Giving in Minnesota, 2006 Edition
Introduction
Giving in Minnesota, an annual research report produced by the Minnesota Council on Foundations since 1984, provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends and patterns of giving by organized philanthropy in the state. The report is intended to present the scope of the philanthropy field in Minnesota to nonprofits, the news media, public officials and the greater public, as well as foundations and corporate giving programs.
Because all grantmakers do not use the same fiscal year, and foundations are allowed several months to file a 990 of 990-PF tax return with the Internal Revenue Service, there is a lag in information availability and analysis by the Council. The 2006 report, therefore, describes the trends and patterns relative to the year 2004, defined by the Council as the fiscal year of any Minnesota foundation or corporate giving program that ends between June 1, 2004, and May 31, 2005, the period with the most recent available data.
This report provides an overview of giving by Minnesota foundations and corporations domestically and internationally, as well as giving by individual Minnesotans. The largest portion of the report comprises an in-depth analysis of giving patterns and trends by the Giving in Minnesota sample of the largest Minnesota foundations and corporations according to subject area, geographic area (in Minnesota and outside Minnesota),1 intended beneficiary and support type. The sample’s 110 grantmakers represent 8 percent of state grantmakers and 83.5 percent of grants paid.
Note to readers: Data for the report are collected from multiple sources. The report describes the methodology used to collect and analyze data and also explains the data’s limitations [see Methodology].
Types of Foundations
The Council categorizes foundations into three types: private foundations, corporate foundations and giving programs, and community/public foundations.
Private foundations are generally founded by an individual, a group of individuals or a family, and can be further categorized as a family foundation or private
independent foundation. A family foundation is a private foundation in which the donor and/or donor’s family are actively involved in the management of foundation. A private independent foundation is a private foundation in which no, or few, family members of the original donor are actively involved in the foundation’s governance. There are no legal distinctions between the two, and the Council uses the term “private foundation” when referring to both types of foundations for the purposes of analysis.
Corporate foundations and giving programs are connected to businesses, and the money they give as contributions and grants comes from the corporation’s profits. They are allowed by law to receive a tax deduction for giving up to 10 percent of pretax earnings to charity. Some corporations establish foundations that are also classified as private foundations, and other companies give through a corporate giving program, which generally is funded through the annual budget. In many cases, corporations operate both a foundation and corporate giving program.
Community/public foundations are publicly supported foundations operated by and for the benefit of a specific community or population, area of interest or geographic area. They manage a variety of funds from unrestricted assets to endowed funds to donor-advised funds. Community/public foundations may also manage supporting organizations. Most engage in fund development directly with donors.
Though operating foundations are also private foundations, the Council does not include them in the Giving in Minnesota reports because they do not provide competitive grants. Instead, they use their funds to hire staff to run their own programs.
1 Although the report discusses international giving, this giving is
limited to giving to U.S.-based agencies that do work internationally.
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Giving in Minnesota
2006 Edition
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Table of Contents
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Index
Section I:
Introduction
Section II:
Key Findings
Section III:
Minnesota Giving Overview
Section IV:
Sample Trends
Section V:
Methodology
Section VI:
Appendices
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About This Report
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Giving in Minnesota, an annual research report produced by the Minnesota Council on Foundations since 1984, provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends and patterns of giving by organized philanthropy in the state.
This report provides an overview of giving by Minnesota foundations and corporations domestically and internationally, as well as giving by individual Minnesotans. The report also provides an in-depth analysis of the Giving in Minnesota sample of the largest Minnesota foundations and corporations by subject area, geographic area, intended beneficiary and support type.
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