Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
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Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
by Melissa Ludlum
T
he private foundation segment of the taxexempt sector experienced significant growth
between Tax Years 1993-2002. The number
of private foundations increased, as did the aggregate
values of assets held and grants distributed by these
organizations. By the end of that period, the fair
market value of total assets held by private foundations, in real terms, had increased by more than 80
percent. Private foundations contributed approximately $189.4 billion in contributions, gifts, and grants
to charitable initiatives during these tax years.
Foundations are tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(c)(3). They are required to file the information return, Form 990-PF,
annually. The data presented in this article are from
Forms 990-PF filed by domestic private foundations,
defined as those foundations organized in the United
States, for Tax Years 1993-2002. A tax year includes all accounting periods beginning in its corresponding calendar year (see the Data Sources and
Limitations section for further information).
Tax Years 1993-2002 in Brief
162
Overall, the period comprising Tax Years 1993-2002
was one of growth for private foundations. Figure A
includes various financial data for the 10-year period.
Between Tax Years 1993 and 2002, the total number
of Forms 990-PF filed by private foundations grew by
67 percent, increasing from 43,956 returns filed for
Tax Year 1993 to 73,255 filed for Tax Year 2002.
Over the same period, the aggregate fair market
value of total assets held by these organizations, once
adjusted to reflect inflation, increased by 82 percent,
reaching $413.0 billion by Tax Year 2002 [1]. The
aggregate fair market value of total assets grew
consistently between Tax Years 1993 and 1999,
before declining slightly for Tax Years 2000 through
2002. Overall, the aggregate fair market value of
total assets showed a 7-percent real rate of growth
throughout the period.
Total revenues of private foundations increased
for 7 consecutive tax years--1993 through 1999--but
decreased for each of the remaining 3 years in the
Melissa Ludlum is an economist with the Special Studies
Special Projects Section. This article was prepared
under the direction of Barry W. Johnson, Chief.
162
period. In real terms, private foundations earned less
revenue for Tax Year 2002 than they had for Tax
Year 1993.
Total disbursements for charitable purposes,
which are outlays that foundations make exclusively
in support of their tax-exempt purposes, doubled
between Tax Years 1993 and 2002. Contributions,
gifts, and grants were the major component of these
types of expenses for all of the tax years in the
period [2]. These distributions increased at a rate
higher than total revenue for Tax Years 1998-2002,
with an overall real rate of growth of 8 percent.
Statistics of Income Studies
The statistics presented in this article for private
foundations are based on sample data from Form
990-PF, Return of Private Foundation (or Section
4947(a)(1) Charitable Trust Treated as a Private
Foundation), the annual information return filed by
these organizations. Statistics of Income studies on
private foundations have been conducted for Tax
Years 1974, 1979, 1982, 1983, and annually since
1985. Statistics on 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable
trusts, which are treated as private foundations and
are thus required to file Form 990-PF, are not included in this article [3].
Tax Definitions and Organizational Structure
Religious, charitable, scientific, educational, and
certain other organizations are exempt from Federal
income tax under IRC section 501(c)(3). Under
section 509(a), organizations that are treated as
exempt under section 501(c)(3) are defined as
private foundations unless they meet one of four
criteria. For example, public organizations that
receive greater than one-third of their annual support
from members and the public and no more than onethird from investments and unrelated business income
are not private foundations. In addition, churches,
schools, hospitals, and charities receiving substantial
support from the public or from governmental units
are not private foundations. Charitable organizations
that are not private foundations file Form 990, Return
of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, or
Form 990-EZ, the short version of this information
return. Private foundations file Form 990-PF (see
“Private Foundation” in the Explanation of Selected
Terms section of this article for a detailed description
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Figure A
Domestic Private Foundations: Selected Financial Items, in Current and Constant Dollars, 1993-2002
[Money amounts are in millions of dollars]
Tax year
Number of returns
(1)
Total.................................................................
1993......................................................................
1994......................................................................
1995......................................................................
1996......................................................................
1997......................................................................
1998......................................................................
1999......................................................................
2000......................................................................
2001......................................................................
2002......................................................................
Constant rate of growth ¹......................................
Fair market value of total assets
Constant dollars
(3)
Current dollars
(4)
Constant dollars
(5)
3,474,137.0
192,277.1
203,643.9
242,916.6
288,588.0
342,688.5
397,084.5
466,863.0
471,645.7
455,423.0
413,006.7
8.9
3,724,674.0
226,694.7
235,005.1
274,738.7
320,332.7
374,215.9
428,851.2
497,209.1
491,454.8
463,165.2
413,006.7
6.9
474,323.9
24,459.7
26,503.5
30,814.5
48,246.8
55,459.9
59,735.0
83,286.0
72,780.0
45,263.8
27,774.7
1.4
511,248.5
28,838.0
30,585.0
34,851.2
53,554.0
60,562.2
64,513.8
88,699.6
75,836.8
46,033.3
27,774.7
-0.4
573,693
43,956
45,801
47,917
50,774
55,113
56,658
62,694
66,738
70,787
73,255
5.8
Tax year
Total revenue
Current dollars
(2)
Disbursements for charitable purposes
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid
Current dollars
(6)
Constant dollars
(7)
Current dollars
(8)
Constant dollars
(9)
219,794.6
12,951.8
13,788.2
14,411.5
16,881.1
19,076.4
22,287.8
26,402.2
31,874.1
31,698.0
30,423.4
10.0
235,113.0
15,270.2
15,911.6
16,299.5
18,738.1
20,831.4
24,070.9
28,118.3
33,212.8
32,236.8
30,423.4
8.0
189,430.4
11,072.0
11,755.5
12,255.9
14,519.1
16,421.0
19,394.2
22,762.8
27,563.6
27,383.3
26,303.1
10.1
202,590.3
13,053.9
13,565.8
13,861.4
16,116.2
17,931.7
20,945.7
24,242.4
28,721.3
27,848.9
26,303.1
8.1
Total…………….......................................................................................
1993.............................................................................................................
1994.............................................................................................................
1995.............................................................................................................
1996.............................................................................................................
1997.............................................................................................................
1998.............................................................................................................
1999.............................................................................................................
2000.............................................................................................................
2001.............................................................................................................
2002.............................................................................................................
Constant rate of growth ¹..............................................................................
x
¹ Derived from the exponential formula for growth y=b*m .
NOTE: "Constant dollars" have been adjusted for inflation based on the 2000 chain-type price index for Gross Domestic Product, as published by the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Tax Year 2002 is the base year.
of the requirements for Form 990 versus Form 990PF filers) [4].
Depending on the type of charitable support that
a private foundation provides, it may be classified as
either “nonoperating” or “operating.” A nonoperating
foundation is defined as such because it generally
supports charitable programs indirectly, providing
grants to other charitable organizations, rather than
operating programs of its own. In contrast, an operating foundation is directly involved in the operation
of its own charitable activities. In order to qualify as
operating, a foundation must meet certain financial
criteria (see “Operating Foundations” in the Explanation of Selected Terms section for information on
operating foundations). Common examples of such
organizations include museums, facilities providing
housing or healthcare, or organizations conducting
scientific research.
Private foundations are typically supported and
controlled by an individual, family, or corporation.
Because they are not directly accountable to the
public, private foundations are subject to greater
Federal regulation than are other tax-exempt organizations. For example, private foundations are prohibited from accumulating net income, and nonoperating
foundations are required annually to distribute 5
percent of the net value of investment assets with
certain adjustments. The Tax Reform Act of 1969
(TRA69) established taxes specific to private foundations and was the basis for sections 4940-4945 of the
Internal Revenue Code. Section 4940 includes an
excise tax on “net investment income,” which consists of income received only from investments that
are unrelated to a foundation’s charitable purpose.
This tax, which is reported annually on Form 990-PF,
applies to all nonoperating and most operating foundations that earn net investment income. However,
an operating foundation that has been publicly supported for 10 years or more (or was a private operating foundation before 1983), has a governing board
that is representative of the general public and consists of less than 25-percent disqualified persons, and
163
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
164
has no officers who are disqualified persons is exempt from the excise tax on net investment income.
Sections 4941-4945 define activities that are considered to be contrary to the public interest and outline
the taxes imposed on foundations that engage in such
“prohibited activities.” Business ventures or investments that in some way jeopardize the foundation’s
charitable purpose, or acts of “self-dealing,” which
are defined as financial transactions with foundation
officers, directors, trustees, substantial contributors,
or “other disqualified persons,” are considered to be
contrary to the public interest and taxable under IRC
section 4941 (see “Disqualified Person” in the Explanation of Selected Terms section). IRC section
4942 describes the excise tax on nonoperating foundations that fail to distribute a minimum amount for
charitable purposes. Taxation of excess business
holdings, certain high-risk investments, and various
prohibited expenditures, such as participation by a
foundation on behalf of, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office, or efforts to influence legislation by contacting legislators, or encouraging the
public to do so, are taxable under IRC sections 49434945. Taxes on the activities described in IRC sections 4941-4945 are reported separately on Form
4720, Return of Certain Excise Taxes on Charities
and Other Persons Under Chapters 41 and 42 of
the Internal Revenue Code, and are not included in
this article [5].
Composition of Filers
164
Large, nonoperating foundations conduct the majority
of financial activity that is attributable to private
foundations. Typically, nonoperating foundations
account for more than 90 percent of Forms 990-PF
filed by domestic private foundations, and they hold a
similar proportion of the aggregate fair market value
of total assets. Nonoperating foundations also earn
the majority of total revenue and, because of their
legal requirement to make charitable distributions,
account for nearly all of the contributions, gifts, and
grants reported each year. Figure B presents
financial data for Tax Years 1993, 1998, and 2002, by
asset-size class, for all foundations and for nonoperating foundations, separately.
The distributions of returns filed, fair market
value of total assets held, revenue earned, and disbursements for charitable purposes and contributions,
gifts, and grants distributed, by asset size-class, were
nearly the same for Tax Year 2002 as for Tax Year
1993. Large foundations, those holding more than
$50 million in fair market value of total assets, represented just over 1 percent of all returns filed for Tax
Year 2002--approximately the same percentage of
filings that they represented for Tax Year 1993. The
percentage of total returns filed by small foundations,
which are foundations holding less than $1 million in
fair market value of total assets, decreased from 75
percent for Tax Year 1993 to 65 percent for Tax
Year 1998, but ended the period representing 70
percent of all returns filed for Tax Year 2002 [6].
