April 2020 Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations

What are public charities? 1,729,101 — Primarily administer programs; occasionally make grants nonprofits are registered — What most people think of when they hear the word nonprofit with the IRS — Small and local (e.g., an animal shelter) or large and Some nonprofits are not required national or international (e.g., Save the Children) to register. How many is unknown.

Source: December 2019 IRS Business Master File (BMF) What are private foundations?

— Primarily grantmaking institutions; occasionally The most common type of nonprofit administer programs is the 501(c)(3) public charity — Examples include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Nonprofits by type — Typically are founded by and receive support from a small 72% number of individuals or corporations 501(c)(3) There are more than 30 other types of 501(c) nonprofits in the public charities U.S., including social welfare groups, business associations, veterans’ organizations, labor unions, and federal credit unions. 7% 501(c)(3) 21% private foundations All other 501(c)s 501(c) refers to the section of the Internal Revenue Code under which these nonprofits are tax exempt. Public charities and private foundations are grouped under the same Source: December 2019 IRS BMF. section–501(c)(3).

Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations | candid.org 1 Public Charities

Public charities are everywhere They reflect every aspect of life You can find them in every state, and in U.S. territories. Top 5 public charity subject areas

Public charities per capita by U.S. state Human services 27% Number of public charities for every 10,000 residents Religion-related <35 35-39 40-44 45+ 19% Education 14%

WA Public, societal benefit 10% MT ND ME OR Arts, culture, MN VT and humanities 9% ID NH SD WI MI NY MA WY CT RI Source: December 2019 IRS BMF. Only includes 501(c)(3) public charities in the 50 U.S. states and D.C. Based on National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities. IA NV NE PA NJ UT IL OH MD DE CA IN DC CO WV KS MO VA KY Most are small NC TN AZ OK Public charities by annual revenue NM AR SC GA MS AL 3% >$5M TX LA AK 5% FL 75% $1M-4.9M $0-99K HI 4% $500K-999K Sources: December 2019 IRS BMF; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, December 2019 13% $100K-499K They raise money from a variety Source (above and left): Based on the most recent IRS filing available, 2015 or later, available for organizations appearing in the December 2019 IRS BMF. Only includes 501(c)(3) public charities in the 50 U.S. states and D.C. of sources Does not include organizations that aren’t registered with the IRS or did not report revenue figures, with the exception of the chart above where organizations filing form 990-N are included in the lowest tier. Program services account for 72% of public charity revenue. They also raise money from contributions, including government funding, individual donations, and foundation grants. In 2017, at least 18% of U.S. public charities had received a grant from a U.S. grantmaker.

Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations | candid.org 2 Foundations

Foundation giving is a modest but Private foundations growing slice of overall giving in the U.S. — Independent: Include most of the nation’s largest foundations. Generally established by individual donors Private giving by source or donor families. — Operating: Primarily run their own programs, but some 18% also make grants. Generally established by individuals Foundations or families. — Corporate: Established by large or small businesses, 68% Individuals although legally separate entities. 9% Bequests

Community foundations raise funds from 5% the public and engage in grantmaking primarily within a defined Corporations geographic area. Source: Figures for 2018 from Giving USA Foundation, Giving USA, 2019. Per Giving USA criteria, corporate foundations are included under ‘Corporations’ and community foundations are excluded.

Total foundations = 119,791 Foundation giving over time

107,889 Private foundations Community foundations 7,947 $72B $66B 2,888 Independent Operating $61B $57B 1,067 Corporate Community $52B

Total assets = $1.2 trillion $948B $82B $36B $9B $98B $5B $6B $7B $8B Total giving = $82 billion 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 $57B Source: Based on a historical view of the IRS BMF for the given fiscal year end. Limited to organizations $8B with a filing address in the 50 U.S. states and D.C. $7B Source (left): Based on most recent IRS filing, 2015 or later, available for organizations appearing in the $10B December 2019 IRS BMF.

Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations | candid.org 3 Grantmaking priorities

Top 5 support strategies by dollar amount What do foundations fund most? Program development 41% Top 5 subject areas by dollar amount General support 20% Health 28% Research and evaluation 15% Education 24% Policy, advocacy, and 10% Human services 12% systems reform Capacity-building and Community and technical assistance 8% economic development 12% Arts and culture 8% Over 26% of The median grant amount grant dollars was $35,000 Top 5 populations served by dollar amount from U.S. funders were Economically disadvantaged people 34% awarded for international Children and youth 23% purposes Women and girls 7% Ethnic and racial 7% 1% of recipient organizations Stanford groups captured half of grant dollars University People with disabilities 3% received the highest number of

Source (for all figures on this page): 2017. Subject, population, and support strategy categories are based on the grants. Seven of Philanthropy Classification System. The full value of each grant is counted toward each applicable category. the top 10 grant recipients were elite universities.

In order to analyze grantmaking priorities by U.S. funders, Candid About Candid data: candid.org/about-our-data examines all grants of $10,000 or more awarded by 1,000 of the For more information contact: [email protected] largest U.S.-based private and community foundations. These

funders account for about half of all grantmaking dollars awarded © 2020, Candid. This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- by private and community foundations. NonCommercial 4.0 International License. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0. doi.org/dnw9

Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations | candid.org 4