in general operating support.
National Share Smaller But Growing
The Foundation Center reports that in 2005 national funding for general operating support totaled $3.28 billion, exceeding the previous record, but growing only a negligible 1 percent from 2004. General operating giving slipped from its high of 21.8
percent share of grant dollars in 2003 to 20 percent in 2005 and continues to rank second to program support in overall grant dollars.
The Foundation Center speculates that the recent increase in general operating giving may be a reaction by foundations to expected increases in need due to reduced funding from government and other sources. It might also reflect foundation interest in capacity building to help improve nonprofit infrastructure and effectiveness.
The share of grant dollars given to general operating support is higher in Minnesota (25 percent) than it is nationally (20 percent). At the national level, large shares go to capital support and research.
MCF and the Foundation Center apply the Grant Classification System (GCS) to code support type. In 2005, the Council was able to code 81 percent of grants in the sample by support type, and the Foundation Center was able to code 73 percent of grants. The remaining grants were unidentifiable by type of support due to lack of information in the grant record.
Grantmaking by support type in Minnesota is based on a sample of the largest 100 grantmakers in the state by grants paid. The Foundation Center reports on a sample of 1,154 larger foundations.
© Copyright 2008 Minnesota Council on Foundations
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