Gloomy forecast for foundation giving

Foundation giving went up in 2008, but is expected to decline this year, according to a survey released today by the Foundation Center.

Foundations increased giving by 2.8% last year to an estimated $45.6 billion, reported the New York-based organization.

That good news, however, is tempered by the fact that a year ago, 29% of respondents said they expected to reduce their giving in 2008, but in fact, nearly half, 47%, cut back.

In addition, the bad news is that giving is expected to decrease in 2009 by as much as 12%, the center said in a statement.

More than 1,200 large- and mid-sized foundations participated in the survey.

Independent and family foundations increased their giving by 2.5%, to $33 billion last year.

Corporate foundation giving remained the same, at $4.4 billion, and community foundation giving rose 6.7%, to $4.6 billion in 2008.

The majority of respondents, 67%, said they expect to reduce their 2009 giving “at least to some extent.”

Moreover, given the instability in the economy, it is likely that giving will decline further in 2010, the survey concluded.