Returns filed by organizations holding between $1
and $50 million in fair market value of total assets
represented 10 percent more of total returns filed by
private foundations for Tax Year 1998 than of total
returns filed for Tax Year 1993, but represented a
smaller percentage of total filings for Tax Year 2002.
The proportion of the aggregate fair market value
of total assets held by organizations in each asset-size
class for Tax Year 2002 was virtually the same as
that reported for Tax Year 1993. Large organizations
held approximately two-thirds of the total for most of
Tax Years 1993-2002. In contrast, small organizations
held just 3 percent of the aggregate fair market value of
total assets for most of the 10-year period.
Although small foundations earned less than 4
percent of total revenue and held an even smaller
percentage of the aggregate fair market value of total
assets for Tax Year 2002, they distributed nearly 10
percent of both disbursements for charitable purposes
and contributions, gifts, and grants for that year.
Large foundations earned approximately half of total
revenue reported by private foundations for Tax
Years 1993 and 2002 and distributed a similar proportion of reported disbursements for charitable purposes and contributions, gifts, and grants.
Asset Values and Their Significance
The value of assets held by private foundations, as
well as the annual return on those assets, figures
prominently into foundations’ ability to make contributions for charitable purposes. Fluctuations in asset
values directly affect the grantmaking practices of
nonoperating foundations, as asset values are the
basis on which their annual distribution requirement,
or “distributable amount,” is calculated. Specifically,
the distributable amount is derived from a
foundation’s minimum investment return, which
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Figure B
Domestic Private Foundations: Selected Financial Items, by Asset-Size Class, in Constant Dollars,
Selected Tax Years, 1993-2002
[Money amounts are in millions of dollars]
All foundations
Tax year
1993
1998
2002
1993
1998
2002
Asset-size class
Number of returns
Fair market value
of total assets
(1)
(2)
Total revenue
(3)
Number or amount
28,838.0
Total...........................................................
Small foundations ¹...............................
Medium foundations ²............................
Large foundations ³...............................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
43,956
226,694.7
32,979
10,491
486
56,658
8,001.8
73,308.3
145,384.7
428,851.2
37,103
18,615
940
73,255
51,429
20,840
987
9,868.5
124,433.0
294,549.8
413,006.7
12,605.9
125,071.6
275,329.2
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
100.0
100.0
75.0
23.9
1.1
100.0
3.5
32.3
64.1
100.0
8.7
41.4
49.9
100.0
65.5
32.9
1.7
100.0
2.3
29.0
68.7
100.0
70.2
28.4
1.3
3.1
30.3
66.7
Disbursements
for charitable
purposes
(4)
Contributions,
gifts, and grants
paid
(5)
15,270.2
13,053.9
1,775.5
5,873.1
7,621.6
24,070.9
1,486.8
4,907.1
6,660.0
20,945.7
2,343.9
8,669.7
13,057.3
30,423.4
2,783.8
11,006.9
16,632.7
2,100.4
7,630.6
11,214.7
26,303.1
2,534.6
9,644.9
14,123.5
100.0
100.0
11.6
38.5
49.9
100.0
11.4
37.6
51.0
100.0
6.2
34.2
59.5
100.0
9.7
36.0
54.2
100.0
10.0
36.4
53.5
100.0
3.9
47.5
48.7
9.2
36.2
54.7
9.6
36.7
53.7
2,505.3
11,935.5
14,397.1
64,513.8
4,027.8
22,078.7
38,407.3
27,774.7
1,070.3
13,180.9
13,523.6
Percentage of total
100.0
Nonoperating foundations
Asset-size class
1993
1998
2002
1993
1998
2002
Number of returns
Fair market value
of total assets
(6)
(7)
(8)
Number or amount
26,141.9
Total revenue
Disbursements
for charitable
purposes
(9)
Contributions,
gifts, and grants
paid
(10)
Total...........................................................
Small foundations ¹...............................
Medium foundations ²............................
Large foundations ³...............................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
40,166
205,141.8
13,976.0
12,873.0
30,010
9,710
446
52,460
7,530.6
67,232.5
130,378.7
394,238.8
2,268.8
10,764.8
13,108.3
59,087.4
1,582.8
5,151.6
7,241.6
22,214.7
1,461.5
4,799.6
6,611.9
20,483.0
34,263
17,331
866
67,101
9,296.5
115,485.7
269,456.7
377,671.9
3,722.7
20,302.1
35,062.6
24,500.1
2,233.8
7,866.0
12,114.9
27,910.7
2,071.7
7,413.1
10,998.2
25,487.5
46,962
19,239
900
11,547.4
115,738.2
250,386.4
2,582.8
9,980.3
15,347.6
2,461.8
9,320.5
13,705.2
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
Total...........................................................
Small foundations.................................
Medium foundations..............................
Large foundations.................................
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
74.7
24.2
1.1
100.0
3.7
32.8
63.6
100.0
8.7
41.2
50.1
100.0
11.3
36.9
51.8
100.0
11.4
37.3
51.4
100.0
65.3
33.0
1.7
100.0
2.4
29.3
68.3
100.0
6.3
34.4
59.3
100.0
10.1
35.4
54.5
100.0
10.1
36.2
53.7
100.0
70.0
28.7
1.3
3.1
30.6
66.3
3.2
46.1
50.7
9.3
35.8
55.0
9.7
36.6
53.8
788.2
11,292.0
12,419.9
Percentage of total
100.0
¹ Small foundations are those holding from zero (including unreported) to less than $1,000,000 in fair market value of total assets.
² Medium foundations are those holding from $1,000,000 to less than $50,000,000 in fair market value of total assets.
³ Large foundations are those holding $50,000,000 or more in fair market value of total assets.
NOTE: "Constant dollars" have been adjusted for inflation based on the 2000 chain-type price index for Gross Domestic Product, as published by the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Tax Year 2002 is the base year.
165
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
166
166
equals 5 percent of the reported value of its net
investment, or “noncharitable-use,” assets.
Noncharitable-use assets are those assets held for
investment purposes only and may include such items
as securities, investments in art, coins, or other
collectables, and investments in real estate. Conversely, assets used directly to conduct charitable
activities, such as office buildings, art held by museums, and computers, are “charitable-use assets”;
these holdings are excluded from the minimum
investment return calculation. For purposes of the
calculation, noncharitable-use cash and securities are
valued based on their average monthly fair market
values throughout the tax year. Other noncharitableuse assets are valued annually, although not
necessarily at year end (see Distributable (Payout)
Amount, Minimum Investment Return, Net Adjustments to Distributable Amount, and
Noncharitable-Use Assets in the Explanation of
Selected Terms section). The net value of
noncharitable-use assets, from which the minimum
investment return is derived, equals the value of
noncharitable-use assets, less both the indebtedness
incurred to acquire these assets and the amount of
cash held for charitable activities. This amount
differs from the fair market value of total assets,
which is calculated based on end-of-year values of all
assets held by private foundations for both charitableand noncharitable-use. Unlike the net value of
noncharitable-use assets, the fair market value of
total assets is not reduced for acquisition indebtedness.
Most assets held by nonoperating foundations are
classified as noncharitable-use assets. Figure C
illustrates the relationship between the net value of
noncharitable-use assets and the aggregate end-ofyear fair market value of total assets held by nonoperating foundations for Tax Years 1993-2002. For
each of Tax Years 1993-2002, nonoperating foundations reported net noncharitable-use asset values
nearly equal to end-of-year fair market values of total
assets.
Foundations reported substantial increases in
asset values between Tax Years 1993 and 2002,
most of which resulted from increased values of
investment assets. Figure D shows annual “net
investment income yields” and “real rates of total
return on assets” for domestic foundations, by assetsize class, for Tax Years 1993 through 2002. Both
Figure C
Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations:
Fair Market Value of Total Assets and Net
Value of Noncharitable-Use Assets, in
Constant Dollars, 1993-2002
Billions of dollars
500
450
400
Fair market value
of total assets
350
300
250
200
150
Net value of noncharitableuse assets
100
50
0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Tax year
NOTE: "Constant dollars" have been adjusted for inflation based on
the 2000 chain-type price index for Gross Domestic Product, as
published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic
Analysis. Tax Year 2002 is the base year.
the mean and the median, which minimizes the influences of large outliers in the data and may therefore
better represent a typical foundation than the mean
value, are shown. The net investment income yield, a
measure of the realized investment income that a
foundation earns on its investment assets, was calculated by dividing net investment income by the value
of noncharitable-use assets for each tax year in the
period [7]. The real rate-of-total-return formula,
which measures the total inflation-adjusted capital
appreciation of a foundation’s assets, equals the
change in the value of the entire asset base (adjusted
for contributions received, grants paid, and certain
expenses) divided by the value of the base [8]. The
fair market value of total assets, as reported for both
the beginning and end of a specific tax year, was
used to calculate the real rate of total return. To
facilitate this comparison, returns for consecutive tax
years were matched, and the beginning-of-year fair
market value of assets for each tax year was ob-
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Figure D
Domestic Private Foundation Net Investment Income Yields and Real Rates of Total Return on Assets,
by Asset-Size Class and Foundation Type, Tax Years 1993-2002
Nonoperating private foundations
Tax year
Asset-size class
Net investment income yields
(percentages)
Operating private foundations
Rates of total return
(percentages)
Net investment income yields
(percentages)
Rates of total return
(percentages)
Median
(1)
Mean
(2)
Median
(3)
Mean
(4)
Median
(5)
Mean
(6)
Median
(7)
Mean
(8)
1993
Total.........................................
Small foundations ¹...............
Medium foundations ²...........
Large foundations ³..............
5.1
4.3
6.5
7.8
9.6
9.6
9.6
9.0
2.0
1.4
4.1
5.9
79.9
98.4
28.5
8.0
3.4
2.2
5.8
8.3
11.8
8.9
20.5
9.1
1.4
1.1
1.9
5.4
9.5
10.6
6.0
8.5
1994
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
4.5
4.0
5.7
6.5
55.2
66.2
20.3
7.8
0.5
0.4
1.6
1.2
30.7
33.5
22.6
7.0
3.3
2.7
5.2
6.7
15.2
16.4
11.0
8.4
0.5
0.4
1.5
4.8
5.9
3.9
6.3
105.4
1995
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
5.5
4.9
6.8
8.3
8.5
8.2
9.2
10.3
10.7
7.0
16.4
20.2
19.6
19.6
19.3
24.3
3.7
3.2
6.1
9.1
6.9
4.3
14.5
15.7
3.1
1.9
10.0
11.6
8.8
7.3
13.3
12.2
1996
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
5.6
4.9
7.1
9.8
10.6
10.5
10.7
11.5
7.1
4.2
12.1
14.3
30.8
37.7
14.8
19.9
3.5
2.2
6.5
10.1
8.9
4.9
20.1
14.1
3.4
2.7
9.6
13.6
13.5
13.2
13.5
28.8
1997
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
5.9
5.0
7.6
10.5
73.7
105.4
11.3
12.4
9.0
5.4
15.7
17.6
35.6
43.6
19.7
19.9
3.9
3.3
7.1
10.0
8.8
6.0
16.0
13.7
3.3
2.3
8.4
13.9
10.4
10.1
11.1
14.6
1998
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
5.6
5.1
6.8
8.5
29.8
38.7
10.5
11.5
6.5
4.6
12.0
12.8
13.3
11.7
16.7
18.6
3.9
3.1
6.4
8.1
33.5
6.9
85.1
239.0
5.9
3.1
9.3
10.2
28.7
20.8
13.2
516.0
1999
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
5.3
4.6
6.9
9.4
9.6
8.6
11.5
12.3
3.4
1.8
7.2
11.5
50.0
69.7
10.8
18.5
5.1
5.1
6.1
6.9
7.8
4.4
10.6
13.5
2.4
1.2
3.6
10.2
18.2
26.1
8.7
12.6
2000
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
5.6
5.2
6.5
7.5
11.0
8.0
16.9
10.9
-0.3
-0.2
-0.6
-0.6
-1.1
-1.8
0.2
0.5
3.5
0.0
5.8
8.6
5.0
2.4
7.5
23.2
-0.5
0.4
-0.7
0.5
4.3
3.1
6.1
2.1
2001
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
Total.........................................
Small foundations.................
Medium foundations.............
Large foundations.................
3.0
2.7
3.6
3.1
2.4
2.2
2.8
2.6
19.9
5.8
49.7
5.9
38.4
10.5
101.5
4.3
-2.6
-2.1
-5.2
-5.1
-3.3
-1.5
-5.1
-5.4
-1.6
-0.1
-4.7
-3.5
-3.5
-3.3
-4.2
-1.5
1.5
1.5
2.5
3.6
2.2
1.5
3.0
2.7
3.2
2.5
4.7
7.2
4.7
2.3
7.9
38.0
-2.3
-2.3
-2.7
-2.0
-1.7
-1.7
0.5
1.0
0.2
-3.6
9.9
7.1
1.3
-2.8
13.6
5.4
2002
¹ Small foundations are those holding from zero (including unreported) to less than $1,000,000 in fair market value of total assets.
² Medium foundations are those holding from $1,000,000 to less than $50,000,000 in fair market value of total assets.
³ Large foundations are those holding $50,000,000 or more in fair market value of total assets.
tained by indexing the ending fair market value reported on the return filed for the previous tax year.
Thus, only data from returns that were included in
the sample for 2 consecutive tax years were used in
the calculation of the real rate of total return. For
example, the Tax Year 2002 real rate of total return
formula was calculated only for organizations that
filed sampled returns for each of Tax Years 2001 and
2002. To improve comparability between the real
rate of total return and the net investment income
yield formulas, the published net investment income
yields also exclude organizations for which returns
were not sampled for 2 consecutive tax years.
Median net investment income yields realized by
nonoperating foundations were between 4.5 percent
and 6 percent for Tax Years 1994 through 2000,
167
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
168
before declining for Tax Years 2001 and 2002. Both
median and mean net investment income yields for
these organizations reached their highest values for
Tax Year 1997. Nonoperating foundations realized
higher net investment income yields than operating
foundations. Median net investment income yields
for operating foundations began the 10-year period at
3.4 percent, reaching a high of 5.1 percent for Tax
Year 1999 before falling to 2 percent for Tax Years
2001 and 2002.
Because the real rate of total return on assets
measures the realized income from investments and
other assets, as well as the unrealized appreciation or
depreciation in the fair market value of assets, it
provides a more comprehensive indication of total
investment performance than the net investment
income yield. Median real rates of total return on
assets, as reported by nonoperating foundations,
reached their highest levels for Tax Year 1995 and
started to decline by Tax Year 1998, becoming negative for Tax Years 2000 through 2002. For operating
foundations, median real rates of total return reached
their highest percentages for Tax Year 1998. Like
net investment income yields, the realized real rates
of total return were smaller for operating foundations
than for their nonoperating counterparts. However,
real rates of total return were higher for operating
foundations than for nonoperating foundations for
years in which realized median and mean real rates
of total return were negative.
Generally, during years of positive returns on
investments, larger foundations reported higher median net investment income yields and rates of total
return than smaller foundations. Large foundations,
both nonoperating and operating, reported the largest
median net investment income yields and rates of
total returns for most of Tax Years 1993-1999. In
most cases, these returns were larger for medium
organizations than for small foundations. Large
nonoperating foundations realized the smallest median
rates of total return for Tax Years 2000 through
2002. During this period, median rates of total return
were negative for each of the three asset-size classes.
Qualifying Distributions and Components
“Qualifying distributions” are expenditures made by
nonoperating foundations that qualify toward meeting
their required distributable amounts. Although
qualifying distributions generally consist primarily of
contributions, gifts, and grants disbursed throughout
the year, they may also include operating and administrative expenses related to conducting charitable
operations; “set-asides,” which are amounts earmarked for future charitable distributions; programrelated investments, such as loans to other 501(c)(3)
organizations; and amounts paid to acquire buildings,
equipment, supplies, or other assets for charitableuse. Figure E presents total qualifying distributions
disbursed between Tax Years 1993 and 2002, as well
as the total value of contributions, gifts, and grants
Figure E
Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations: Qualifying Distributions and Contributions, Gifts,
and Grants, in Current and Constant Dollars, 1993-2002
[Money amounts are in millions of dollars]
Tax year
1993............................................................
1994............................................................
1995............................................................
1996............................................................
1997............................................................
1998............................................................
1999............................................................
2000............................................................
2001............................................................
2002............................................................
168
Total qualifying distributions
Total contibutions, gifts, and grants
Current dollars
Constant dollars
Current dollars
Constant dollars
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
12,167.3
12,712.3
13,379.1
15,831.9
17,726.9
21,189.5
25,056.9
29,845.5
29,785.2
28,727.4
14,345.3
14,670.0
15,131.7
17,573.4
19,357.8
22,884.6
26,685.6
31,099.0
30,291.6
28,727.4
10,918.6
11,417.0
11,902.3
14,182.9
15,855.0
18,965.8
22,334.5
26,551.8
26,526.4
25,487.5
Percentage of qualifying
distributions paid as
contributions, gifts, and grants
12,873.0
13,175.2
13,461.5
15,743.0
17,313.7
20,483.0
23,786.3
27,666.9
26,977.4
25,487.5
NOTE: "Constant dollars" have been adjusted for inflation based on the 2000 chain-type price index for Gross Domestic Product, as published by the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Tax Year 2002 is the base year.
(5)
89.7
89.8
89.0
89.6
89.4
89.5
89.1
89.0
89.1
88.7
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
included in these distributions, in current and constant
dollars. Contributions, gifts, and grants paid accounted for nearly 90 percent of total qualifying
distributions for each of Tax Years 1993 through 2002.
Operating and administrative expenses were the
second largest component of qualifying distributions.
These amounts generally represented between 8
percent and 10 percent of total disbursements for
charitable purposes for most of Tax Years 19932002. Components of operating and administrative
expenses, for Tax Years 1993 and 2002, are shown
in Figure F [9]. Despite decreasing in proportion to
total operating and administrative expenses between
Tax Years 1993 and 2002, the percentages of these
expenses attributable to compensation were 45 percent and 40 percent, respectively, exceeding the
proportions of total operating and administrative
expenses for all other categories for both tax years.
Compensation paid to officers, directors, and trustees
was reported separately from other compensation
amounts and, for both Tax Years 1993 and 2002,
represented the smallest portion of total compensation expenses. Other employee compensation, including salaries and wages, pension plans and other
employee benefits, accounted for the single largest
component of operating and administrative expenses
Figure F
Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations: Components of Operating and Administrative
Expenses, Tax Years 1993 and 2002
$0.9 Billion
$2.4 Billion
100%
Compensation of officers, directors, trustees
90%
Other compensation ¹
80%
Constant rate of growth
Professional fees ²
70%
60%
Occupancy
50%
Printing and publications
40%
Travel, conferences, and meetings
30%
20%
Taxes and interest
10%
Other expenses ³
0%
Tax Year 1993
Tax Year 2002
¹ Includes "Other employee salaries and wages" and "Pension plans and employee benefits."
² Includes "Legal fees," "Accounting fees," and "Other professional fees."
³ May include items such as amortization, annual published filing notice, shipping, postage, and other miscellaneous expenses.
169
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
for both years. This type of compensation represented 28 percent of the total operating and administrative expenses reported by nonoperating foundations for Tax Year 1993, and 27 percent of the total
reported for Tax Year 2002. Professional fees
experienced the largest increase in proportion to total
operating and administrative expenditures between
Tax Year 1993 and Tax Year 2002. This category,
which represented amounts paid for accounting, legal,
and other services, accounted for 21 percent of
operating and administrative expenses for Tax Year
2002; it had represented 15 percent of these expenses
for Tax Year 1993 [10].
Payout Rates
Nonoperating foundations may combine current-year
qualifying distributions with excess amounts that
were carried over from previous tax years in order to
meet the current-year distributable amount. Excess
qualifying distributions can be carried over for 5
consecutive tax years. These carryovers, along with
current-year qualifying distributions, are adjusted to
include certain taxes and deductions and divided by
the total value of noncharitable-use assets to arrive
at a foundation’s “payout rate” [11]. This rate
provides a measure of a foundation’s success in
meeting the annual required distributable amount.
Median payout rates for domestic nonoperating
foundations, by asset-size class, as well as the
percentage distributions of payout rate ranges among
the various asset-size-classes, are displayed in
Figure G. Median payout rates, which may be
reflective of the activities of typical foundations,
were notably consistent for Tax Years 1993-2002.
