FOUNDATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

From David Stern’s “Philanthropy Where it Counts” article in today’s Washington Post magazine.

“The Charitable Giving Act of 2003……would reduce the tax that foundations now pay from 2 percent to 1 percent, but would at the same time require foundations to discontinue the practice of counting administrative and operating costs when calculating their federally required 5 percent annual payout rate. This modest change has the potential to funnel an additional $2 billion to $4 billion into the nation's charities at a time when state and local budgets are shrinking and needs are increasing.”

There are a current estimated 58,000 foundations in the United States.

“While it is true that some foundations have lost as much as one-third of their assets due to recent declines in the stock market, foundation assets grew from less than $100 billion in 1975 to more than $450 billion in 1999. New foundations are created every year, and gifts and contributions to foundations continue to grow.”