Grants for foundations

11,067 foundations and grantmaking organizations received at least $4.4 billion in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 15,634 grants made from 7,440 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 7,440 foundations, 72% made just a single grant to foundations, and 5% made grants to four or more foundations. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$4,410,297,993
Total grant dollars given to foundations
15,634
Number of grants made annually to foundations
7,440
Number of grantmakers funding foundations
$1,000
Median grant size to foundations

Foundations that support foundations and grantmaking organizations

Out of all grants made to foundations, 82% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 53% of the dollar-value of grants to foundations. Foundations funding foundations also made grants to multiservice human service organizations, christian organizations, food banks, religious organizations, and youth development programs.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
6,134
Medium
 
747
Large
 
553
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
150
Private
 
6,361
Corporate
 
294
Other
 
635

Grants made

Grants made to foundationsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
5,426
2-3
 
1,624
4-10
 
307
11+
 
83

Top 10 foundations supporting foundations and grantmaking organizations

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to foundationsNumber of grants made to foundationsMedian grant size
Baird FoundationWINational7.2%1,442$37
Westrock FoundationGANational6.1%331$273
Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesIAState0.7%208$1,065
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.5%208$216
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational1.5%178$500
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational1.1%162$543
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)TNMetro0.4%140$500
Chubb Charitable FoundationPANational1.4%127$250
Synchrony FoundationCTNational0.5%121$225
Arkansas Community FoundationARState0.3%91$1,066

Foundations and grantmaking organizations grantees

Foundations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 90% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 39% of all foundations.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
15,311
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
323

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,250
$1M-$5M
 
$1,500
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
1,550
California
 
1,355
Wisconsin
 
1,336
Florida
 
965
Other
 
10,428

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
1,485
Milwaukee
 
996
Chicago
 
703
Los Angeles
 
463
Other
 
10,409

Top 25 grants made to foundations

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Dogwood Health Trust$800,857,060Assistance To Local NonprofitAnc Healthcare
East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF)$230,000,000Grants/donationKaiser Foundation Health Plan (KFHP)
Harvard Private Capital Realty$204,301,195CashHarvard University
East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF)$197,500,000Project SupportKaiser Permanente
Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation$144,022,591Investments, Pledges, Capital Assets and Charitable Gift Annuity.Cal Poly Pomona Foundation
Adelson Family Foundation$116,292,396General Charitable PurposesDr Miriam and Sheldon G Adelson Charitable Trust
The Chicago Community Trust$100,705,810General Nonprofit SupportSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Mississippi State University$55,756,772See Part IvMississippi State University Foundation
California Community Foundation$50,000,000Project SupportKaiser Permanente
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)$45,365,385MbariDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation
Casalena Foundation$43,435,394FMVGreater Kansas City Community Foundation
Casalena Foundation$43,435,394General OperationsGreater Kansas City Community Foundation
Making Waves Foundation (MWF)$35,875,000Real Estate ExpensesScully Memorial Foundation
National Philanthropic Trust$35,000,000SupportZero Zero One
Memorial Foundation$32,995,846BJC HealthCare
ClimateWorks Foundation$32,895,050Conservation and ScienceDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation
Schwab Charitable Fund$31,162,615For the Barger Family Fund at Schwab Charitable, for Won/holden Family Fund, To the Hammarskjold Family Fund at the San Francisco Foundation of the Schwab Charitable Fund, for Nancy G. Schaub Donor Advised Fund. for the Hammarskjold Family Fund at Schwab Charitable Fund, for General Operating Support.San Francisco Foundation (TSFF)
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program$30,050,000General UseThe Davis Family Foundation
National Philanthropic Trust$29,309,952Grants From Donor Advised Funds - Operating SupportJewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF)
Dr Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation$29,293,459General Charitable PurposesDr Miriam and Sheldon G Adelson Charitable Trust
The City Fund$26,340,169General Nonprofit SupportSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Noble Research Institute LLC$26,000,000Operating SupportThe Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas$25,862,126Donor DesignationsUnited Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Nature Conservation Trust$25,216,340Support for Rwanda Institute of Conservation Agriculture - RwandaHoward G Buffett Foundation (HGBF)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation$25,000,000Infrastructure - Rehabilitation for Substance Abuse - UsHoward G Buffett Foundation (HGBF)
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Foundations" category for this page is determined by the "T00: Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Grantmaking Foundations: General" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.