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
- Washington foundations reported total assets of $65.4 billion, ranking 3rd among states.
- Washington foundations 5 year total asset growth of 4.8%, ranked 25th.
- The average 5 year annualized return of Washington foundations for the period ended December 31, 2017 was 7.9%, 31st place.
Asset Development
- Since 2013 Washington foundations assets have increased by $13.6 billion from $51.8 billion to $65.4 billion.
- Washington’s growth rate (blue hashed line) of 4.8% was slower than the overall foundation universe growth rate (yellow hashed line) of 5.4%.
Investment Performance
- Washington foundations estimated median performance for the1-yr, 3-yr, and 5-yr periods ended Dec 31, 2017 was 14.5%, 6.5%, and 7.9% respectively.
- For the five year period, FoundationMark estimates Washington foundations modestly under-performed the overall U.S. foundation universe.
Disclosed Investment Expenses
- Washington foundations reported $227.4 million in disclosed investment expenses for the most recent year.
- Median investment expenses for Washington foundations of 66 basis points was almost exactly in-line with the national median of 65 basis points.
As the chart below shows, the distribution pattern of Washington foundations investment expenses was very similar to the national distribution pattern.
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
- 32% of Washington foundations were categorized as Capital Appreciation by FoundationMark, 5% lower than the national average.
- 31% of Washington foundations had a Balanced strategy, 9% higher than the national average.
- 22% of Washington foundations were categorized as ‘Investments – Other’, 4% lower than the national average.
- 15% of Washington foundations had a Capital Preservation strategy, in line with the national average.
Foundations by Asset Level
Nearly 700 foundations in Washington have assets over $1 million.
- Washington has 3 of the top 100 foundation by asset size in the US.
- Over 80 Washington foundations have assets of over $25 million.
Top 10 Foundations by Assets
Washington is home to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest foundation in the world and a member of the FoundationMark 15
Foundations by County and City
Incoming Contributions
- Washington foundations received $8.1 billion in incoming contributions in the most recent year, and $22.3 billion cumulatively over the past 5 years, third most of all states.
- Most of the contributions were to the Gates Foundation.
Grants, Gifts and Operating Expenses
- Washington foundations paid $6.7 billion in grants, gifts, and operating expenses in the most recent year, and $29.9 billion cumulatively over the past 5 years, third largest in dollar terms.
- Washington giving growth rate of 6.0% per year was close to the national pace of 6.2%.
If you would like to learn more about over 700 foundations in Washington with assets over $1 million, or the other 40,000 foundations outside of Washington that we follow, including performance and expense data, please visit our affiliated companies: