Private foundation giving in 2020

Grants paid in tax year 2020 by foundations whose return gives an address in each State, with each State’s share of all giving. The money may have gone anywhere.

1. New York12,082 foundations · 15.2% $14,504,285,426
2. California10,906 foundations · 13.5% · 22% from patient-assistance foundations $12,837,514,008
3. New Jersey3,246 foundations · 13.2% · 83% from patient-assistance foundations $12,609,861,923
4. Washington1,719 foundations · 12.9% · 48% passed to another foundation $12,316,793,538
5. Texas6,882 foundations · 3.9% $3,725,947,823
6. Illinois6,070 foundations · 3.8% $3,608,900,412
7. Pennsylvania7,265 foundations · 3.3% · 16% from patient-assistance foundations $3,172,281,942
8. Michigan2,747 foundations · 2.7% · 21% passed to another foundation $2,539,599,608
9. Florida8,060 foundations · 2.6% $2,507,786,946
10. Massachusetts3,734 foundations · 2.3% $2,204,691,101
11. Minnesota1,582 foundations · 1.7% $1,601,002,253
12. Georgia2,157 foundations · 1.7% $1,575,426,837
13. Connecticut1,804 foundations · 1.6% $1,539,357,255
14. Ohio4,249 foundations · 1.5% $1,460,070,134
15. Nebraska654 foundations · 1.4% $1,342,810,022
16. Indiana1,497 foundations · 1.4% $1,325,808,962
17. Maryland1,910 foundations · 1.4% $1,305,854,494
18. North Carolina2,180 foundations · 1.3% $1,240,515,491
19. Arkansas555 foundations · 1.2% $1,173,942,422
20. Delaware2,125 foundations · 1.2% $1,169,401,818
21. Colorado2,009 foundations · 1.1% $1,017,881,231
22. Wisconsin2,727 foundations · 1.0% $927,290,001
23. Nevada3,745 foundations · 0.9% · 16% passed to another foundation $877,748,919
24. Virginia2,124 foundations · 0.9% $814,269,173
25. Oklahoma1,071 foundations · 0.8% $768,937,849
26. Missouri1,737 foundations · 0.8% $765,590,503
27. District of Columbia541 foundations · 0.7% $670,311,534
28. Utah1,021 foundations · 0.7% $653,658,153
29. Tennessee1,275 foundations · 0.6% $606,339,830
30. Oregon939 foundations · 0.5% $457,086,047
31. Kansas926 foundations · 0.5% $443,172,809
32. Arizona1,437 foundations · 0.4% $423,523,205
33. Rhode Island2,445 foundations · 0.4% $411,238,883
34. Kentucky863 foundations · 0.3% $310,292,016
35. Alabama1,322 foundations · 0.3% $238,272,855
36. Iowa1,108 foundations · 0.2% $234,557,935
37. Maine552 foundations · 0.2% $212,567,042
38. Louisiana807 foundations · 0.2% $190,665,653
39. South Carolina827 foundations · 0.2% $155,956,976
40. Montana391 foundations · 0.1% $142,310,137
41. South Dakota222 foundations · 0.1% $131,343,417
42. New Mexico408 foundations · 0.1% $130,579,003
43. Hawaii558 foundations · 0.1% $117,034,935
44. New Hampshire596 foundations · 0.1% $115,165,789
45. Mississippi420 foundations · 0.1% $99,368,709
46. Wyoming321 foundations · 0.1% $99,327,978
47. Idaho435 foundations · 0.1% $93,000,502
48. West Virginia400 foundations · 0.1% $66,900,332
49. Vermont291 foundations · 0.1% $54,320,439
50. Alaska118 foundations · 0.0% $43,278,427
51. North Dakota155 foundations · 0.0% $19,346,950
52. Puerto Rico55 foundations · 0.0% $10,621,430
53. U.S. Virgin Islands13 foundations · 0.0% $1,691,777
54. American Samoa1 foundation · 0.0% $101,700

Foundations in US territories, abroad or without a State on the return: 721 foundations, $817,432,381. They count in the total above, not in a State.

Grant lines to organizations we matched to the IRS list of exempt organizations, by that organization’s category: $40,876,363,877 of the $70,885,426,597 listed to organizations (57.7%).

