Large Foundations Fall Short in Supporting Vulnerable Groups
Washington, D.C., March 4, 2009 — The nation's largest foundations only gave $1 out of $3 to benefit the economically and socially disadvantaged, according to the Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact, released yesterday by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.
The Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best is the first ever set of measurable guidelines that foundations and other institutional grantmakers can use to maximize their contributions to society and to make a positive difference in the world today. One of the benchmarks emphasizes support for underserved communities.
"Especially now, when every foundation dollar is at a premium due to the recession, where the money goes becomes an even more critical issue." said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of NCRP. "So we are asking our nation's foundations to renew their commitment to help our nation's underserved men, women and children. We all benefit when foundations invest in helping vulnerable populations."
Interwoven throughout the Criteria is the concept that foundation assets are partially public dollars due to their tax-exempt nature.
"Taxpayers have rewarded [foundations] for being there for America," said Representative Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) at yesterday's unveiling. "At the same time, those of us at Congress have an obligation as the representatives of the people to make sure that their money-taxpayer money-are being well invested."
Rep. Becerra is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
NCRP analyzed the giving trends of more than 800 of the country's largest foundations from 2004 - 2006 based on a dataset developed with the Foundation Center.
Results show that less than $5 billion out of nearly $15 billion in foundation grants from 2004 - 2006 were given to nonprofits in support of marginalized population groups.
