Trustee Resources
FoundationMark Adds Peer Group Analysis
FoundationMark, has recently rolled out a new feature - peer group analysis. Foundations have been badly underserved in terms of available financial benchmarking resources. The few publications available tend to either 1) focus on only the largest foundations, 2) be buried in academic papers, or 3) report episodic survey results, all of which make it difficult to make … [Read more...] about FoundationMark Adds Peer Group Analysis
How Much do Foundations Give Per Year?
Measuring Giving in Dollars and as a Percent of Assets Examining foundation giving is best approached from two perspectives, first, in terms of actual dollars distributed by foundations each year, and secondly as a percentage of assets. Below we provide answers to both. In doing so, we hope to demonstrate the relationship between asset levels and giving, as well as provide … [Read more...] about How Much do Foundations Give Per Year?
Measuring Foundation Asset Levels
Last summer our research indicated that foundation assets crossed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time at some point in 2017, about 18 months prior to our discovery. Curious to learn more about this watershed moment, we looked for news stories but found none. After triple checking all our data, we mentioned this to the leading philanthropic publication, the Chronicle … [Read more...] about Measuring Foundation Asset Levels
Foundations Pay Out 8% of Average Assets in Grants and Expenses per Year
Mandated Five Percent is a Floor Not a Ceiling Most people in the philanthropic world are familiar with the 5% payout requirement that nonprofits must observe to maintain their tax exempt status. Therefor, it's quite natural to assume that foundations take that 5% rate as scripture and rarely deviate from it. The filings of some of the largest foundations - Ford, Lilly, … [Read more...] about Foundations Pay Out 8% of Average Assets in Grants and Expenses per Year
Asset Allocation Different Perspectives
One of the most basic concepts in portfolio management is that asset allocation typically determines the lion's share of investment returns. If your portfolio is mostly U.S. stocks, it will probably perform similarly to the stock market indices (assuming a diversified portfolio), alternatively if your portfolio has a significant weight in bonds, it will probably skew to fixed … [Read more...] about Asset Allocation Different Perspectives