Top 100 U.S. Foundations by Total Giving

Following are the 100 largest U. S. grantmaking foundations ranked by total giving, based on the most current audited financial data in the Foundation Center’s database as of June 25, 2009, according to the Foundation Center

Total giving figures include grants, scholarships, employee matching gifts, and other amounts reported as “grants and contributions paid during the year” on the 990-PF tax form, the Foundation Center said.

Total giving does not include all qualifying distributions under the tax law, e.g., loans, program-related investments, and program or other administrative expenses.

Fiscal records will be updated when more recent audited financial information is obtained, said the center.

Rank	Name/(state)	Total Giving	As of Fiscal Year End Date
1.	Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (WA)	$2,011,675,000	12/31/2007
2.	AstraZeneca Foundation (DE)	612,000,000	12/31/2008
3.	The Ford Foundation (NY)	526,464,000	09/30/2008
4.	The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (CA)	379,400,000	12/31/2008
5.	GlaxoSmithKline Patient Access Programs Foundation (NC)	344,193,427	12/31/2007
6.	Lilly Endowment Inc. (IN)	336,551,359	12/31/2008
7.	The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (NJ)	329,322,323	12/31/2007
8.	The David and Lucile Packard Foundation (CA)	301,979,479	12/31/2008
9.	The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (NY)	300,198,561	12/31/2007
10.	Silicon Valley Community Foundation (CA)	291,096,834	12/31/2008
11.	Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (CA)	290,694,047	12/31/2007
12.	W. K. Kellogg Foundation (MI)	272,511,561	08/31/2008
13.	The Annenberg Foundation (CA)	266,898,723	06/30/2008
14.	Janssen Ortho Patient Assistance Foundation, Inc. (NJ)	259,736,936	12/31/2007
15.	The Bristol-Myers Squibb Patient Assistance Foundation, Inc. (NY)	235,562,386	12/31/2007
16.	John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (IL)	231,856,772	12/31/2007
17.	Walton Family Foundation, Inc. (AR)	218,864,851	12/31/2007
18.	California Community Foundation (CA)	216,019,934	06/30/2008
19.	Genentech Access To Care Foundation (CA)	215,418,960	12/31/2007
20.	The Starr Foundation (NY)	207,284,873	12/31/2007
21.	The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (NE)	202,684,478	12/31/2007
22.	Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (MO)	192,905,943	12/31/2007
23.	The Annie E. Casey Foundation (MD)	192,006,321	12/31/2007
24.	The Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc. (NC)	188,236,685	12/31/2007
25.	The Kresge Foundation (MI)	181,439,048	12/31/2008
26.	Sanofi-Aventis Patient Assistance Foundation (NJ)	177,414,396	12/31/2007
27.	Lilly Cares Foundation, Inc. (IN)	175,211,475	12/31/2007
28.	The Lincy Foundation (CA)	170,728,247	09/30/2008
29.	The Roche Patient Assistance Foundation (NJ)	170,175,708	12/31/2007
30.	The New York Community Trust (NY)	166,053,450	12/31/2007
31.	The Duke Endowment (NC)	164,837,762	12/31/2007
32.	The Rockefeller Foundation (NY)	162,956,223	12/31/2007
33.	Merck Patient Assistance Program, Inc. (NJ)	161,500,000	12/31/2007
34.	Wyeth Pharmaceutical Assistance Foundation (NJ)	142,044,959	12/31/2007
35.	The California Endowment (CA)	140,510,981	02/28/2008
36.	Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (MI)	135,868,710	12/31/2007
37.	Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation (CA)	127,304,000	12/31/2007
38.	John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (FL)	121,267,122	12/31/2007
39.	The T. Boone Pickens Foundation (TX)	120,425,524	12/31/2007
40.	Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Inc. (GA)	116,867,936	12/31/2008
41.	The Chicago Community Trust (IL)	115,544,031	09/30/2007
42.	Wal-Mart Foundation (AR)	110,895,707	01/31/2008
43.	The Columbus Foundation and Affiliated Organizations (OH)	110,778,929	12/31/2007
44.	Donald W. Reynolds Foundation (NV)	110,375,900	12/31/2008
45.	Richard King Mellon Foundation (PA)	109,215,672	12/31/2007
46.	Foundation for the Carolinas (NC)	106,345,459	12/31/2007
47.	Carnegie Corporation of New York (NY)	101,314,879	09/30/2008
48.	The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc. (MD)	99,570,742	02/29/2008
49.	The Wachovia Foundation, Inc. (NC)	96,909,222	12/31/2007
50.	The San Francisco Foundation (CA)	96,511,000	06/30/2008

 Source: The Foundation Center, http://foundationcenter.org

 

 

Foundation Giving Shows Increase

The 2009 edition of “Foundation Giving Trends” reported an increase in foundation support for 8 of the 10 major subject areas rose in 2007, the most recent year reported.

The report, by the Foundation Center, analyzed grants of $10,000 or more awarded by over 1,300 private and community foundations.

Among other key findings in the report: 

• Foundations awarded a record 188 grants of $10 million or more in 2007. Of the 10 largest, eight were made by the Gates Foundation, mainly for health-related activities and international development.
• International giving — which cuts across all areas and includes grants awarded directly to overseas recipients and to U.S.-based international programs — reached a record 23.4 percent of total grant dollars awarded.
• Among specific populations, the economically disadvantaged benefited from the largest share of grant dollars, rising to a record $5.3 billion.

Address: Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003; (212) 620-4230, www.foundationcenter.org.

Parkwest Medical Center: Focusing on Patient and Staff Satisfaction

This is an interesting report of a case history study funded by the Commonwealth Fund.

Parkwest Medical Center is located Knoxville, Tenn. It is a not-for-profit community hospital, nonteaching with 462 beds.

Distinction: Top 5 percent of more than 700 large hospitals (300+ beds) in the portion of patients who gave a rating of 9 or 10 out of 10 when asked how they rate the hospital overall.

Timeframe: October 2006 through June 2007. To be included, hospitals must have reported at least 300 surveys. See the Appendix for full methodology.

This case study describes the strategies and factors that appear to contribute to high patient satisfaction at Parkwest Medical Center. It is based on information obtained from interviews with key hospital personnel and materials provided by the hospital during October and November 2008.

Summary: Eighty-seven percent of patients recently discharged from Parkwest Medical Center said they would recommend the hospital to a family member or friend—a patient satisfaction level 19 percentage points higher than the national average.

Like other hospitals in this case study series, Parkwest has focused on hiring and supporting staff who subscribe to its vision of providing excellent patient care and sharing responsibility for doing so.

The hospital’s goals for quality care and patient satisfaction are spread through the Leadership Evaluation Module, through which the performance goals and standards for administrators, managers, and staff are aligned and managers are held responsible for the performance of the staff who report to them.

Performance-based rewards and recognition help to reinforce the standards.

Read the complete case study.

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This study was based on publicly available information and self-reported data provided by the case study institution(s). The aim of Commonwealth Fund–sponsored case studies of this type is to identify institutions that have achieved results indicating high performance in a particular area of interest, have undertaken innovations designed to reach higher performance, or exemplify attributes that can foster high performance. The studies are intended to enable other institutions to draw lessons from the studied institutions’ experience that will be helpful in their own efforts to become high performers. Even the best-performing organizations may fall short in some areas or make mistakes—emphasizing the need for systematic approaches to improve quality and prevent harm to patients and staff. The Commonwealth Fund is not an accreditor of health care organizations or systems, and the inclusion of an institution in the Fund’s case study series is not an endorsement by the Fund for receipt of health care from the institution.