Private foundation giving in 2021

Grants paid in tax year 2021 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 York11,878 foundations · 17.0% $17,979,395,595
2. California11,419 foundations · 14.2% · 21% from patient-assistance foundations $14,991,004,488
3. New Jersey3,706 foundations · 12.5% · 81% from patient-assistance foundations $13,202,640,783
4. Washington1,783 foundations · 11.6% · 45% passed to another foundation $12,225,486,946
5. Texas10,154 foundations · 4.2% $4,460,400,725
6. Illinois5,888 foundations · 3.8% $4,023,105,243
7. Pennsylvania7,378 foundations · 3.4% · 17% from patient-assistance foundations $3,568,934,377
8. Michigan2,782 foundations · 2.7% · 19% passed to another foundation $2,811,276,335
9. Florida8,130 foundations · 2.5% $2,677,414,124
10. Massachusetts3,858 foundations · 2.4% $2,548,992,199
11. Connecticut1,846 foundations · 1.7% $1,815,869,982
12. Georgia2,304 foundations · 1.6% $1,688,089,245
13. Minnesota1,648 foundations · 1.5% $1,605,125,473
14. Ohio4,427 foundations · 1.5% $1,564,566,346
15. Delaware2,414 foundations · 1.3% $1,337,548,762
16. Indiana1,610 foundations · 1.3% $1,330,499,484
17. North Carolina2,034 foundations · 1.2% $1,304,135,614
18. Nebraska676 foundations · 1.2% $1,253,480,941
19. Arkansas557 foundations · 1.2% $1,223,943,135
20. Maryland2,004 foundations · 1.2% $1,220,047,935
21. Colorado2,089 foundations · 1.0% $1,016,670,314
22. Wisconsin2,825 foundations · 1.0% $1,011,925,712
23. Missouri1,800 foundations · 0.9% $932,316,681
24. Virginia2,258 foundations · 0.8% $892,122,835
25. Nevada3,804 foundations · 0.8% $877,085,505
26. Oklahoma1,119 foundations · 0.8% $842,152,746
27. District of Columbia582 foundations · 0.8% $821,887,077
28. Tennessee1,363 foundations · 0.6% $680,123,162
29. Utah1,086 foundations · 0.6% $675,753,236
30. Arizona1,537 foundations · 0.6% $647,299,207
31. Oregon991 foundations · 0.5% $577,384,591
32. Kansas989 foundations · 0.4% $445,006,509
33. Kentucky916 foundations · 0.3% $306,046,698
34. Iowa1,141 foundations · 0.3% $274,170,606
35. Alabama1,361 foundations · 0.2% $261,539,234
36. Maine584 foundations · 0.2% $234,638,895
37. Wyoming355 foundations · 0.2% $233,878,627
38. Louisiana846 foundations · 0.2% $207,928,702
39. South Carolina893 foundations · 0.2% $194,873,930
40. Idaho464 foundations · 0.2% $189,206,730
41. Rhode Island428 foundations · 0.1% $156,665,321
42. Montana413 foundations · 0.1% $151,505,548
43. New Mexico414 foundations · 0.1% $134,595,425
44. Hawaii586 foundations · 0.1% $123,614,439
45. Mississippi436 foundations · 0.1% $119,895,265
46. New Hampshire629 foundations · 0.1% $115,920,310
47. South Dakota239 foundations · 0.1% $106,741,964
48. West Virginia424 foundations · 0.1% $74,762,517
49. Vermont320 foundations · 0.1% $63,545,984
50. Alaska120 foundations · 0.0% $51,490,882
51. North Dakota163 foundations · 0.0% $24,789,118
52. Puerto Rico61 foundations · 0.0% $10,497,731
53. U.S. Virgin Islands12 foundations · 0.0% $1,265,573
54. American Samoa2 foundations · 0.0% $102,700
55. Northern Mariana Islands2 foundations · 0.0% $0

Foundations in US territories, abroad or without a State on the return: 788 foundations, $1,036,687,091. 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: $47,016,713,886 of the $80,900,940,950 listed to organizations (58.1%).

Some returns list their grants only in an attachment the e-file doesn’t include: 2,842 lines on 2,643 returns say only “see attached” or “various”, for $6.8 billion. Those dollars count in the grants paid above, not in the cause figures.

1. Philanthropy and grantmaking51,354 grants from 16,487 foundations · median $5,000 $13,752,143,387
2. Education168,138 grants from 32,763 foundations · median $4,000 $9,729,415,995
3. Arts and culture104,780 grants from 21,373 foundations · median $5,000 $3,655,679,723
4. Human services123,286 grants from 25,948 foundations · median $3,066 $2,934,929,883
5. Health70,225 grants from 21,572 foundations · median $3,000 $2,813,338,565
6. International aid40,299 grants from 12,810 foundations · median $3,000 $2,596,370,376
7. Environment40,012 grants from 11,488 foundations · median $5,000 $2,264,700,810
8. Community development21,986 grants from 7,125 foundations · median $10,000 $1,691,196,028
9. Religion44,951 grants from 10,521 foundations · median $2,000 $735,584,006
10. Medical research8,134 grants from 3,992 foundations · median $2,000 $722,784,230
11. Civil rights14,249 grants from 5,690 foundations · median $5,000 $670,687,011
12. Youth development28,218 grants from 9,354 foundations · median $5,000 $644,257,870
13. Public affairs9,232 grants from 3,776 foundations · median $5,000 $599,824,369
14. Animals49,067 grants from 10,412 foundations · median $1,000 $572,697,647
15. Food and agriculture27,033 grants from 9,796 foundations · median $2,500 $508,111,325
16. Science and technology2,881 grants from 1,301 foundations · median $7,500 $503,083,793
17. Sports and recreation28,755 grants from 8,616 foundations · median $2,000 $497,379,996
18. Housing and shelter18,934 grants from 7,650 foundations · median $5,000 $489,256,664
19. Crime and legal aid14,965 grants from 6,136 foundations · median $5,000 $445,160,292
20. Social science2,437 grants from 1,238 foundations · median $25,000 $350,743,593
21. Mental health15,154 grants from 6,094 foundations · median $3,500 $342,839,762
22. Jobs and employment6,660 grants from 2,951 foundations · median $10,000 $335,222,726
23. Disaster relief and public safety8,023 grants from 2,687 foundations · median $1,000 $116,284,831
24. Veterans and military2,875 grants from 1,189 foundations · median $1,500 $26,108,820
25. Mutual benefit716 grants from 459 foundations · median $2,800 $18,912,184

Returns

Every Form 990-PF return for tax year 2021 in the IRS e-file data we have read: 117,975 returns from 117,876 foundations. When a foundation filed an amended return, it replaces the original. 311 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 2022 is tax year 2021. Returns reach the IRS 5 to 18 months after the year ends, so a few for 2021 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. 21% of California’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: Genentech Patient Foundation ($3.2 billion). Most of New Jersey’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance ($2.8 billion), Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation ($2.5 billion), Bristol-Myers Squibb Patient Assistance ($1.8 billion) and 6 more. 45% of Washington’s total is money the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust passed to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($5.6 billion), which reports it again as its own grants. 17% of Pennsylvania’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: GlaxoSmithKline Patient Access ($591.6 million). 19% of Michigan’s total is money the WK Kellogg Foundation Trust - No 5315 passed to the WK Kellogg Foundation ($547.3 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.