Generally, median payout rates for medium and large
foundations were at or around the required 5-percent.
Median payout rates for small foundations were
higher than for medium and large foundations. As
foundation size increased, the percentage of foundations that exceeded the payout requirement generally
Figure G
170
Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations: Median Payout Rates and Selected Percentages,
by Asset-Size Class, 1993-2002
Tax year
Asset-size, item
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
All nonoperating foundations
Median payout rate (percentage)………….................................................................
6.2
5.9
5.8
5.8
5.5
5.3
5.7
6.1
6.3
6.1
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of less than 5 percent ........................
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 5 percent and 6 percent.......
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 6 percent and 10 percent.....
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of 10 percent or more.........................
29.2
19.9
18.3
32.6
28.9
22.2
17.1
31.8
32.1
19.9
17.0
31.0
33.6
18.4
16.9
31.1
37.1
17.6
15.2
30.0
38.7
19.9
13.9
27.5
34.4
18.4
16.5
30.7
28.8
20.6
17.7
32.9
24.9
22.4
20.8
31.9
24.3
25.1
18.0
32.6
Small nonoperating foundations ¹
Median payout rate (percentage)………….................................................................
6.8
6.7
6.6
6.6
6.3
5.7
6.4
7.5
7.5
6.9
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of less than 5 percent.........................
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 5 percent and 6 percent.......
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 6 percent and 10 percent.....
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of 10 percent or more.........................
27.0
16.8
17.7
38.5
27.3
18.7
16.2
37.7
29.0
16.5
16.7
37.9
30.2
15.1
16.7
38.0
33.3
14.9
13.9
37.9
35.5
16.9
12.5
35.2
31.5
14.2
15.6
38.7
25.5
16.7
16.0
41.8
23.4
17.1
19.7
39.8
23.6
22.1
14.4
40.0
Medium nonoperating foundations ²
Median payout rate (percentage)………….................................................................
5.2
5.3
5.1
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.2
5.3
5.6
5.7
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of less than 5 percent.........................
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 5 percent and 6 percent.......
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 6 percent and 10 percent.....
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of 10 percent or more.........................
35.3
28.1
20.0
16.6
32.9
30.8
19.7
16.6
39.7
27.8
17.9
14.6
41.3
25.2
17.4
16.2
44.7
22.8
18.1
14.4
44.4
25.0
16.5
14.1
39.6
25.9
18.4
16.2
35.1
27.7
20.8
16.5
27.7
32.1
23.1
17.1
25.9
31.5
25.8
16.8
Large nonoperating foundations ³
170
Median payout rate (percentage)……………..............................................................
5.1
5.1
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.1
5.3
5.4
5.6
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of less than 5 percent.........................
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 5 percent and 6 percent.......
Percentage of foundations with payout rates between 6 percent and 10 percent.....
Percentage of foundations with payout rates of 10 percent or more.........................
36.6
38.3
17.3
7.9
32.9
42.7
16.7
7.7
41.8
38.2
12.3
7.7
44.0
33.7
14.4
7.8
48.3
30.7
12.7
8.3
48.5
28.7
14.4
8.5
42.0
32.7
15.5
9.8
34.4
33.1
20.6
11.9
27.9
39.2
21.8
11.2
23.1
39.3
25.6
12.0
¹ Small foundations are those holding from zero (including unreported) to less than $1,000,000 in fair market value of total assets.
² Medium foundations are those holding from $1,000,000 to less than $50,000,000 in fair market value of total assets.
³ Large foundations are those holding $50,000,000 or more in fair market value of total assets.
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
decreased. Large foundations were less likely to
meet the payout requirement during years of significant asset growth.
Summary
Tax Years 1993-2002 represented a period of both
growth and consistency for private foundations. By
the end of the period, the aggregate fair market value
of total assets held by private foundations had grown
by more than 80 percent, while the contributions that
these organizations disbursed had more than doubled.
Nearly 70 percent more private foundations filed
Form 990-PF for Tax Year 2002 than filed for Tax
Year 1993.
While foundations disbursed a larger number of
charitable dollars for Tax Year 2002 than they had
for Tax Year 1993, the components of disbursements
for charitable purposes were remarkably consistent
throughout the period. Nearly 90 percent of qualifying distributions were made in the form of contributions, gifts, and grants for every year in the 10-year
period. The percentage of disbursements for charitable purposes directed toward operating and administrative expenses was consistently between 8 percent and 10 percent throughout the period. Additionally, median payout rates, although generally somewhat higher for small foundations than for their larger
counterparts, were between 5 percent and 6 percent
for all of Tax Years 1993-2002. Although the components of total operating and administrative expenses were similar for the years between Tax Year
1993 and 2002, professional fees increased in proportion to total operating and administrative expenses.
Data Sources and Limitations
The statistics for Tax Year 2002 that are presented
in this article are based on a sample of Tax Year
2002 Forms 990-PF that were filed with the Internal
Revenue Service. Organizations having accounting
periods beginning in 2002 (and therefore ending
between December 2002 and November 2003) that
filed returns in Calendar Years 2003 and 2004 that
posted to the IRS Business Master File during those
years were included in the sample. Some part-year
returns were included in the samples for organizations that changed their accounting periods, or filed
initial or final returns. Some 68 percent of domestic
private foundations in the sample had accounting
periods covering Calendar Year 2002 or, in some
cases, part-year periods that ended in December
2002.
The 2002 sample was stratified based on both the
size of fair market value of total assets and the type
of organization (either a private foundation or an IRC
section 4947(a)(1) charitable trust). The samples
were designed to provide reliable estimates of total
assets and total revenue. To accomplish this, 100
percent of returns filed for foundations with fair
market asset value of $10 million or more were
included in the samples, since these organizations
represented the vast majority of financial activity.
Approximately 6 percent of all foundations reported
$10 million or more in fair market value of total
assets for 2002 and were selected at a rate of 100
percent. The remaining foundation population was
randomly selected for the sample at various rates of
less than 100 percent depending on asset size. The
realized sampling rates for each asset-size category
are included in Figure H. Figure I shows the magnitude of sampling error for selected items for Tax
Year 2002, measured by coefficients of variation.
Efforts were made to verify that organizations
selected for the sample were properly classified as
foundations or trusts. The relatively few foundations
Figure H
Realized Sampling Rates, 2002
Fair market value of
Realized sampling rate
total assets
(percentage)
Less than $125,000...........................................
$125,000 less than $400,000............................
$400,000 less than $1,000,000.........................
$1 million less than $2.5 million........................
$2.5 million less than $10 million......................
$10 million or more...........................................
0.2
0.4
0.8
1.9
8.3
100.0
Figure I
Coefficients of Variation for Selected Items, 2002
Item
Coefficients of variation
(percentages)
Number of returns.....................................
1.47
Total assets (fair market value)................
0.18
Total revenue............................................
4.93
171
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
172
in the sample that were incorrectly selected as trusts
were ultimately treated as foundations for these
statistics. However, the weights used for these
organizations were based on the original sample
selection classification.
There were 5,507 foundation returns in the sample
selected from a population of 76,307. The differences between the actual population of Form 990-PF
records that posted to the IRS Business Master File
during 2003 and 2004 and the estimated population of
domestic foundation returns as published in this article
result from sample code changes and the effects of
returns that were “rejected” from the sample as part
of the editing process. For example, foreign returns
and duplicate filings by a single organization were
included in the actual population of Forms 990-PF
filed but were rejected from the SOI sample.
The data presented were obtained from returns
as originally filed with IRS. In most cases, changes
made to the original return because of administrative
processing, audit procedures, or a taxpayer amendment were not captured in the statistics. The data
were subject to comprehensive testing and correction
procedures in order to ensure statistical reliability and
validity. A general discussion of the reliability of
estimates based on samples, methods for evaluating
both the magnitude of sampling and nonsampling
error, and the precision of sample estimates can be
found in the general Appendix to this issue of the
SOI Bulletin.
Explanation of Selected Terms
The following explanations describe terms as they
applied to private foundations:
Disbursements for Charitable Purposes.-These disbursements are outlays made exclusively in
support of a foundation’s tax-exempt purpose and
include grants paid and operating and administrative
expenses. They were the largest component of
“qualifying distributions” for Tax Year 2002. The
total of disbursements for charitable purposes was
reported on Form 990 PF, Part I, line 26, column (d).
Disqualified Person.--In general, a disqualified
person is a substantial contributor; a foundation
manager; a person who owns more than 20 percent
of a corporation, partnership, trust, or unincorporated
enterprise that is itself a substantial contributor; or a
family member of a disqualified person.
172
Distributable (Payout) Amount.--This is the
minimum payout amount that is required to be distributed by nonoperating foundations by the end of the
tax year that follows the tax year for which the
return was filed. For example, foundations were
required to distribute their Tax Year 2002 amounts
before the end of Tax Year 2003. Failure to distribute income within this period results in a 15-percent
excise tax on the undistributed portion. The distributable amount equals 5 percent of the net value of
noncharitable-use assets, called the “minimum investment return,” minus the excise tax on net investment
income, plus or minus other adjustments, either allowed or required (see Net Adjustments to Distributable Amount in this section).
Minimum Investment Return.--The minimum
investment return is used as the base for calculating
the “distributable amount.” This is the aggregate fair
market value of assets not used for charitable purposes, less both the indebtedness incurred to acquire
these assets and the cash held for charitable activities, multiplied by 5 percent. Minimum investment
return was reported on Form 990 PF, Part X, line 6.
Net Adjustments to Distributable Amount.--The
“distributable amount” is increased by recoveries of
amounts previously treated as qualifying distributions
and by distributions received from split-interest trusts
on amounts that were placed in trust after May 26,
1969. Trusts with split-interests are those that have
both charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries.
These organizations file Form 5227, Split-Interest
Trust Information Return. Certain organizations
with governing instruments that require the accumulation of income are instructed to deduct the accumulated income from their distributable amounts. These
adjustments are allowed only for foundations organized before May 27, 1969, whose governing instrument requires such accumulation because State
courts would not allow the organization to change the
governing instrument. Recoveries on amounts
treated as qualifying distributions, income distributions
from split-interest trusts, and the deduction for accumulated income were reported on Form 990 PF, Part
XI, lines 4a, 4b, and 6, respectively.
Net Investment Income.--This equals gross
investment income less allowable deductions. Interest, dividends, capital gain net income, rents, payments with respect to securities loans (as defined in
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Code section 512(a)(5)), and royalties are included in
net investment income. Any investment income
derived from unrelated trade or business activities,
and therefore subject to the “unrelated business
income” tax and reported on Form 990 T, Exempt
Organization Business Income Tax Return, is
excluded. Net investment income was reported on
Form 990 PF, Part I, line 27b, column (b).
Net Value of Noncharitable-Use Assets.--An
asset is considered a noncharitable-use asset if it is
not used in carrying out a charitable, educational, or
other similar function which relates directly to the
tax-exempt status of the foundation. Examples
include the fair market values of securities and rental
property owned by the foundation for investment
purposes. For purposes of calculating the “minimum
investment return,” valuation methods for
noncharitable-use assets reported in this section
differ from those used to report end-of-year fair
market values for all assets in Part II. The average,
rather than end-of-year fair market values of cash
and securities that were not used or held for use for
charitable purposes during the tax year, is derived
and used in this calculation. With certain exceptions,
other assets included in this calculation are valued
annually but not necessarily based on the end-of-year
value. The fair market values of noncharitable-use
assets may reflect reductions due to certain characteristics associated with those assets, such as lack of
marketability or blockage. The net value of
noncharitable-use assets is reduced by acquisition
indebtedness and cash deemed held for charitable
purposes; the latter reduction is generally limited to
1.5 percent of noncharitable-use assets less acquisition indebtedness. Thus, the net value of
noncharitable-use assets, which was reported on
Form 990 PF, Part X, line 5 as an element of the
“minimum investment return” calculation, differed
from the balance-sheet-derived fair market value of
total assets, as reported on Part II, line 16, column
(c), which equaled the total end-of-year value for all
assets held by the foundation.
Nonoperating Foundations.--These are organizations that generally carried on their charitable
activities in an indirect manner by making grants to
other organizations directly engaged in charitable
activities, in contrast to operating foundations that
engaged in charitable activities themselves. How-
ever, for Tax Year 2002, some nonoperating foundations may have been actively involved in charitable
programs of their own, in addition to making grants.
For example, a foundation initially organized as operating that was unable to meet the operating foundation requirements for Tax Year 2002 could have
continued its direct charitable activities. Such an
organization could have directed expenditures made
for these direct charitable activities, as well as expenditures made for the disbursement of contributions,
gifts, and grants and other indirect charitable activities, toward meeting the required distribution requirement. An organization’s status as a nonoperating
foundation was indicated on Form 990-PF, Part
VII, line 9.
Operating Foundations.--These organizations
generally expended their incomes for direct, active
involvement in a tax-exempt activity, such as operating a library or museum or conducting scientific
research. Operating foundations were exempted
from the income distribution requirement and related
excise taxes that were applicable to their nonoperating counterparts. To qualify as an operating foundation for 2002, the organization had to meet both an
“income test” and one of three other tests: an “assets test,” an “endowment test,” or a “support test.”
A foundation could qualify as operating under the
income requirement if it spent at least 85 percent of
the lesser of its “minimum investment return” or
“adjusted net income” or on the direct, active conduct
of tax-exempt, charitable activities (as opposed to the
payout of grants in support of such programs). Adjusted net income represented the amount of income
from charitable functions, investment activities, setasides, unrelated business activities, and short-term
capital gains that exceeded the cost incurred in earning the income and was calculated in Part I, Column
(c) of Form 990-PF for operating foundations. To
meet the assets test, a foundation had to directly use
65 percent or more of its assets for the active conduct of charitable activities. To meet the endowment
test, a foundation had to regularly make distributions
for the active conduct of charitable activities in an
amount not less than two-thirds of its “minimum
investment return.” To meet the support test, a
foundation had to regularly receive substantially all of
its support (other than from gross investment income)
from the public or from five or more qualifying ex173
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
174
174
empt organizations, and (a) no more than 25 percent
of its support (other than from gross investment
income) from any one such qualifying exempt organization; and (b) no more than 50 percent of its support
from gross investment income.
Individual taxpayers could deduct contributions to
operating foundations on their individual income tax
returns; the deduction could not exceed 50 percent of
a donor’s “adjusted gross income” (as opposed to 30
percent for contributions to nonoperating foundations).
While most operating foundations paid the excise
tax on net investment income, some operating foundations were exempt from this tax under section
4940(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. In order to
be exempt from the Tax Year 2002 excise tax on net
investment income, an operating foundation was
required to (1) maintain public support for a minimum
of 10 taxable years; (2) maintain a governing body at
all times that is broadly representative of the general
public and that is comprised of no more than 25percent disqualified individuals; and (3) at no time
during the year include a disqualified individual as an
officer of the foundation. An organization’s status as
an operating foundation was indicated on Form 990PF, Part VII, line 9.
Private Foundation.--A private foundation is
defined in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3)
as a nonprofit organization with a narrow source of
funds that operated or supported educational, scientific, charitable, religious, and other programs dedicated to improving the general welfare of society. A
private foundation was an organization that qualified
for tax-exempt status under Code section 501(c)(3)
but was not (1) a church, school, hospital, or medical
research organization; (2) an organization with broad
public support in the form of contributions or income
from tax-exempt activities; (3) an organization that
was operated by, or in connection with, any of the
above described organizations; or (4) an organization
that conducted tests for public safety. The primary
difference between a private foundation and other
organizations exempt under 501(c)(3) was the source
of the organization’s funding. Foundations were
typically funded by an individual, a family, or a corporation, while most other tax-exempt organizations
received funds from a large number of sources
among the general public.
Qualifying Distributions.--Qualifying distributions include disbursements for charitable purposes
(grants, direct expenditures to accomplish charitable
purposes, and charitable purpose operating and administrative expenses); amounts paid to acquire
assets used directly to accomplish tax-exempt functions; charitable program-related investments; and
amounts set aside for future charitable projects.
Qualifying distributions may be credited against a
foundation’s obligation to pay out its “distributable
amount.” Total qualifying distributions were reported
on Form 990 PF, Part XII, line 4.
Set-Asides.--Amounts set aside for specific
charitable purposes can be treated as qualifying
distributions only if the foundation establishes to the
satisfaction of the IRS that the amount will be paid
for the specific project within 60 months from the
date of the first set-aside and if the foundation meets
either the suitability test or the cash distribution test.
To meet the suitability test, a foundation must receive
prior approval from the IRS and must demonstrate
that the project can be better accomplished by a setaside than by an immediate payment of funds. To
meet the cash distribution test under IR Code section
4942(g)(2)(B)(ii), a foundation must attach a schedule with its annual return for the year of the set-aside
and for each subsequent year until the set-aside
amount has been distributed. Set-asides were reported on Form 990-PF, Part XII, lines 3a and 3b.
Total Assets.--This is the sum of all assets reported in the foundation’s balance sheet, shown at
both book value and fair market value. Total assets
were reported on Form 990 PF, Part II, line 16,
columns (a) beginning-of-year book value, (b) end-ofyear book value, and (c) end-of-year fair market value.
Total Revenue.--This is the sum of gross contributions, gifts, and grants received; interest on savings
and temporary cash investments; dividends and
interest from securities; net gain (or loss) from sales
of assets (mostly investment assets, but also charitableuse assets); gross rents and royalties; gross profit (or
loss) from business activities; and other income (such
as royalty income, program-related investment income, interest earned on assets used for charitable
purposes, and imputed interest on certain deferred
payments). Total revenue items, which included both
investment and charitable-use items, were reported
on Form 990 PF, Part I, line 12, column (a).
Undistributed Income.--This is the portion of
the required “distributable amount” still undistributed
after the sum of current-year qualifying distributions
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
and any excess distributions carried over from prior
years are subtracted. This item was reported on
Form 990 PF, Part XIII, line 6f, column (d). Under
IRC section 4942, nonoperating private foundations
that did not pay out an amount equal to the Tax Year
2002 “distributable amount” by the end of Tax Year
2003 were subject to an excise tax on the undistributed amount. The tax on undistributed income, imposed on the initial undistributed amount at a 15percent rate, is reported on Form 4720.
Notes and References
[1] Data indicated as “constant dollars” were
adjusted based on the 2000 chain-type price
index for Gross Domestic Product as reported
by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau
of Economic Analysis. Tax Year 2002 is used
as the base year for these adjustments.
[2] Disbursements for charitable purposes were
reported separately from investment expenses
and were required to be calculated as actual
disbursements on a cash basis. The contributions, gifts, and grants described in this article
reflect amounts reported as a component of
disbursements for charitable purposes.
[3] Complete information on Forms 990-PF filed by
both private foundations and section 4947(a)(1)
nonexempt charitable trusts for Tax Year 2002,
as well as additional data for previous tax years,
may be accessed via the Internet at
www.irs.gov/taxstats under the Charitable and
Exempt Organization Statistics topic heading.
[4] For additional discussion of organizations other
than private foundations that are tax-exempt
under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3),
see Arnsberger, Paul, “Charities and Other TaxExempt Organizations, 2002,” Statistics of
Income Bulletin, in this issue.
[5] Information on excise taxes paid under IRC
section 4940 and reported on Form 990-PF is
available via the Internet at www.irs.gov/
taxstats under the Charitable and Exempt
Organization Statistics topic heading. Tabulations for excise taxes paid under IRC sections
4941-4945 and reported on Form 4720 will be
available shortly.
[6] Foundations were assigned to asset-size classes
based on the reported current-dollar fair market
value of total assets for each tax year. The
Consumer Price Index, as published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, increased by 24.5
percent over the period, indicating moderate
inflation.
[7] The net investment income amount used in
calculating the net investment income yield was
obtained from column (b) of the income statement, found in Part I of Form 990-PF. The net
investment income yields in this article may
differ from previously published rates, as the net
value of noncharitable-use assets, rather than
end-of-year fair market value of total assets,
was used as the denominator.
[8] The rate-of-total-return formula used here is the
same as that developed and used by Salamon
and Voytek in their studies on foundation assets.
See Salamon, Lester M. and Voytek, Kenneth
P., Managing Foundation Assets: An Analysis of Foundation Investment and Payout
Procedures and Performance, Washington,
DC, The Council on Foundations, 1989, p. 32.