Some returns list their grants only in an attachment the e-file doesn’t include: 2,915 lines on 2,714 returns say only “see attached” or “various”, for $6.7 billion. Those dollars count in the grants paid above, not in the cause figures.

1. Philanthropy and grantmaking53,197 grants from 16,310 foundations · median $5,000 $11,484,981,167
2. Education159,549 grants from 31,324 foundations · median $4,500 $8,486,415,300
3. Arts and culture100,958 grants from 20,549 foundations · median $5,000 $3,142,172,092
4. Human services116,170 grants from 25,131 foundations · median $4,000 $2,842,001,784
5. Health67,275 grants from 20,774 foundations · median $3,000 $2,482,082,668
6. International aid36,907 grants from 12,078 foundations · median $3,000 $2,372,006,594
7. Environment36,727 grants from 10,665 foundations · median $5,000 $1,710,713,729
8. Community development21,247 grants from 6,877 foundations · median $10,000 $1,647,504,969
9. Medical research7,415 grants from 3,653 foundations · median $2,000 $756,258,249
10. Religion41,217 grants from 9,903 foundations · median $2,000 $683,506,421
11. Civil rights15,288 grants from 5,563 foundations · median $5,000 $678,433,932
12. Food and agriculture29,475 grants from 10,672 foundations · median $3,000 $582,821,841
13. Youth development25,841 grants from 8,720 foundations · median $5,000 $535,977,186
14. Public affairs8,403 grants from 3,492 foundations · median $6,000 $502,118,726
15. Animals44,674 grants from 9,774 foundations · median $1,000 $491,660,343
16. Housing and shelter18,302 grants from 7,317 foundations · median $5,000 $414,761,387
17. Sports and recreation24,965 grants from 7,595 foundations · median $2,000 $395,436,752
18. Crime and legal aid14,633 grants from 5,930 foundations · median $5,000 $363,816,235
19. Jobs and employment6,416 grants from 2,850 foundations · median $10,000 $302,177,532
20. Mental health13,534 grants from 5,492 foundations · median $4,000 $289,132,900
21. Science and technology2,614 grants from 1,185 foundations · median $7,500 $282,576,667
22. Social science2,345 grants from 1,199 foundations · median $25,000 $278,462,814
23. Disaster relief and public safety7,173 grants from 2,526 foundations · median $1,000 $113,059,701
24. Veterans and military2,460 grants from 1,049 foundations · median $1,255 $20,224,789
25. Mutual benefit676 grants from 427 foundations · median $3,000 $18,060,099

Returns

Every Form 990-PF return for tax year 2020 in the IRS e-file data we have read: 113,493 returns from 113,394 foundations. When a foundation filed an amended return, it replaces the original. 282 returns with a figure larger than the foundation’s assets plus its revenue are held back for a check and not counted.

Tax year

The year the foundation’s accounting year began. A return for a year that ended in June 2021 is tax year 2020. Returns reach the IRS 5 to 18 months after the year ends, so a few for 2020 can still arrive.

Grants paid

The total of grants paid in the year that each return reports. When a return leaves the total blank, we add up its grant lines. Money one foundation gives another is counted on both returns.

State

The State in the foundation’s own address on its return, not where the grants went. 22% of California’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: Genentech Patient Foundation ($2.9 billion). Most of New Jersey’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation ($3.3 billion), Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance ($2.5 billion), Merck Patient Assistance Program Inc ($1.6 billion) and 6 more. 48% of Washington’s total is money the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust passed to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($5.9 billion), which reports it again as its own grants. 16% of Pennsylvania’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: GlaxoSmithKline Patient Access ($505.5 million). 21% of Michigan’s total is money the WK Kellogg Foundation Trust - No 5315 passed to the WK Kellogg Foundation ($530.6 million), which reports it again as its own grants. 16% of Nevada’s total is money passed from one foundation to another ($138.8 million), which reports it again as its own grants.

Cause

Each grant line names its recipient. We match recipients to the IRS list of exempt organizations by name and address, and a grant counts toward the category of the organization it matched, grouped into 25 causes. Only exact and strong matches count; grants to people (scholarships, hardship grants) and to organizations we could not match are left out of this part.

Median grant

Grants to organizations of $100 or more. Smaller amounts are often placeholders, and lines that only say “see attached” or “various” are left out of every grant-line figure.