Family Foundations: A Profile of Funders and TrendsFamily Foundations: A Profile of Funders and Trends
Family Foundations: A Profile of Funders and Trends is the first-ever study on the grantmaking and governance trends of a broad sample of the U.S. family foundation universe. A collaborative project of the National Center and the Foundation Center, Family Foundations is based on a sample of over 18,300 active family foundations.


Note: because there is no legal definition of "family" foundation, this report does not capture information on all family foundations. The National Center estimates that there are between 30,000 and 40,000 family foundations operating in the U.S. today
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The report is divided into two major components. The first section documents the size and scope of the family foundation community. The second section examines the giving trends of a sample of larger family foundations compared to all independent foundations in the sample, and includes a brief comparison of giving patterns by family foundation size. Read the Executive Summary.

Family Foundations: A Profile of Funders and Trends

To more fully capture the motivations of individuals and families who establish foundations, Family Foundations presents profiles of seven family foundations prepared by the National Center for Family Philanthropy and, in one  case, by the head of a family foundation. Review Profiles. (Note: You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these files. You can obtain it for free here.)

The report also includes an essay on common concerns of family foundations, and recommendations for future areas of research on family foundations.

To order complimentary copies of the executive summary for this report, please send your name, address, and quantity requested to ncfp@ncfp.org. To order a copy of the full report, please go to our publications page.

 

Research and Information Gathering Main Page

Generations of Giving:
Challenges and Continuity in Family Philanthropy

The Practice of Family Philanthropy
in Community Foundations

Portrait of American Family Philanthropy

Leadership for a New Generation of
American Philanthropy