Private foundation giving in 2023

Grants paid in tax year 2023 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 Jersey3,899 foundations · 15.1% · 86% from patient-assistance foundations $18,500,704,294
2. New York11,910 foundations · 13.9% $17,071,528,622
3. California12,083 foundations · 13.9% · 21% from patient-assistance foundations $17,043,186,040
4. Washington1,898 foundations · 11.8% · 47% passed to another foundation $14,423,780,340
5. Texas10,705 foundations · 4.4% $5,336,734,071
6. Illinois6,021 foundations · 4.1% $5,014,911,399
7. Pennsylvania7,515 foundations · 3.4% · 21% from patient-assistance foundations $4,122,347,362
8. Florida8,976 foundations · 2.6% $3,219,121,528
9. Massachusetts3,936 foundations · 2.3% $2,797,115,263
10. Michigan2,958 foundations · 2.0% $2,509,237,110
11. Connecticut1,820 foundations · 2.0% $2,416,767,704
12. Indiana1,716 foundations · 1.9% $2,388,984,002
13. Minnesota1,739 foundations · 1.8% $2,180,795,616
14. Georgia2,478 foundations · 1.5% $1,820,176,775
15. Ohio4,608 foundations · 1.3% $1,654,511,233
16. Delaware2,686 foundations · 1.3% $1,617,540,234
17. Nebraska739 foundations · 1.3% $1,576,146,187
18. North Carolina2,202 foundations · 1.1% $1,389,194,836
19. Maryland2,125 foundations · 1.1% $1,374,827,262
20. Wisconsin3,060 foundations · 1.0% $1,285,700,835
21. Arkansas600 foundations · 1.0% $1,278,099,545
22. Colorado2,178 foundations · 1.0% $1,229,318,028
23. Missouri2,512 foundations · 0.9% $1,147,182,846
24. Virginia2,466 foundations · 0.9% $1,104,128,722
25. Kentucky995 foundations · 0.9% · 68% passed to another foundation $1,089,231,353
26. Utah1,202 foundations · 0.9% $1,052,058,474
27. District of Columbia569 foundations · 0.7% $916,624,293
28. Oklahoma1,199 foundations · 0.7% $880,240,313
29. Tennessee1,503 foundations · 0.6% $690,016,911
30. Oregon1,019 foundations · 0.5% $666,952,057
31. Nevada3,150 foundations · 0.5% $630,182,227
32. Kansas1,071 foundations · 0.4% $508,374,174
33. Arizona1,577 foundations · 0.4% $483,879,722
34. Maine576 foundations · 0.2% $291,691,837
35. Iowa1,170 foundations · 0.2% $289,136,478
36. South Carolina1,027 foundations · 0.2% $265,920,515
37. Alabama1,453 foundations · 0.2% $252,269,496
38. Wyoming400 foundations · 0.2% $212,389,274
39. Louisiana934 foundations · 0.2% $209,333,896
40. New Hampshire683 foundations · 0.1% $182,642,759
41. Rhode Island441 foundations · 0.1% $177,282,820
42. Idaho536 foundations · 0.1% $162,580,231
43. New Mexico445 foundations · 0.1% $154,647,101
44. Montana488 foundations · 0.1% $149,329,703
45. Mississippi457 foundations · 0.1% $133,840,095
46. Hawaii626 foundations · 0.1% $131,614,645
47. South Dakota290 foundations · 0.1% $114,563,091
48. West Virginia472 foundations · 0.1% $86,683,386
49. Vermont340 foundations · 0.1% $83,626,370
50. North Dakota188 foundations · 0.1% $68,685,129
51. Alaska138 foundations · 0.1% $66,856,378
52. Puerto Rico69 foundations · 0.0% $11,929,047
53. U.S. Virgin Islands14 foundations · 0.0% $447,182
54. American Samoa3 foundations · 0.0% $117,776
55. Guam1 foundation · 0.0% $0
56. Northern Mariana Islands3 foundations · 0.0% $0

Foundations in US territories, abroad or without a State on the return: 804 foundations, $1,050,015,441. 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: $52,598,700,557 of the $91,501,277,627 listed to organizations (57.5%).

Some returns list their grants only in an attachment the e-file doesn’t include: 2,455 lines on 2,296 returns say only “see attached” or “various”, for $7.6 billion. Those dollars count in the grants paid above, not in the cause figures.

1. Philanthropy and grantmaking53,522 grants from 18,039 foundations · median $5,025 $15,024,767,319
2. Education173,473 grants from 33,925 foundations · median $5,000 $11,447,043,561
3. Arts and culture110,650 grants from 22,456 foundations · median $5,000 $4,141,397,616
4. Human services128,045 grants from 27,163 foundations · median $5,000 $3,064,545,591
5. Health72,970 grants from 22,524 foundations · median $4,000 $3,048,383,904
6. International aid43,014 grants from 13,733 foundations · median $5,000 $2,955,277,670
7. Environment41,360 grants from 11,799 foundations · median $5,000 $2,428,060,714
8. Community development22,955 grants from 7,488 foundations · median $10,000 $1,799,143,606
9. Civil rights15,224 grants from 6,083 foundations · median $5,500 $901,484,542
10. Religion48,568 grants from 11,345 foundations · median $2,500 $846,302,957
11. Medical research8,631 grants from 4,284 foundations · median $2,000 $778,588,532
12. Youth development30,229 grants from 10,111 foundations · median $5,000 $752,410,414
13. Animals51,446 grants from 11,047 foundations · median $1,000 $686,586,220
14. Public affairs9,769 grants from 4,039 foundations · median $5,500 $639,076,898
15. Food and agriculture26,154 grants from 10,126 foundations · median $4,000 $578,712,858
16. Sports and recreation32,092 grants from 9,259 foundations · median $2,000 $561,966,052
17. Housing and shelter19,313 grants from 7,933 foundations · median $5,000 $557,858,997
18. Science and technology3,224 grants from 1,417 foundations · median $10,000 $532,166,413
19. Crime and legal aid15,627 grants from 6,401 foundations · median $5,000 $501,177,078
20. Mental health16,496 grants from 6,576 foundations · median $5,000 $437,076,083
21. Jobs and employment7,026 grants from 3,182 foundations · median $10,000 $388,397,556
22. Social science2,425 grants from 1,223 foundations · median $26,000 $328,700,035
23. Disaster relief and public safety8,354 grants from 2,866 foundations · median $1,125 $131,691,867
24. Veterans and military3,217 grants from 1,395 foundations · median $1,894 $34,849,012
25. Mutual benefit854 grants from 561 foundations · median $4,000 $33,035,062

Returns

Every Form 990-PF return for tax year 2023 in the IRS e-file data we have read: 124,169 returns from 124,014 foundations. When a foundation filed an amended return, it replaces the original. 397 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 2024 is tax year 2023. Returns reach the IRS 5 to 18 months after the year ends, so a few for 2023 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. Most of New Jersey’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: Bristol-Myers Squibb Patient Assistance ($4.4 billion), Sanofi Cares North America ($3 billion), Novartis Patient Assistance ($2.9 billion) and 5 more. 21% of California’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: Genentech Patient Foundation ($3.5 billion). 47% of Washington’s total is money the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust passed to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($6.7 billion), which reports it again as its own grants. 21% of Pennsylvania’s total comes from drug companies’ patient-assistance foundations, which report the medicines they give patients as grants: GlaxoSmithKline Patient Access ($881.9 million). Most of Kentucky’s total is money the Miramar Charitable Foundation passed to the The Scripps Howard Foundation ($741 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.