Assets, gifts, and grants
The collective asset total of Columbus Survey participants remains effectively flat from FY 2017, increasing by less than one-half of one percent. These lower asset growth rates, observed field-wide, are reflective of a more volatile investment market in 2018, especially in the second half. The field's collective fundraising and grantmaking totals have however increased to a more significant degree, at roughly 8 percent each.
Total assets
Median change in assets: 0.8%
Total reported gifts & grants
Total reported assets, gifts, & grants over time
To measure longitudinal growth using a consistent sample, focus is kept on the largest 100 community foundations by asset size as reported in FY18. Assets grew by slightly more than 1 percent for this group, while total gifts increased for the third consecutive year and now approach $10B, and grantmaking grew for the seventh straight year.
Data reflects the largest 100 community foundations by asset size as of FY 2018 and includes those within the cohort whose data are available for all 10 years (n=98).
| Year | Assets | Gifts | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $40,520,348,068 | $3,626,229,744 | $3,609,106,487 |
| 2010 | $43,889,158,090 | $4,098,683,138 | $3,697,059,385 |
| 2011 | $45,037,461,251 | $4,486,347,680 | $3,625,726,789 |
| 2012 | $49,806,840,568 | $6,097,805,709 | $4,000,015,007 |
| 2013 | $58,142,440,840 | $6,814,343,213 | $4,366,944,434 |
| 2014 | $64,244,360,431 | $7,796,131,761 | $5,313,191,307 |
| 2015 | $66,153,654,027 | $7,244,944,817 | $5,979,715,272 |
| 2016 | $69,712,016,711 | $8,116,729,991 | $6,838,738,113 |
| 2017 | $78,552,487,496 | $8,979,511,227 | $7,925,371,335 |
| 2018 | $79,501,578,383 | $9,687,474,109 | $8,516,613,584 |
Changes in gift and grant activity
The median survey respondent saw an 8.1% increase in gifts received, up from 7.1% in FY17. Nearly a third of all respondents saw fundraising totals increase by more than 50% over FY17 levels. Grantmaking continues its steady growth across the field, with degrees of change remaining consistent with FY17 survey results. For the second consecutive year, the median grantmaking increase for respondents was 10%.
Median change in gifts: 8%
| Type of activity | Dramatic decrease | Moderate decrease | Neutral | Moderate increase | Dramatic increase | Median change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gifts | 10% | 26% | 15% | 18% | 31% | 8% |
| Grants | 3% | 19% | 30% | 36% | 12% | 10% |
Median change in grants: 10%
Median gifts and grants per capita
While it's typical to see gifts and grants per capita increase with asset size within a sample of Columbus Survey respondents, significant fundraising activity among smaller community foundations in FY18 resulted in per capita metrics that are comparable with some of their larger counterparts. (n=250)
What's the idea behind the survey?
CF Insights responds to a hunger for shared knowledge among community foundations. Learn more about how this survey helps us do that.
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