Many Small and Mid-Sized Foundations Plan to Cut Grantmaking This Year, Survey Finds

March 18, 2010, Philanthropy News Digest — According to new survey results from Graystone Consulting and the Association of Small Foundations, roughly half of the small and mid-sized foundations in the country intend to make changes to their spending and grantmaking policies in 2010, with many saying they plan to their grantmaking budgets.

Conducted in February, the survey found that 49 percent of respondents ranked the federal deficit as the issue most responsible for their cautious outlook, with China's large holdings of U.S. debt, government bailout programs, and the fallout from the AIG situation receiving less attention. Meanwhile, 14 percent of respondents cited portfolio liquidity as a pressing concern — a smaller percentage than one might expect, in part because small foundations either dealt with their liquidity problems last year or have less exposure to illiquid assets than larger foundations, said Graystone Consulting director Henry Kaplan.

Read more on this story.