Aggregate community foundation donor advised fund (DAF) asset, gift, and grant totals all saw a higher rate of increase in FY18 than the field as a whole. DAF grantmaking grew at a higher rate (4%) than assets and gifts (2% each).

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).

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)

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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.

Gifts per capita is calculated by dividing the foundation’s total gifts (including supporting organizations) by the population of the foundation’s service area. The service area is defined by each community foundation.

Total transactions represent the number of gifts and grants processed annually (including supporting organizations). The average transaction size represents the total dollar value of gifts plus the total dollar value of grants divided by the total number of transactions.

The distribution rate is calculated by dividing the foundation’s total grants by total assets (including supporting organizations) at the end of the foundation’s fiscal year. The percentage of total assets in donor-advised funds (Percent Total Assets DAF) is the total amount of IRS-classified donor-advised funds divided by total foundation assets.

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