Giving to foundations, 1968–2008 ($ in billions)

32. 65

26. 31

25.30

19. 92

21. 62

7. 15

5. 86

6. 26 9. 33

1. 61 2. 71 3. 93

5. 32

1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 2008 Gifts to foundations began to be reported in 1978.

Data: The Foundation Center.

Excludes gifts to corporate foundations and an estimate of the amount given by Warren Buffett to the Gates Foundation.

Current dollars Inflation-adjusted dollars

1998 2003

 

The Foundation Center and Giving USA estimate giving to foundations of $32.65 billion. This is a decline of 19. 2 percent (- 22. 2 percent adjusted for inflation) from the revised value of $40.43 billion for 2007, which is based on IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF as analyzed by the Foundation Center minus an estimate of the amount Warren Buffett gave to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 1988, the inflation-adjusted total amount given to foundations ($7.15 billion) divided by the number of American households ( 91. 12 million, using Current Population Survey data from the Census Bureau) results in an estimate of giving to independent, operating, and community foundations of $78 (adjusted for inflation) per household.

In a similar calculation, by 1998, the number of households had grown to 102. 53 million and the per household average gift to independent, operating, and community foundations rose to $257. For 2008, with estimated giving to foundations at $32.65 billion and approximately 116. 78 million households, donations to foundations averaged $280 per household.

The calculations “per household” include all households, even those that do not give to foundations. They also include all giving to independent, operating, and community foundations, including that from corporations and through charitable bequests. This allows for comparison over time and across subsectors.