Longitudinal tracking of growth in assets, gifts, and grants is done using a consistent sample of the largest 100 community foundations by asset size, that nonetheless reflects the overall trends experienced by the broader field. Within this group, assets grew by more than 11 percent over their collective FY18 total. The group's collective fundraising total decreased – for the first time since 2015 – by seven percent, while the grantmaking total decreased for the first time in eight years, by roughly five percent.

Median change in assets: 15.1%

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.