What to Expect From Foundations in a Bear Market

What to Expect from Foundations in a Bear Market (click here for a PDF version of this article)

We have heard the statistics about the declining endowments of many of our funders:

David and Lucile Packard Foundation -75%
Ford Foundation -29%
The Pew Charitable Trusts -19%
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation -14%
California Wellness Foundation -9%

In a recent article in Foundation News and Commentary, Lee Draper surveyed nine Los Angeles-based foundations about how they will advance their philanthropic missions without jeopardizing their corpus. Many of the foundations have implemented cost-cutting measures such as freezing open positions, salary and benefits and partnering with similar organizations.

The Ahmanson Foundation will reduce their payout to 5 percent minimum and reduce the number and size of major grants (more than $250,000).

The California Wellness Foundation had a payout of more than 6 percent in 2002.
It will continue to fund violence prevention programs, but will place highest priority on providing core operating support to health organizations and services.

The Joseph Drown Foundation reduced the average size of its grants and increased the number of grants awarded.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation will cut programs, concentrating on three core areas: the environment; population planning; and children, youth and families

The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation will make fewer grants to large institutions and more to small and mid-sized organizations, especially grassroots and those grounded in their communities. It will make fewer multi-year awards, shifting its focus away from funding capital expenditures and towards providing unrestricted general operating support.

CFRR will continue to bring to you timely information about UCLA’s partners in the foundation and corporate communities. For more information, the article can be found at: http://www.foundationnews.org/CME/article.cfm?ID=2286 .

UCLA Office of Corporate, Foundation and Research Relations
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Los Angeles, California 90024-6502