All data used in rankings and calculations is provided by FoundationMark and FoundationIQ and reflects foundations with over $1 million in assets.
Overall Ranking by State
- New Jersey foundations reported total assets of $28.4 billion, ranking 9th among states.
- New Jersey foundations 5 year total asset growth of 3.8%, ranked 40th.
- The average 5 year annualized return of New Jersey foundations for the period ended December 31, 2017 was 8.2%, 20th place.
Asset Development
- Since 2013 New Jersey foundations assets have increased by $4.9 billion from $23.5 billion to $28.4 billion.
- New Jersey’s growth rate (blue hashed line) of 3.8% was slower than the overall foundation universe growth rate (yellow hashed line) of 5.4%.
Investment Performance
- New Jersey foundations estimated median performance for the 1-yr, 3-yr, and 5-yr periods ended Dec 31, 2017 was 14.0%, 6.5%, and 8.2% respectively.
- For the five year period, FoundationMark estimates New Jersey foundations slightly outperformed the overall U.S. foundation universe.
Disclosed Investment Expenses
- New Jersey foundations reported $187.6 million in disclosed investment expenses for the most recent year.
- Median investment expenses for New Jersey foundations of 61 basis points were 4 basis points lower than the national median of 65 basis points.
The chart blow shows the distribution of New Jersey foundations fees versus the national average – New Jersey had a higher proportion in the 50-75 basis point range and were generally better across the board (more lower – shown on left, less higher – shown on right),
Basis Points (bps): Investment fees are usually quoted as a percentage of assets. For example an investment manager may charge a 0.75% fee to manage the money that you have with the firm. The term ‘basis point’ is an easier way to say small numbers by moving the decimal point two places to the right. so 0.75% = 75 basis points, for the simple reason it is easier to say out loud “seventy five basis points” than “zero point seven five percent”.
Foundations by Portfolio Strategy
FoundationMark Portfolio Strategies
- 36% of New Jersey foundations were categorized as Capital Appreciation by FoundationMark, a little lower than the national average.
- 24% of New Jersey foundations had a Balanced strategy, a little higher than the national average.
- 23% of New Jersey foundations were categorized as ‘Investments – Other’, a little lower than the national average.
- 18% of New Jersey foundations had a Capital Preservation strategy, a little higher than the national average.
Foundations by Asset Level
About 1,300 New Jersey foundations have assets in excess of $1 million.
- New Jersey has 1 of the top 10 foundation by asset size in the US.
- 130 of New Jersey foundations have assets of over $25 million.
Top 10 Foundations by Assets
- The $11.4 billion Robert Wood Johnson is New Jersey’s largest foundation and is a member of the FoundationMark 15.
Foundations by County and City
Incoming Contributions
- New Jersey foundations received $1.8 billion in incoming contributions in the most recent year, and $7.4 billion cumulatively over the past 5 years, tenth most of all states.
Grants, Gifts and Operating Expenses
- New Jersey foundations paid $2.6 billion in grants, gifts, and operating expenses in the most recent year, and $11.0 billion cumulatively over the past 5 years, eighth largest in dollar terms.
- New Jersey’s growth rate of 8.0% per year was significantly faster than the national average of 6.2%.
If you would like to learn more about the over 1,310 foundations in New Jersey with over $1 million in assets, or the other 40,000 foundations outside of New Jersey that we track, including performance and expense data, please visit our affiliated companies: