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.
The following is a list of Annual Survey participants sorted by asset size, supplemented by publicly available information where available.
Larger community foundations tend to maintain relatively complex operating models, requiring a higher number of specialized staff who will be less likely to manage donor funds. (n=223)
It's typical to see a lower expense-to-asset ratio at larger community foundations where an economy of scale is achieved, though operating model differences at individual community foundations will have an impact on this metric. In combination with asset growth stagnation, a trend toward embarking on foundation-driven leadership efforts is resulting in higher expense-to-asset ratios across the field. Medians for three out of six asset size cohorts are higher than they were in FY17. (n=240)
Field Median: 1.2%
#chart-wrapper-17062 g.highcharts-axis-labels.highcharts-yaxis-labels {
display: none;
}
#chart-wrapper-17062 text.highcharts-axis-title {
display: none;
}
There was a slight decrease in the number of respondents who reported operating expenses in excess of revenues; 26 percent, down from 28 percent in FY17.