Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog – Philanthropy Potluck

The Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) today reported that foundation giving is expected to stabilize in 2011 following two years in which grantmakers anticipated declines. According to MCF’s 2011 Outlook Report survey, indicators also signal that Minnesota grantmakers are more optimistic about their giving in 2011 than they were at this time last year.

• Half of Minnesota grantmakers surveyed expect their giving to stay about the same as 2010 levels. Most who expect to either increase or decrease their giving in 2011 anticipate only modest changes of 4 percent or less.
• For 2011, 35 percent of grantmakers expect to give more than in 2010, while 10 percent expect to give less. This is an improvement over expectations captured last year when just 25 percent expected increases and 30 percent expected decreases during 2010.
• Grantmakers’ optimism about the stock market recovery and potential to earn stronger returns on investments is reflected in their 2011 asset outlook. Of those foundations with assets, 58 percent expect them to increase, 31 percent expect them to stay the same, and just 3 percent anticipate a decrease – percentages nearly identical to 2010 outlook numbers. The majority of grantmakers who expect assets to increase estimate modest growth of 4 percent or less.

“When the economic crisis took hold in 2008, no one was sure how long and how bad the downturn would be and what kind of toll it would take on nonprofits,” notes Bill King, MCF president. “Because much of foundation giving is asset-based, we expect the effects on grantmaking to linger. It now appears that, while the ‘new normal’ is challenging, we are moving to more stability in the next year.”

Other key findings in the report:

• Minnesota’s largest grantmakers (those giving more than $10 million in grants annually) are most likely to expect their grantmaking levels to hold steady. Small grantmakers (less than $1 million annually) and mid-sized grantmakers ($1 million to $10 million annually) are more likely to expect grantmaking increases in the coming year.
• Among all grantmaker types, corporate foundations and giving programs are most likely to expect their grantmaking levels to hold steady, while community/public foundations are more likely to anticipate grantmaking increases.

“This 2011 report also reveals how grantmakers are striving to increase their impact and achieve their missions in an era of tight resources and mounting community issues,” King adds. “Philanthropic organizations are exploring a wide range of strategies that illustrate their commitment to shaping solutions that ensure the future wellbeing of all Minnesotans.

Among the philanthropic strategies, nonmonetary support to nonprofits – such as technical and capacity-building assistance, volunteers and in-kind products and services – was cited by 68 percent of survey respondents; program-related investments and mission-related investments were noted by 36 percent and 16 percent, respectively; and public policy and advocacy activities were listed by 32 percent.

Read more and download the complete 2011 Outlook Report.

MCF’s 2011 Outlook Report research is based on an October/November 2010 survey of 118 Minnesota grantmakers, representing about 65 percent of all foundation and corporate giving in Minnesota. (Foundation and corporate giving totaled $1.42 billion in 2008, the most recent time period for which complete data are available. A comprehensive look at charitable giving in Minnesota can be found in MCF’s Giving in Minnesota, 2010 Edition report.)

To explore what these findings mean for the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, MCF will host “2011 Minnesota Grantmaking Outlook” on Thursday, Jan. 27, 9 to 11 a.m., at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, St. Paul.

Bill King, MCF president, will present findings from MCF’s 2011 Outlook Report. Kevin Walker, president and CEO, Northwest Area Foundation, will moderate a panel of funders as they reflect on how the grantmaking field has changed since the recession, what adjustments their organizations have made to come to terms with the new normal, and what all this means for the nonprofit sector moving forward.

Panelists include: Cindy Gehrig, president, Jerome Foundation; Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, vice president, Community Philanthropy, The Minneapolis Foundation; Mark Lindberg, director, Relief, Recovery, and Development, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation; Jeff Peterson, director, Innovation and Strategy, General Mills Foundation.

For program details and to register, visit the MCF website.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate