Top 300 foundations gave record £2.9 billion in 2015/16
Howard Lake | 27 September 2017 | News
The largest 300 grantmaking foundations in the UK have given a record amount to charities for the second year running, according to the Association of Charitable Foundations.
In 2015/16 they made grants totalling £2.9 billion, a 12% increase on the previous year.
Total assets for these grantmakers grew by 9.8% to almost £60 billion, another record high. Investment income grew 5.5% and voluntary income by 1.9%.
The top 300 UK foundations represent the second largest source of private giving.
The growth in income and grantmaking is detailed in this year’s annual research report Foundation Giving Trends. It is produced by Professor Cathy Pharoah of the Centre for Giving and Philanthropy at the Cass Business School and Dr Catherine Walker of The Researchery, and published by the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF). It receives substantial support from the Pears Foundation.
As a result of this year’s growth, the top 300 UK foundations have increased their grantmaking by more than £560m since 2013.
The annual rate of change in grantmaking % by top 300 UK foundations.
The report concludes with a list of the top 300 UK foundations ranked by giving.
Top 10 UK grantmaking conditions, from Association of Charitable Foundation’s Top 300 Foundations (2017)
Family and corporations’ giving growing
The report shows that giving by family foundations has experienced strong growth, up by about 20% in the past year, and now accounting for two thirds of the top 300’s total grantmaking.
Corporate foundations are close behind, growing by 9% to £269m in grants.
Top 300 foundations’ giving by type (source: Association of Charitable Foundations)
This year’s report includes, for the first time, analysis of foundations’ partnerships with other groups, including in the public and private sectors, to drive social benefit.
Professor Cathy Pharoah was particularly pleased to have included this research in the report. She said: “what matters most, of course, is the outcome of that foundation funding, and it is for that reason that I am particularly pleased that this year’s report is completed with a deep-dive into examples of foundations of different sizes delivering social change through enterprising grants, and powerful partnerships.”
Wider foundation sector
The research excludes a number of other large foundations that would otherwise make it into the top 300. It lists the top 20 ‘other’s which have combined assets of £3 billion and made grants of £250m during 2015/16.
These ‘others’ are excluded on a range of grounds:
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- they support a single institution e.g. museum, heritage venue, hospital)
- they are operating organisations e.g. Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, Cancer Research UK
- they mix public and philanthropic funding e.g. The British Council, and community foundations
- they have income or an endowment from a public or quasi-public source e.g. Nesta, Millennium Awards trust
Key findings of the Top 300 Foundations report (2017)
Keiran Goddard, ACF Head of External Affairs is confident that the clear and comprehensive data helps foundations in their decision-making.
He added: “In addition, research such as this can also provide a realistic context for policy-makers and legislators, helping them understand the currents and drivers of UK philanthropy and root their own interventions more firmly in evidence. This year’s findings once again demonstrate the flexibility, robustness and effectiveness of the foundation model.”
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.