Illinois foundation giving reached a record $3.1 billion in 2013, according to the latest Giving in Illinois report issued today by Donors Forum, in partnership with The Foundation Center.

This analysis is based on the Foundation Center’s 2013 grants set, which includes all of the grants of $10,000 or more reported by 1,000 of the largest U.S. independent, corporate, community, and grantmaking operating foundations by total giving. The sample included 51 Illinois foundations with giving totaling $671 million. Giving in Illinois 2015 reveals the scope and giving priorities of the Illinois foundation community in 2013.

Key takeaways from Giving in Illinois 2015 include:

5,200

Illinois is home to over 5,200 grantmaking foundations spanning all types—independent or family, corporate, community, and operating—sizes, and issue areas.

$35.9 billion

Illinois foundations experienced strong growth in assets in 2013, with an increase of 14 percent. Assets of Illinois foundations also surpassed the pre-recession peak, totaling a record $35.9 billion in the latest year. Assets of Illinois foundations have grown slightly faster than the national average over the past decade (71 percent versus 67 percent).

$3.1 billion

Illinois foundation giving reached a record $3.1 billion in 2013, more than doubling since 2003. (Adjusted for inflation, giving rose 91.4 percent.) By comparison, giving by U.S. foundations overall rose 82 percent during this period (or 44 percent after inflation). The Illinois foundation community has shown annual growth in giving every year during the past decade.

Health, education, and human services

are the top funding priorities in Illinois.

14%

of total grant dollars supported general operating costs.

$663 million

Including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, over 350 non-Illinois foundations awarded the remaining 70 percent of grant dollars for Illinois recipients in 2013. Their support totaled $663 million. The Gates Foundation ranked first among all funders in grant dollars awarded to Illinois with $384.6 million. By comparison, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation reported the most grants awarded in the state that year of any non-Illinois foundation (153).

56%

Foundations Based in Cook County Accounted for Over Half of Illinois Foundation Giving in 2013.

Illinois State Spending Dwarfs Foundation Giving

Because the primary role of most private and community foundations is to provide funding, the public often overestimates their charitable resources. In fact, the vast majority of private giving each year (approximately 80 percent) comes from individuals.

Foundations are also sometimes seen as having the resources to fill government budget gaps, especially in difficult economic times. Yet compared to government expenditures, foundation giving represents a small fraction of the total.

For example, while Illinois foundations provided giving totaling $3.1 billion in 2013, the Illinois state budget General Revenue Fund for fiscal year 2013 totaled nearly $30 billion and the budget deficit for the state in 2013 was estimated at nearly $48 billion.

The Outlook for Foundation Giving

Overall giving by the nation’s private and community foundations reached $59.3 billion in 2014, surpassing previous record levels even after adjusting for inflation. Contributing to the strong rise in funding was 12 percent growth in independent foundation assets in the prior year—the first double-digit annual rise recorded since 2007.

Community foundations showed the fastest growth in foundation giving in 2014, with their estimated funding up nearly 11 percent. In contrast, estimated corporate foundation giving decreased marginally in 2014, despite strong growth in new gifts into corporate foundations in 2013.

Looking ahead, Foundation Center projects that U.S. foundations overall will continue to benefit from healthy growth in the economy and stock market. As a result, their giving will continue to increase well ahead of inflation.

Download a copy of Giving in Illinois 2015 here.

Download a customizable Power Point presentation to share with your board, staff, and colleagues, here.

— Kathleen Murphy