The formula for this calculation is shown below:
Rate of Total Return=
[Ending Fair Market Value of Assets
-Indexed Beginning Fair Market Value of Assets
-Contributions Received
+ Grants Paid
+ Operating and Administrative Expenses
+ Excise Tax Paid on Net Investment Income]
DIVIDED BY
[Indexed Beginning Fair Market Value of Assets
+ 50 percent of Contributions Received]
In order to obtain an inflation-adjusted real rate
of return, the beginning-of-year fair market
value of assets was indexed based on the 2000
chain-type price index for Gross Domestic
Product as published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, using the year corresponding
with the latter tax year as the base year. For
example, to calculate the 2002 rate of total
return, the 2001 ending fair market value of
175
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
total asset amount was adjusted, using 2002 as
the base.
[9] Only those operating and administrative expenses included in qualifying distributions are
discuss in this section.
[10] Additional time-series data, including both
current- and constant-dollar amounts for
operating and administrative expenses, qualifying distributions, and distributable amounts, may
be accessed via the Internet at www.irs.gov/
taxstats under the Charitable and Exempt
Organization Statistics topic heading.
[11] The payout rate was calculated by dividing the
amount of (adjusted) qualifying distributions by
the value of noncharitable-use assets. This
payout formula is as follows:
176
176
Payout Rate=
Qualifying Distributions (Part XII, line 4)
+ Taxes (Part XI, line 2c)
- Recoveries of Amounts Treated as Qualifying Distributions and Income Distributions from
Split-Interest Trusts (Part XI, Line 4c)
+ Deduction from Distributable Amount (Part
XI, Line 6)
+ Excess Distributions Applied (Part XIII, Col.
A, Line 5)
DIVIDED BY
Net value of Noncharitable-Use Assets (Part
X, Line 5)
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Table 1.--All Domestic Private Foundations: Selected Data Items, in Current Dollars, by Asset Size,
Tax Years 1993-2002
[Money amounts are in thousands of dollars]
Fair market value of total assets
Tax year, item
All
(1)
Small foundations
$100,000
Less than
less than
$100,000
$1,000,000
(2)
(3)
Medium foundations
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
less than
less than
$10,000,000
$50,000,000
(4)
(5)
Large foundations
$50,000,000
less than
$100,000,000
$100,000,000
or more
(6)
(7)
Tax Year 1993
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
43,956
192,277,126
24,459,691
13,704,679
12,951,794
11,072,006
1,879,786
185,976
677,168
181,518
13,481
40,690
130,113
87,847
42,370
520,623
16,148
428,135
595,518
586,661
572,640
487,075
85,564
8,177
18,019
14,528
493
1,435
4,997
5,649
2,739
29,527
16,831
6,358,792
1,529,422
947,626
933,277
773,984
159,293
12,127
60,443
16,741
2,703
6,014
14,162
8,493
2,715
35,896
8,798
27,623,057
4,485,054
2,469,383
2,366,575
1,995,925
370,649
36,341
103,775
41,655
4,370
9,801
17,901
7,524
2,283
146,999
1,693
34,555,308
5,638,382
2,699,073
2,614,842
2,166,170
448,672
44,257
172,766
33,716
3,069
11,184
26,019
17,482
6,476
133,702
244
16,785,522
2,402,038
1,245,427
1,211,828
1,074,573
137,255
17,173
49,381
13,901
257
4,164
9,413
6,250
1,514
35,202
242
106,526,312
9,809,279
5,756,509
5,252,632
4,574,279
678,353
67,901
272,783
60,977
2,589
8,091
57,622
42,449
26,644
139,296
Tax Year 1994
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
45,801
203,643,936
26,503,452
14,537,644
13,788,238
11,755,479
2,032,757
204,918
752,093
198,592
22,159
41,549
142,697
102,842
52,909
515,000
16,073
445,579
659,432
689,037
687,136
631,384
55,751
4,847
16,606
5,553
*775
730
2,503
2,097
1,223
21,417
17,668
6,883,010
1,854,958
1,082,982
1,061,912
822,578
239,333
20,948
84,566
23,388
2,423
7,778
19,383
15,492
5,019
60,337
9,738
29,706,533
5,653,679
2,693,377
2,617,681
2,227,546
390,134
36,914
139,948
43,510
9,853
13,201
21,347
10,402
4,332
110,628
1,810
37,167,648
5,910,352
3,036,455
2,937,470
2,525,038
412,431
46,472
136,442
43,254
4,630
10,966
23,018
14,888
4,489
128,273
261
18,071,570
2,364,266
1,108,798
1,066,579
910,455
156,123
19,469
58,700
13,816
135
3,760
11,103
7,340
2,846
38,954
251
111,369,595
10,060,765
5,926,996
5,417,461
4,638,477
778,984
76,267
315,830
69,071
4,343
5,115
65,343
52,623
35,001
155,391
Tax Year 1995
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
47,917
242,916,603
30,814,471
15,305,002
14,411,549
12,255,881
2,155,666
222,517
815,472
215,966
26,518
37,909
143,193
103,027
44,649
546,415
16,464
441,962
612,115
598,149
595,108
526,244
68,864
4,687
19,904
7,440
*269
597
4,983
2,086
867
28,030
18,115
7,065,431
1,399,621
988,085
973,420
763,564
209,856
20,566
73,183
22,782
2,027
3,778
14,756
13,632
4,214
54,917
10,685
32,902,083
5,422,928
2,869,271
2,789,587
2,397,513
392,073
41,339
112,262
51,641
9,246
10,564
19,193
8,899
4,112
134,817
2,060
42,772,526
6,183,459
2,984,634
2,880,050
2,455,781
424,268
48,127
166,092
40,533
8,717
12,995
22,979
12,062
3,641
109,122
290
20,087,537
2,405,672
1,107,418
1,042,030
859,626
182,404
23,080
67,830
10,887
691
4,063
11,582
7,838
2,316
54,117
303
139,647,063
14,790,675
6,757,446
6,131,354
5,253,153
878,201
84,718
376,200
82,683
5,568
5,912
69,701
58,509
29,498
165,411
Footnote at end of table.
177
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Table 1.--All Domestic Private Foundations: Selected Data Items, in Current Dollars, by Asset Size,
Tax Years 1993-2002--Continued
[Money amounts are in thousands of dollars]
Fair market value of total assets
Small foundations
Item
All
(1)
178
Medium foundations
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
Large foundations
$50,000,000
less than
less than
less than
less than
(2)
$1,000,000
(3)
$10,000,000
(4)
$50,000,000
(5)
$100,000,000
(6)
Less than
$100,000
$100,000,000
or more
(7)
Tax Year 1996
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
50,774
288,587,974
48,246,836
17,850,017
16,881,138
14,519,057
2,362,080
257,984
789,261
269,531
25,846
46,205
158,147
117,348
54,083
643,674
16,534
440,769
661,203
712,216
701,318
662,566
38,752
3,220
*1,410
6,887
*423
620
2,188
1,978
2,394
19,631
19,296
7,628,984
2,093,708
1,067,716
1,048,556
834,184
214,371
21,751
57,537
23,889
1,738
2,890
15,184
18,541
7,701
65,140
11,838
37,034,115
7,194,907
3,107,185
3,012,753
2,592,988
419,765
57,935
101,018
49,957
12,163
12,947
22,633
10,273
4,006
148,833
2,408
49,863,194
8,628,236
3,458,137
3,354,922
2,945,256
409,666
52,740
150,547
46,397
4,669
11,826
22,830
13,570
4,849
102,238
351
24,520,885
3,921,232
1,319,595
1,234,129
1,058,090
176,039
24,060
63,458
16,162
637
4,799
12,028
7,345
3,572
43,977
348
169,100,026
25,747,551
8,185,168
7,529,461
6,425,973
1,103,488
98,278
415,290
126,239
6,217
13,123
83,285
65,641
31,560
263,855
Tax Year 1997
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
55,113
342,688,539
55,459,904
19,984,549
19,076,388
16,420,991
2,655,395
270,119
878,430
336,180
28,420
54,141
175,159
140,445
61,419
711,082
16,792
483,008
660,012
699,386
684,752
602,143
82,609
9,542
14,369
11,457
*876
1,990
4,206
4,535
629
35,005
20,643
8,302,510
2,727,219
1,207,806
1,189,249
965,989
223,259
21,509
54,490
33,757
1,217
3,729
15,046
24,364
7,504
61,643
14,059
43,815,841
10,151,245
3,310,130
3,233,011
2,822,826
410,185
46,423
119,325
57,595
10,444
14,726
23,135
15,213
5,375
117,950
2,792
58,805,034
10,821,672
4,049,046
3,899,667
3,441,172
458,495
56,832
159,623
53,478
6,050
14,566
27,454
16,501
5,796
118,195
420
29,481,351
5,119,086
1,606,172
1,561,016
1,363,113
197,903
25,807
69,599
21,929
1,156
4,533
15,399
6,850
3,344
49,286
407
201,800,796
25,980,671
9,112,009
8,508,692
7,225,748
1,282,944
110,005
461,024
157,964
8,676
14,597
89,919
72,981
38,772
329,005
Tax Year 1998
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
56,658
397,084,457
59,734,972
23,388,751
22,287,843
19,394,153
2,893,689
290,172
970,692
367,453
20,727
63,142
184,201
157,406
71,031
768,864
15,832
466,984
1,114,628
963,933
962,762
914,526
48,235
*490
*4,390
7,626
*97
*560
*1,744
*1,633
2,725
28,970
21,271
8,670,483
2,614,840
1,236,458
1,207,514
1,030,279
177,235
12,766
44,906
28,747
*612
5,988
4,716
30,113
3,894
45,492
15,450
48,764,936
9,374,108
3,637,467
3,500,991
3,041,251
459,740
53,644
134,446
59,814
5,479
15,506
28,619
15,459
7,966
138,806
3,165
66,450,770
11,069,123
4,678,832
4,526,500
4,024,149
502,351
64,202
170,851
61,883
7,537
15,580
29,344
15,610
7,888
129,455
463
32,239,566
5,222,399
1,795,289
1,741,997
1,504,647
237,350
30,143
86,404
20,168
496
5,537
17,025
8,728
6,988
61,861
477
240,491,718
30,339,874
11,076,773
10,348,080
8,879,301
1,468,779
128,927
529,695
189,215
6,505
19,971
102,753
85,863
41,570
364,281
Footnote at end of table.
