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=242)

Economies of scale at larger community foundations generally drive expense-to-asset ratios down, though it should be noted that individual operating models have a major influence on this metric. There are community foundations across the field that are interested in increasing their investment in community leadership, which would be one factor in increasing this ratio for many. (n=256)

Field median: 1.2%

Fewer respondents reported expenses that were in excess of revenues earned (14%) than FY 2016 (22%), while just under half of all respondents reported surpluses.

Differences in the proportion of personnel to non-personnel expenses are relatively minor when comparing community foundations of different sizes. Insofar as differences do exist can be observed in smaller community foundations, which may have very few staff.

Averages were used to total 100%. (n=256)

Median change in assets: 0.8%

Administrative fees assessed on funds are the primary source of revenue for community foundations and will be for the foreseeable future, though differences in revenue mix are observed in different asset size cohorts. Smaller community foundations, on average, depend more on direct fundraising to support operations and internal operating endowment/reserve distributions than larger foundations.

Foundation-wide distribution rates increase along with overall asset size. A similar relationship between asset size and donor-advised fund distribution rate is observed. This is no small way can be attributable to the proportion of non-endowed assets held by larger foundations, which can tend to be more active grantmakers.

For every asset size cohort represented, the distribution rate of donor-advised funds, increasingly popular philanthropic vehicles, outpaces the foundation as a whole.