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.

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.

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 hold specialized staff roles to serve large, diverse sets of donors who may require different levels and types of service. For smaller community foundations, staff will often serve multiple roles and are more likely to work directly with a higher number of donors. (n=191)

Larger community foundations will achieve an economy of scale that keeps their expense to asset ratio relatively low compared to smaller peers. This ratio is a shorthand to understand the “leanness” of a community foundation’s operating model but is highly informed by several factors such as the local cost of living and the depth of the foundation’s investment in various forms of community leadership. (n=188)