178
$100,000
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Table 1.--All Domestic Private Foundations: Selected Data Items, in Current Dollars, by Asset Size,
Tax Years 1993-2002--Continued
[Money amounts are in thousands of dollars]
Fair market value of total assets
Tax year, item
All
(1)
Tax Year 1999
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
Tax Year 2000
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
Tax Year 2001
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
Tax Year 2002
Number of returns............................................................
Fair market value of total assets......................................
Total revenue...................................................................
Qualifying distributions.....................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes...........................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid............................
Operating and administrative expenses.......................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees....
Other compensation.................................................
Professional fees.....................................................
Interest.....................................................................
Taxes .....................................................................
Occupancy...............................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings..........................
Printing and publications..........................................
Other expenses........................................................
Small foundations
$100,000
Less than
less than
$100,000
$1,000,000
(2)
(3)
Medium foundations
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
less than
less than
$10,000,000
$50,000,000
(4)
(5)
Large foundations
$50,000,000
less than
$100,000,000
$100,000,000
or more
(6)
(7)
62,694
466,863,029
83,286,037
27,603,547
26,402,195
22,762,811
3,639,399
338,643
1,299,711
440,289
27,016
90,079
208,927
236,250
86,154
912,330
16,563
562,304
369,356
270,306
270,306
246,309
24,012
*1,533
-3,540
*92
*109
*167
*1,287
*716
16,569
24,623
9,829,008
3,608,047
1,736,874
1,684,410
1,337,647
346,764
21,148
*142,131
46,996
*1,126
1,923
11,005
73,242
3,912
45,283
16,941
54,507,882
11,803,800
4,548,193
4,456,631
3,747,585
709,045
70,689
265,117
83,880
7,903
15,203
29,349
23,975
15,494
197,435
3,494
73,150,308
12,413,136
5,168,002
4,915,771
4,346,371
569,400
69,003
195,671
72,912
7,298
19,829
36,492
18,204
7,631
142,360
507
35,194,449
5,826,852
2,167,067
2,091,735
1,800,951
290,784
34,106
104,827
28,745
591
8,775
21,269
12,862
13,791
65,818
567
293,619,079
49,264,847
13,713,104
12,983,341
11,283,948
1,699,393
142,164
591,964
204,217
10,007
44,241
110,645
106,681
44,611
444,865
66,738
471,645,669
72,779,992
33,453,637
31,874,095
27,563,591
4,310,504
371,186
1,578,209
573,642
38,878
95,479
245,851
188,693
139,574
1,078,991
17,648
635,881
797,564
930,564
930,564
913,844
16,719
*1,446
-7,195
-*127
*440
*888
*2,897
3,727
26,365
10,495,141
2,781,100
1,501,337
1,478,604
1,347,230
131,373
16,246
*16,582
45,492
*128
1,750
2,184
4,083
2,157
42,751
17,793
55,942,623
12,203,295
6,488,819
6,306,015
5,206,566
1,099,450
83,718
433,921
131,366
10,125
26,526
36,575
25,644
60,650
290,926
3,866
78,545,858
14,623,963
6,125,480
5,856,968
4,995,362
861,606
79,601
343,928
92,687
12,201
30,154
67,323
27,463
10,749
197,500
514
35,859,888
5,861,825
2,602,959
2,537,216
2,234,730
302,486
38,505
102,048
31,076
4,084
9,781
22,495
13,598
12,836
68,062
552
290,166,277
36,512,246
15,804,478
14,764,729
12,865,858
1,898,870
151,670
681,729
265,826
12,341
27,142
116,835
117,018
50,284
476,026
70,787
455,422,981
45,263,770
33,067,193
31,697,957
27,383,336
4,314,632
380,395
1,275,892
593,369
46,927
65,158
244,103
179,465
72,846
1,456,477
22,215
704,010
436,673
400,641
396,968
342,711
54,257
*697
-19,038
-*77
*1,421
*16,534
*892
15,598
25,757
11,208,678
2,543,940
1,961,646
1,954,612
1,752,684
201,939
28,699
*25,402
85,236
-3,647
*11,984
7,743
821
38,408
18,305
59,609,677
9,047,366
5,903,760
5,804,043
4,814,624
989,419
62,543
167,238
83,465
14,169
19,091
35,223
13,305
7,150
587,235
3,482
73,623,588
8,282,556
6,297,720
6,047,981
5,366,644
681,337
88,880
204,097
85,086
9,842
18,118
46,918
22,515
12,619
193,263
513
35,530,808
3,566,910
2,876,514
2,819,474
2,483,516
335,958
40,127
104,033
31,407
3,299
6,916
19,709
11,515
2,651
116,302
515
274,746,220
21,386,325
15,626,912
14,674,880
12,623,157
2,051,722
159,450
775,121
289,137
19,617
17,310
128,848
107,853
48,714
505,671
73,255
413,006,666
27,774,727
31,711,797
30,423,386
26,303,109
4,120,276
424,314
1,396,239
672,600
42,968
67,642
256,155
179,782
70,337
1,010,240
23,942
802,993
64,804
263,969
261,196
210,713
50,483
*718
-15,951
-*78
*2,449
*15,592
*988
14,706
27,487
11,802,890
1,005,461
2,522,722
2,522,640
2,323,908
198,732
27,301
*23,779
69,014
*1
11,813
*12,755
10,523
3,612
39,934
17,480
54,531,722
6,637,840
5,221,928
5,165,599
4,513,322
652,276
83,138
205,155
128,006
13,419
12,814
37,007
23,093
4,790
144,853
3,360
70,539,890
6,543,020
6,042,146
5,841,270
5,131,623
709,647
99,924
218,448
94,668
8,879
16,885
56,979
21,873
10,160
181,830
498
34,598,875
2,723,305
2,876,880
2,760,834
2,446,033
314,800
45,322
109,546
40,680
2,333
5,754
19,898
12,941
6,559
71,767
489
240,730,297
10,800,296
14,784,150
13,871,846
11,677,509
2,194,337
167,911
839,310
324,281
18,336
20,299
127,065
95,759
44,228
557,149
*Estimate should be used with caution because of the small number of sample returns on which it is based.
NOTE: Detail may not add to total due to rounding and processing tolerances.
179
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Table 2.--All Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations: Selected Data Items, in Current Dollars, by
Asset Size, Tax Years 1993-2002
[Money amounts are in thousands of dollars]
Tax year, item
All
(1)
180
Large foundations
$50,000,000
less than
$100,000,000
or more
$100,000,000
(6)
(7)
Tax Year 1993
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
40,166
173,996,413
22,172,976
12,167,340
11,854,074
10,918,583
935,489
152,791
266,337
134,997
7,896
17,648
68,658
56,221
27,394
203,546
14,231
374,593
529,435
542,252
529,052
479,719
49,333
4,869
12,719
5,372
*479
734
3,076
3,690
1,871
16,523
15,779
6,012,686
1,394,882
824,200
813,411
759,896
53,514
7,172
10,552
13,194
2,567
1,378
2,656
5,018
1,165
9,812
8,165
25,423,255
4,083,816
2,150,880
2,104,375
1,957,031
147,343
27,826
17,474
27,121
*2,948
4,382
9,023
4,092
876
53,602
1,545
31,601,749
5,046,659
2,288,315
2,265,058
2,113,893
151,165
35,570
33,853
24,661
824
4,385
9,012
7,101
2,206
33,554
223
15,375,339
2,192,248
1,154,621
1,129,114
1,050,699
78,415
15,029
23,144
11,964
14
2,260
5,604
3,734
913
15,753
223
95,208,790
8,925,937
5,207,071
5,013,063
4,557,345
455,719
62,325
168,595
52,685
1,065
4,511
39,287
32,585
20,363
74,302
Tax Year 1994
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
41,983
182,543,641
22,935,316
12,712,270
12,421,641
11,416,972
1,004,667
165,946
297,132
141,220
11,018
15,944
69,596
61,494
34,647
207,671
14,371
392,847
614,407
666,259
664,704
621,499
43,205
4,347
*14,797
4,725
*773
*638
*1,959
1,735
902
13,328
16,443
6,399,357
1,607,007
894,176
880,871
780,395
100,475
12,296
17,162
14,850
1,787
2,045
4,032
9,771
3,237
35,296
9,050
27,332,755
5,146,846
2,337,563
2,320,570
2,195,934
124,636
29,162
19,675
24,903
4,940
3,223
7,668
5,201
2,100
27,764
1,652
34,056,551
5,315,231
2,635,243
2,588,661
2,429,299
159,363
38,127
33,751
26,758
1,802
4,305
9,303
6,071
2,097
37,149
238
16,403,272
2,106,746
1,004,783
981,234
900,646
80,589
16,352
23,707
11,304
1
2,079
5,730
4,245
1,232
15,939
230
97,958,860
8,145,079
5,174,247
4,985,600
4,489,200
496,400
65,663
188,041
58,680
1,715
3,654
40,903
34,471
25,079
78,196
Tax Year 1995
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
43,966
218,342,631
27,542,831
13,379,056
13,033,943
11,902,316
1,131,626
177,175
341,512
164,284
15,718
18,822
75,650
69,025
27,703
241,737
14,844
393,823
508,879
520,204
518,769
493,421
25,347
2,275
*1,645
4,962
*269
477
1,051
773
603
13,294
16,722
6,555,320
1,218,440
810,020
802,821
708,276
94,544
11,037
21,689
15,858
1,979
1,047
4,332
10,591
1,881
26,131
9,972
30,581,076
4,867,162
2,540,959
2,500,371
2,337,842
162,528
31,698
26,835
31,701
4,999
4,419
8,282
5,772
1,909
46,915
1,883
39,287,619
5,657,587
2,681,468
2,627,646
2,431,273
196,373
40,433
48,484
32,014
5,917
6,324
10,778
7,284
2,216
42,924
267
18,384,023
2,233,399
968,696
946,616
856,249
90,367
19,856
27,931
8,893
423
2,436
6,139
4,542
935
19,212
279
123,140,770
13,057,363
5,857,710
5,637,721
5,075,254
562,466
71,876
214,927
70,856
2,131
4,121
45,070
40,064
20,159
93,263
Footnotes at end of table.
