More than half of all Columbus Survey respondents reported the existence of a policy in place to address the "dormancy" of DAFs, typically defined by the passage of a predefined period of time after which no grants were awarded from the fund. (n=238)

DAFs at community foundations tend to be highly active grantmaking vehicles; close to half (48 percent) of all survey respondents reported double-digit distribution rates from their DAFs in FY19. With typically higher proportions of pass-through funds available for granting, larger community foundations tend to report higher distribution rates overall.

Sample size for DAF distribution rates are slightly smaller (n=213) than for the whole foundation (n=234).

The "flow rate" of DAFs compares a given year's grantmaking total with its gift total, dividing grants by gifts. This metric may help capture the activity of donors who contribute to their DAF and grant from it that same year. High median DAF flow rates in every asset cohort suggest a high rate of overall grantmaking that keeps pace with fundraising.

Total reported DAF assets grew by five percent over the reported FY18 total, even as fewer community foundations participated in the FY19 survey, reflecting the high rate of growth for assets across the field. (n=236)

Larger community foundations tend to manage more DAFs and carry more DAF assets than their smaller counterparts, as they seek to grow their donor bases and provide services to those donors to facilitate their participation in locally-focused philanthropy.

Averages were used to total 100 percent. (n=209)

Smaller, emerging, and growing community foundations that may be focused on asset growth typically have a relatively high proportion of endowed assets. Larger community foundations, with an increased focus on diversifying their portfolios and providing flexible options for donors to engage in philanthropy, are more likely to have a higher proportion of pass-through funds.

An economy of scale is achieved by larger community foundations, resulting in higher rates of fundraising and grantmaking per capita even as they tend to serve regions with more populous urban centers. Smaller community foundations, several of which had strong fundraising years of their own and serving typically smaller populations, reported similar per capita totals to cohorts other than the very largest community foundations. (n=234)

Median change in grants: 8%

The median FY19 survey respondent saw gift totals remain relatively flat from FY18, with a modest increase of just above two percent. One-fifth of all respondents saw fundraising totals remain within 10 percent of FY18 levels, while 37 percent of respondents reported a moderate or dramatic decrease in their gifts received.

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.