PRIVATE FOUNDATION GIVING TOPS $1 BILLION, RISING 15% AS FOUNDATIONS DISTRIBUTE 7.1% OF ASSETS

New analysis of over 1,200 private foundations tracks how charitable dollars were deployed and endowments managed amid a changing philanthropic landscape

FAIRFIELD, Conn., Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Foundation Source, the leading provider of philanthropic solutions for donors, nonprofits, institutions and the wealth advisors who serve them, today released the 2026 Report on Private Philanthropy: Giving and Investment Trends within Private Foundations, its annual transaction-based analysis of private foundation giving and investment activity. The report found that foundations gave $149.5 million more in charitable grants in 2025, totaling $1.14 billion compared to $990.5 million in the prior year.

Drawing on transaction and investment data from 1,237 private foundations with assets between $1 million and $1 billion, the report examines the size, timing, purpose, and geographic reach of grants, as well as foundation inflows and outflows, portfolio growth, and asset allocation. It offers a benchmark for families and advisors planning for the remainder of the giving season and for 2027.

"The foundations in our study truly stepped up to meet the moment," said Gillian Howell, Senior Vice President, Client Success at Foundation Source. "Nonprofits and the communities they serve are facing shifting needs, policy changes, and funding uncertainty, but our clients distributed well above the annual minimum and by increasing they dollars they put to work, these foundations not only provided sustaining support, but also responded to the newly arising needs."

Among the key findings from the report:

• Private foundation giving surpassed $1.1 billion, up 15% – The 1,237 foundations studied made 40,210 grants totaling $1.14 billion in 2025, an increase of 5.3% in the number of grants and 15.1% in grant dollars from 2024. Larger foundations drove the greatest increase, with grant dollars rising 22.6%.
• Foundations continued to give well above the 5% required minimum – Foundations distributed an average of 7.1% of their assets in both 2024 and 2025. Smaller foundations, with $1 million to $10 million in assets, gave the most relative to their size, distributing 9.9% of assets in both years.
• Education attracted the most grant dollars, while Human Services received the most grants – Among identified charitable categories, Education received the largest share of grant dollars (19.0%), followed by Public/Societal Benefit (16.5%) and Human Services (13.7%). Health recorded the largest year-over-year gain in funding share, rising 2.6 percentage points to 10.2%. Human Services received 7,785 grants, more than any other identified category.
• Foundations favored targeted giving – About 60% of grants supported designated programs or initiatives and 40% provided general operating support. The preference increased with foundation size: 70% of grants from larger foundations were designated for specific purposes, while smaller foundations split their giving almost evenly.
• Foundation endowments grew while giving remained strong – The foundations studied ended 2025 with $5.7 billion in assets, up from $5.1 billion at the end of 2024, an overall increase of approximately 11%. Mid-size foundations recorded the strongest net asset growth, at 13.9%.
• Investment strategies varied significantly by foundation size – Smaller foundations held 64.4% of their portfolios in equities and just 3.8% in alternatives, while larger foundations allocated 48.9% to equities and 20.9% to alternatives—more than five times the alternatives exposure of smaller foundations.

"Strong endowments and sustained giving provide a solid foundation as families head into the 2026 giving season," said Joseph Mrak III, CEO of Foundation Source. "With more than 40% of grants typically made in the fourth quarter, now is the time for families and their advisors to plan with intention. When charitable planning is part of the broader wealth conversation, that giving can be even more impactful."

The full report can be viewed here.

Report Methodology

The 2026 Report on Private Philanthropy presents a year-over-year analysis (2024 to 2025) of foundations with assets between $1 million and $1 billion to provide insights into how the wealthiest families and most philanthropic organizations are effecting change in the world. It discusses their advanced grantmaking activities, including the size, timing and locations of the grants, their financial inflows and outflows, and their investment activity, including portfolio growth and asset allocation.

The findings in this report are based on an analysis of the activities of a sample of 1,237 private, non-operating foundation clients. Data is drawn from investment returns, asset balances and transactions recorded by Foundation Source as it paid grants and expenses on behalf of clients, prepared their tax returns and recorded investment information provided by each foundation's financial institution, as Foundation Source does not custody or manage assets. Each foundation in the sample was active across both years of the study period, 2024 and 2025, and had been in existence for at least two years.

About Foundation Source (foundationsource.com)

Foundation Source is the leading provider of philanthropic software and services. A pioneer in philanthropic technology, we are the partner of choice for integrated, enterprise-grade solutions spanning private foundations, donor-advised funds and planned giving programs. Our flexible suite of tools and resources include end-to-end administrative support for the most popular charitable vehicles, specialized compliance, tax, development and consulting capabilities, and deep domain expertise to help maximize impact, mitigate risk, and improve efficiency for all parts of the philanthropic ecosystem. We work with donors, nonprofits, wealth advisors and financial institutions to launch, enhance or augment charitable initiatives with turnkey, white-label and outsourced offerings that meet a wide range of philanthropic objectives quickly, professionally, and compliantly.

As of December 31, 2025, we support more than 5,600 private foundations, 20,000 DAF accounts, and 1,700 nonprofits, administer more than $55 billion in charitable assets and facilitate more than 190,000 grants and planned gifts representing more than $4 billion in charitable aid annually.

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