180
Fair market value of total assets
Small foundations
Medium foundations
$100,000
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
Less than
less than
less than
less than
$100,000
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
$50,000,000
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Table 2.--All Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations: Selected Data Items, in Current Dollars, by
Asset Size, Tax Years 1993-2002--Continued
[Money amounts are in thousands of dollars]
Tax year, item
All
(1)
Tax Year 1996
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Tax Year 1997
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Tax Year 1998
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Fair market value of total assets
Small foundations
Medium foundations
$100,000
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
Less than
less than
less than
less than
$100,000
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
$50,000,000
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Large foundations
$50,000,000
less than
$100,000,000
or more
$100,000,000
(6)
(7)
46,066
262,738,706
44,430,218
15,831,911
15,455,577
14,182,865
1,272,710
199,691
348,429
201,709
13,443
20,482
74,749
78,117
32,296
303,795
14,557
386,479
610,835
670,616
661,583
638,217
23,365
3,091
*289
4,531
*423
525
*1,338
856
323
11,988
17,722
7,008,996
1,797,418
907,570
897,084
790,375
106,708
12,192
27,214
15,322
*1,444
1,722
4,681
13,311
4,199
26,623
10,931
34,213,921
6,618,169
2,764,739
2,732,359
2,560,124
172,234
35,293
22,546
30,008
6,154
5,821
6,884
6,322
2,546
56,662
2,219
46,007,871
8,065,518
3,140,779
3,105,001
2,920,646
184,355
43,885
37,038
34,654
1,630
5,400
9,486
9,633
3,423
39,206
321
22,344,594
3,511,942
1,165,869
1,140,007
1,046,467
93,540
20,512
28,053
12,206
385
2,615
5,791
4,160
1,955
17,863
317
152,776,845
23,826,336
7,182,338
6,919,543
6,227,036
692,507
84,719
233,290
104,988
3,407
4,399
46,569
43,835
19,849
151,452
50,541
314,368,030
51,029,987
17,726,919
17,231,192
15,855,040
1,376,151
212,166
368,073
252,394
14,052
22,653
81,562
91,355
34,942
298,955
14,986
431,245
567,764
606,668
592,362
563,401
28,961
3,568
*284
8,788
*864
544
1,711
2,454
423
10,326
19,103
7,671,087
2,390,493
871,909
862,563
778,630
83,932
8,996
10,875
17,475
1,160
1,240
3,221
15,537
4,349
21,078
13,111
40,814,989
9,447,145
2,997,830
2,951,434
2,790,943
160,490
36,390
23,441
35,817
5,807
5,929
6,432
7,916
2,011
36,747
2,578
54,382,254
9,969,490
3,588,815
3,527,441
3,307,427
220,014
46,259
48,725
41,082
2,842
7,064
10,880
12,316
3,525
47,322
392
27,471,648
4,710,405
1,463,269
1,451,868
1,356,101
95,767
22,003
25,618
16,772
825
1,680
5,230
4,096
1,243
18,301
371
183,596,807
23,944,690
8,198,428
7,845,524
7,058,537
786,987
94,950
259,131
132,461
2,554
6,196
54,088
49,036
23,391
165,180
52,460
365,035,968
54,710,549
21,189,489
20,569,205
18,965,756
1,603,448
243,596
440,170
286,868
9,177
24,234
90,400
113,538
37,349
358,117
14,166
431,039
1,075,552
920,208
920,208
909,090
11,118
*282
*380
4,927
-*24
*205
*1,389
1,078
2,833
20,098
8,176,834
2,371,348
1,174,653
1,148,147
1,009,174
138,973
11,571
*34,372
25,503
*612
*980
*3,918
27,948
1,997
32,071
14,407
45,356,470
8,582,293
3,147,479
3,103,619
2,925,802
177,816
42,214
25,820
39,231
2,787
6,607
7,341
10,052
2,121
41,643
2,924
61,574,689
10,215,954
4,260,640
4,179,751
3,938,204
241,547
53,065
50,624
47,436
2,569
7,631
11,624
11,154
5,029
52,415
425
29,429,069
4,565,491
1,624,167
1,601,339
1,495,478
105,862
24,432
27,048
14,756
308
1,982
6,329
4,875
1,572
24,559
441
220,067,866
27,899,912
10,062,342
9,616,141
8,688,009
928,133
112,032
301,926
155,014
2,902
7,010
60,982
58,119
25,553
204,596
Footnotes at end of table.
181
Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993-2002
Table 2.--All Domestic Nonoperating Private Foundations: Selected Data Items, in Current Dollars, by
Asset Size, Tax Years 1993-2002--Continued
[Money amounts are in thousands of dollars]
Tax year, item
All
(1)
182
182
Tax Year 1999
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Tax Year 2000
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Tax Year 2001
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Tax Year 2002
Number of returns.................................................................
Fair market value of total assets...........................................
Total revenue........................................................................
Qualifying distributions..........................................................
Disbursements for charitable purposes................................
Contributions, gifts, and grants paid.................................
Operating and administrative expenses............................
Compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.........
Other compensation......................................................
Professional fees..........................................................
Interest..........................................................................
Taxes ..........................................................................
Occupancy....................................................................
Travel, conferences, and meetings...............................
Printing and publications...............................................
Other expenses.............................................................
Fair market value of total assets
Small foundations
Medium foundations
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
$100,000
Less than
less than
less than
less than
$100,000
$10,000,000
$50,000,000
$1,000,000
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Large foundations
$50,000,000
less than
$100,000,000
$100,000,000
or more
(6)
(7)
58,840
426,316,475
74,327,308
25,056,879
24,367,480
22,334,540
2,032,955
272,311
626,410
339,371
11,657
29,538
104,163
167,073
42,168
440,263
15,659
539,027
363,137
269,827
269,827
246,294
23,548
*1,533
-3,540
-*109
-*1,287
*691
16,389
23,202
9,126,023
3,130,166
1,540,358
1,500,674
1,287,969
212,707
11,634
*73,656
33,176
*1,123
1,549
*2,023
70,551
2,868
16,127
15,762
50,689,032
10,826,243
4,092,594
4,032,328
3,673,984
358,342
52,148
127,620
57,406
2,899
6,467
12,157
9,575
6,004
84,067
3,227
67,769,266
11,434,974
4,696,038
4,570,982
4,298,833
272,149
55,917
58,841
53,510
2,126
10,083
14,074
12,672
4,805
60,123
469
32,567,868
5,349,589
1,960,454
1,917,093
1,792,842
124,250
27,096
30,215
19,674
492
3,107
6,844
5,553
1,587
29,682
521
265,625,259
43,223,199
12,497,608
12,076,576
11,034,618
1,041,958
123,982
336,079
172,066
5,017
8,224
69,066
67,434
26,215
233,876
61,501
432,707,111
66,184,563
29,845,488
29,056,461
26,551,755
2,504,706
312,888
778,680
444,689
24,136
40,795
120,948
120,526
101,780
560,265
16,148
577,488
777,808
928,494
928,494
913,762
14,732
*1,446
-6,610
-*114
*440
*862
*2,267
2,993
24,586
9,661,671
2,544,432
1,377,179
1,359,910
1,269,209
90,701
15,166
*2,396
35,479
*128
1,424
*562
3,183
2,033
30,330
16,484
51,734,191
10,746,881
5,483,475
5,390,335
4,667,500
722,836
67,558
281,932
100,100
7,861
15,165
18,758
15,092
54,666
161,704
3,300
70,089,670
12,685,003
5,254,184
5,160,470
4,844,726
315,743
66,246
68,945
63,749
6,738
9,068
18,447
15,009
7,111
60,431
479
33,464,698
5,492,724
2,432,357
2,384,606
2,226,434
158,173
32,157
36,385
22,130
1,346
5,410
8,654
6,516
6,170
39,404
503
267,179,392
33,937,714
14,369,799
13,832,645
12,630,124
1,202,521
130,315
389,023
216,620
8,063
9,614
74,086
79,864
29,532
265,404
63,650
416,809,545
41,213,867
29,785,208
28,882,499
26,526,436
2,356,074
308,102
596,669
495,856
34,513
32,862
131,184
121,882
41,874
593,131
19,225
616,732
413,226
398,288
394,615
342,032
52,582
*697
-17,885
-*42
*1,421
*16,523
*892
15,122
23,514
10,268,992
2,356,748
1,814,535
1,809,295
1,713,904
95,402
10,217
-74,054
-593
*956
*3,195
*544
5,843
16,754
52,015,396
7,520,759
4,710,781
4,619,677
4,328,901
290,775
50,092
37,111
59,773
13,776
10,196
15,312
6,479
1,884
96,154
3,216
68,102,402
7,339,415
5,723,210
5,650,389
5,289,205
361,184
72,900
76,391
65,401
5,459
8,836
18,534
15,030
7,196
91,437
470
32,564,316
3,186,666
2,708,167
2,673,204
2,467,018
206,186
34,574
40,652
25,980
1,521
3,882
11,167
6,527
1,529
80,354
472
253,241,707
20,397,053
14,430,227
13,735,320
12,385,375
1,349,945
139,622
442,515
252,764
13,757
9,314
83,794
74,128
29,829
304,221
67,101
377,671,940
24,500,129
28,727,438
27,910,674
25,487,455
2,423,217
323,513
643,135
517,104
26,275
34,768
132,651
115,593
42,759
587,419
21,809
708,684
-22,173
208,269
205,497
178,676
26,820
*718
-5,856
-*45
*2,449
*6,329
*455
10,967
25,153
10,838,675
810,374
2,377,284
2,377,284
2,283,115
94,169
15,398
-44,394
-8,698
*1,755
5,614
3,180
15,129
16,149
50,637,402
5,444,913
4,657,615
4,618,906
4,322,190
296,716
55,752
38,032
95,499
12,339
5,551
8,307
12,429
1,364
67,444
3,090
65,100,774
5,847,065
5,444,568
5,361,374
4,998,295
363,079
78,751
81,848
73,301
4,949
7,431
21,666
12,961
6,262
75,909
454
31,628,770
2,354,210
2,474,469
2,417,959
2,235,019
182,939
39,323
47,431
29,740
1,190
3,223
11,622
7,781
3,825
38,805
446
218,757,635
10,065,739
13,565,233
12,929,655
11,470,160
1,459,495
133,571
475,824
268,313
7,797
9,820
86,852
70,480
27,673
379,164
*Estimate should be used with caution because of the small number of sample returns on which it is based.
NOTE: Detail may not add to total due to rounding and processing tolerances.
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.